Hiking

Grid fleece: it’s all the rage these days. And for good reason. It’s cozy, lightweight, comfortable, wicks sweat, and is perfect for active outdoor pursuits. And yes, it can even be part of a good winter layering strategy. And if you love outdoor apparel, especially grid fleece, chances are you’ve heard of Melanzana, the small Colorado brand that’s based in Leadville. Do they make fun and functional grid fleece? Absolutely. But are they easy to get? Absolutely not. Fortunately, there are excellent alternatives and, guess what? You can buy them online! We rounded up some of our faves to help you decide which grid fleece is right for you.

We’re big fans of snowshoeing. We love hitting quiet, powdery trails no one else is on, layering up, and hiking to enjoy a snack and a hot beverage with a view (and we always bring a hot beverage). Do empty trails, wildlife sightings, and stunning scenery sound good to you, too? Then gear up! ‘Cause snowshoeing offers it all. But if you’re not sure what to wear snowshoeing or what gear you need, allow us to recommend some of our favorite clothing and gear for the task. Bonus: it’s all more sustainable than your average tech shirt.

Snowshoes. We love ’em. They allow us to get outside and blaze trails all winter long, no matter how much white powder covers the route. Indeed, we’re convinced they’re an essential piece of gear every outdoorist should keep in their closet. But with so many options to choose from (and so many price points!), how can one possibly be convinced they’re getting the best snowshoes for the money? We recently tested two pairs of snowshoes from MSR and will help you map out the differences, plus answer some of your burning questions, like what snowshoes to buy, if expensive snowshoes are worth it, or which MSR snowshoes are the best of the best. Read on.

Looking for waterproof grounding shoes so you can keep up your earthing practice in the winter? The Bahé Rediscover might be just the thing.

We love to travel here at Terradrift. And we’ve spent enough time exploring Europe now to definitely have our favorite spots for outdoor adventure. So if you’re headed to (or located in) mainland Europe, definitely check out these routes, which might just be some of the best hiking trails in Europe (they’re at least some of our faves so far).

Here at Terradrift, we’re hikers first (even though we are also obsessed with backpacking and mountain biking). And as such, we’ve explored nearly every corner of the wide and wonderful landscape known as the U.S. Along the way, we’ve found some magical trails (including paddle trails) from coast to coast (including in Hawaii and Alaska). Naturally, there are millions of trails around this massive country, and we obviously haven’t hiked even close to all of them. We haven’t even hiked in every state (though we’ve been to almost every state)! But of the places we have laced up our vegan hiking boots, these are some of our favorite hikes in the USA!

You know we love a functional, well-designed, sustainable piece of gear here at Terradrift. And there may be no more impactful piece of gear than the (not so humble) daypack. After all, it accompanies you on all your hiking–maybe even biking or travel–adventures, holds your 10 essentials, and gets carted onto mountain, desert, and coastal trails. It will probably be with you for years if not decades (if you’re taking care of it and repairing it, of course), and gets caked with not only dirt, but memories. So choosing the right one–and one that’s kinder to the planet–is an important decision. Fortunately, we’ve tested a whole bunch and these are the best daypacks in our opinion (that are also highly sustainable).

New to hiking? Or just ready to level-up your hiking game? But not sure what to put on or how to best dress yourself for the outdoors? We get it; all the technical outdoor apparel out there can seem intimidating. But we got you. Here’s what to wear hiking in every season, plus some of our favorite hiking clothing from sustainable brands we love.

Are you a data nerd when it comes to tracking outdoor activities? Always have to know your mileage, elevation gain, heart rate? Searching for a GPS watch that can tell you all that and more that ALSO has a super impressive battery life? Me too, friends, me too. So allow me to introduce you to the Suunto Vertical, our favorite new GPS watch.

We’ve tested a LOT of backpacks, travel bags and camera bags here at Terradrift. Like, a lot. So it takes quite a bit to impress us these days. But when we got ahold of one of the new Peak Design Outdoor Bags and Outdoor Slings that just launched on Kickstarter this month, to say we were impressed might have been a bit of an understatement. Check out what we thought of them and whether we think you should back them.