Author: Wilderness Experts

Heavy 900D coated Oxford, full-length hook-and-loop front and a rubber instep strap on a metal buckle. Keeps snow and brush out for a fraction of a name-brand pair. Runs small, so size up.

Steam-bent white ash and varnished babiche, 9 x 29 to 14 x 48 in (23 x 74 to 36 x 122 cm). Floats better for its size, drops snow through the webbing and runs quiet. No steel, no heel lift, bindings sold separately.

Twelve points per foot at three depths in an abrasion-resistant matrix that survives the rock and pavement which shreds chains. Low profile enough to run in. Limited in soft snow over ice.

360-degree serrated steel frames, DTX crampons and a pole-flickable heel lift. 4 lb 5 oz (1.96 kg) for the 25 in (64 cm) pair. The snowshoe for traverses and sustained climbs, not Sunday loops.

22 x 8 in (56 x 20 cm), 3 lb 10 oz (1.64 kg), with steel crampons and traction rails underfoot. The modern snowshoe to buy if you are buying one pair.

A full-height coated nylon gaiter that seals the boot cuff against snow, scree and mud. Water-resistant rather than waterproof, and that is the right trade for hiking.

Steel beads on cable for packed paths, driveways and sidewalk ice. Light, cheap and easy enough that you actually wear it, with cable durability as the honest limit.

Twelve stainless spikes per foot on an elastomer harness that stays stretchy to -22F (-30C). Why microspikes are the first winter purchase that changes what you can safely do, and where they stop.

A solo kayaker in deep water has one problem: getting back into a boat that wants to roll over. A paddle float turns your paddle into a temporary outrigger so the boat holds still while you climb. The NRS Sea Kayak float has two independent air chambers, which is the redundancy you want in the one piece of gear you only use when things have already gone wrong.

Almost nobody who drowns from a canoe or kayak was wearing a life jacket. The ones found in the boat were usually bought, worn once, and left off because they were hot, bulky, or rode up into the wearer’s ears. The Onyx MoveVent Dynamic is the entry-level paddling vest that solves that problem: a ventilated, inherently buoyant vest approved by both the U.S. Coast Guard and Transport Canada, cut high in the back to clear a kayak seat, comfortable enough that it stays on.