Gear Reviews

We’ve tested plenty of shell jackets and these are the best sustainable, durable, quality options for everything from snowshoeing to skiing.

Want an ultralight fleece like Alpha? Read this first to learn what they’re best for, what they’re not, and what you MUST know before you buy.

Pour-overs are great and we’ve tested plenty of camp coffee makers, but for those who are really, really passionate about drinking good coffee outdoors and like their coffee small and strong, there’s only one real option: Camp espresso.

When it comes to barefoot hiking shoes, we at Terradrift have tested more than our fair share. From the rugged but ultra-flexible Magna Lite WR SG to the Xero Shoes Scrambler, we know a thing or two about what makes a barefoot shoe trail-worthy. So when Vivobarefoot dropped the Primus Trail Flow Mid, we had to lace ‘em up and take them for a spin.

If there’s one thing I love after a long hike on a hot day or when kicking it around the campfire in the evening it’s sparkling water. Sure, camp cocktails are great, but frankly, I don’t need alcohol to celebrate. If you feel the same and you can never keep enough cans of sparkling water in the house (or the cooler), then the Aerflo System Bottle is for you: a reusable water bottle that carbonates water at the touch of a button (OK, several touches).

Love them or hate them, these ultralight pad pumps make quick work of setting up camp. Are they worth a few extra ounces? You decide.

Need a power solution for camping and road trips? The Bluetti Elite 100 V2 delivers with its modern battery technology and low price.

We’ve tested plenty of portable power banks, backup batteries and chargers over the years. But when it comes to keeping devices like phones and high-tech watches powered on backpacking trips, every ounce (and gram) matters. So we put two of backpacking’s most popular ultralight power banks to the test and weighed their pros and cons (literally) to find out which we’ll be taking on all our backpacking adventures from here on out.

For the ultralight backpacker, everything comes down to weight. If a piece of gear is going to earn a place in your pack it has to be light, functional and useful. So here are 10 knives, complete with deets about which ones are our favorites after testing, what each is best for, and how much they weigh.

A reliable pair of trekking poles is a beautiful thing. They make uphill hikes seem less strenuous, ease pressure on your knees on the downhill, and are a beautifully multi-functional piece of gear. What’s more, a good pair from a sustainably-minded brand will also be repairable. That means you can invest in a quality pair, fix them if small parts or pieces like clips or sections break, and keep using them for years to come (compared to cheap poles that break and you’ll probably have to replace in a few seasons if you’re an avid hiker). So if you’re in the market for an ultralight pair of trekking poles you’re ready to love for the foreseeable future, try one of these on for size and hike happy.