Caves, tepees, wall tents, those green canvas triangles that caused hypothermia in so many Boy Scouts—in one form or another, ideas borrowed from these flawed shelters appear in their modern descendents.

Gary Fisher: A major figure in the development of mountain bikes.

Puffy: A lightweight jacket insulated with duck or goose down or synthetic fill.

Fly rod: A skinny stick, usually 6 to 13 feet long, used in conjunction with a reel, a line, and hand-tied simulations of in-sects to catch fish.

Fat shoes: Shoes with roughly 20 millimeters of foam underfoot

Phil Knight: Cofounder of athletic-shoe company Nike.

The brand of zipper that is likely keeping your britches up at this very moment. Headquartered in Tokyo, 81-year-old YKK (short for Yoshida Kogyo Kabu­shikikaisha, which translates as ­Yoshida Company Limited) was founded by Tadao ­Yoshida, who started making cus­tom zippers to take advantage of breaks and…

Blimp-tired bicycles were developed for one of the most grueling endurance races in the world. But then everyone else realized how much fun they were.

Lululemon: A yoga-apparel brand founded by Canadian entrepreneur Chip Wilson in 1998.

Wetsuit: An insulating garment that allows individuals to spend more time in cold water.

P-cord: Parachute cord, also known as paracord, the world’s most versatile survival tool.

Recall: A request by a manufacturer, and usually the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), to return a product after the discovery of safety issues.

Westfalia: A breed of Volkswagen camper van prone to expensive repairs, yet beloved by those who own them and coveted by road-trip dreamers everywhere.

The Perfect Size Wheel: An elusive and controversial hoop that allows mountain bikers the ability to optimize progress over rocky terrain.

An instrument of mass exhibitionism.

A sturdy, purpose-made fishing boot that has become the gold standard of footwear in the 49th state.

Filson, a Seattle-based maker of high-quality leather goods.

Sunglasses designed to protect a pilot’s eyes against high-altitude sun.

Hummer: The civilian version of the military’s Humvee off-road vehicle, which was produced by AM General from 1992 to 2006.

Telescoping front forks and articulating rear frame triangles that absorb bumps and shocks.

Nike+: The original wearable technology for athletes.

Polarization: A lens technology that cuts glare created when light reflects off materials like plastic and glass.

Howard Head: The founder of ski brand Head.

The surprising tendency for technical products and trends from the outdoor world to find their way into mass culture.

Duluth pack: A heavy canvas rucksack, patented in 1882 by French Canadian Camille Poirier in Duluth, Minnesota, along the shores of Lake Superior.

Jeep: A four-wheel-drive vehicle first produced for the U.S. Army during World War II.

Leatherman: A multitool invented by Tim Leatherman after wishing he had a pair of pliers while working on a rust-bucket Fiat with a pocket knife during a 1975 European road trip.

Odor Control: The relentless attempt by apparel makers to tame human stink.

Dutch Oven: A large cast-iron pot and the campfire cooking vessel of choice for pioneers, cowboys, and river guides.

Repurposing: Taking a product and adapting it for a different use.

Vasque Sundowner: A svelte hiking boot that serves as a testament to how well-made products can endure despite evolving design trends.

Pulaski: A wildland-firefighting tool that combines an ax and an adze and is used to clear brush and small trees.

Little Things: Those items that mark the difference between a miserable experience and a joyous one—pit zips on jackets being a prime example.

Catalog: A magazine-like print presentation of a company’s or retailer’s products.

The world's leading design center for outdoor footwear—everything from featherweight climbing shoes to hard-shelled mountaineering stompers—is a small city in northern Italy where craftsmanship reigns.

Vibram: A vulcanized-rubber sole that revolutionized footwear.

Sick Footie: A visual recording worth replaying for others.

Greg Lowe: Inventor of the internal-frame backpack.

Kite: A lightweight aircraft—often erroneously considered a toy—propelled by the wind and controlled by a user on the ground via a line or set of lines.

Jeremy Jones: A pioneering big-mountain snowboarder and snowboard designer.

A pioneering social-fitness app released in 2009.

Washing a single polyester jacket can send 1,900 tiny synthetic micro-fibers into waterways, where they can soak up toxins and get eaten by fish. So what is the outdoor industry doing about it?

How a humble wooden fishing craft became the quintessential Grand Canyon ride

Therm-a-Rest: The first mass-market inflatable sleeping pad.

A category of gear that came into being in the late 1960s as more and more skiers ventured beyond resort boundaries.

Swiss Army Knife: The world’s first consumer multitool, designed by cutler Karl Elsener with two blades, a screwdriver, and a can opener.

And how it's going to change the way you see all of your stuff

Jogging Stroller: A stroller that allows parents to run and, theoretically, get their toddlers to nap.

Headphones: Any device used for playing music close to or within a wearer’s ears.

A bindingless monoski invented in 1965.

Gone are the days of rangers in fire lookout towers. Now, mountain-top cameras are being used to spot smoke and flames.

Blake Mycoskie: A 38-year-old philanthropist and entrepreneur who founded Toms Shoes (originally Shoes for a Better Tomorrow) in 2006.

Lumbersexual: A fashion-conscious male urbanite whose clothing and accessories project an aura of rugged manliness.

Thule: A company founded by Swedish outdoorsman Erik Thulin, originally to make fishing gear.

Fat Skis: Skis that are at least 115 millimeters underfoot.

Nalgene bottle: A durable, wide-mouthed vessel originally designed to hold chemicals.

Doug Tompkins: Businessman and crusading conservationist who cofounded the North Face and Esprit.

Heart-Rate Monitor: A device that measures a wearer’s heart rate; particularly useful for monitoring exertion in athletes.

Double Vacuum: A technology dating back to 1892 that suspends one container inside another, leaving a small amount of air between the two to insulate the inner contents from external temperature changes.

Lifetime Warranty: A company’s promise to repair or replace an item that breaks.

USGS Topographical Map: A detailed representation of a landscape, created by the United States Geological Survey, and a rare example of something every bit as beautiful as it is useful.

Velcro: A two-piece fastening material that features hooks on one side and a swath of loops on the other.

Backcountry.com: Online retailer of a wide range of outdoor gear.

Helmet: An apparatus designed to protect the wearer against head injuries.

Jack O’Neill: A former commercial fisherman widely credited with inventing the neoprene wetsuit.

Suunto Vector: The original smartwatch.

These innovators-in-chief changed the way we play

Pack Raft: A small inflatable raft that can be rolled up to fit in a backpack.

Garmin Forerunner 201: The world’s first all-in-one GPS-enabled running watch, released in 2003 by Kansas navigation company Garmin.

The original American road-trip trailer, designed in 1931 by Wally Byam, was inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis.

The most valuable currency in gear marketing of the past 40 years.

A packable device producing fire for camp cooking.

A rapid sequence of radical innovations, such as appeared in cycling between 1984 and 1987, the sport’s Age of Enlightenment.

Military-strong material with smart features for any civilian

Commandment #1: Know thy options

Towable as hell but built with enough room to host dinner parties

Surfer Jamie O’Brien and his team made the fiery stunt look easy. But turns out, it took months of planning and some very specific gear to get right.

Treat your feet right with bright art and classic comfort

When you build the two millionth edition of an iconic 4x4, it deserves special treatment

Some our favorite images from this year's Tour de France stages in the French Alps.