Honest, field-minded reviews of outdoor and safety gear.
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 ferro rod is the one fire starter that works soaked, frozen, or wind-blasted, no fuel, no battery, tens of thousands of strikes. The Überleben Hexå is a thick, ½-inch rod that rides in your kit for years, for the day your lighter is lost, empty or soaked. New to fire-building? Read our guide to…
When your hands are cold and the wind is up, nothing beats a match that simply will not go out. UCO Stormproof Matches burn through wind and rain, and even relight after being dunked in water. New to fire-building? See our guide to building a fire for how to have tinder ready before you strike….
The benchmark packable axe: hand-forged in Sweden, shaving-sharp out of the box, and sized for a rucksack – a true buy-it-for-life tool for carving, limbing, and kindling.
A superbly organized compact first-aid kit — labelled, waterproof, and easy to carry. A great first kit for solo hikers and small groups.
The fastest, most convenient way to boil water in the backcountry — a push-button integrated system that boils half a liter in about a hundred seconds.
The simplest water filter there is: sip clean water straight from the source. A perfect first filter and emergency backup.
A GPS runs on batteries; a compass runs on the planet. When the electronics die or the sky closes in, a map and a good compass are what get you home — which is exactly why “map & compass, not just GPS” is one of the ten essentials. The Suunto MC-2 is the compass we recommend to hikers who want a real navigation instrument.
A hot meal and a hot drink do more for morale in the backcountry than almost anything you can carry. The MSR PocketRocket 2 is the stove we point most hikers to first: it is tiny, it is fast, and proven after years on the market. For simple boil-and-go cooking, it is hard to beat.
Blister-free over rough ground, cool in heat and backed by an unconditional lifetime guarantee. Runs snug, so size up and keep it out of the dryer.
Long days without blisters, strong odour resistance and a lifetime guarantee, in a women’s cut. The leg runs compressive, so try one pair first.
The Garmin Enduro 3 is a solar GPS watch with topographic maps, multi-band GPS, sapphire glass and a flashlight. It is rated at 120 hours of GPS tracking and 36 days as a watch, and comes in one large 51 mm size.
The Patagonia Torrentshell 3L (women’s) is a three-layer rain jacket with pit zips, an adjustable hood and a recycled nylon face, at 12.4 ounces (352 g). It is durable and dependable in heavy rain; the fabric is stiff and the cut is close at the hips.
The Patagonia Torrentshell 3L (men’s) is a three-layer rain jacket with pit zips, an adjustable hood and a recycled nylon face, at 14.1 ounces (400 g). It is durable and dependable in heavy rain; the fabric is stiff and only moderately breathable.
The Victorinox Huntsman is a 15-function Swiss Army knife with two blades, scissors, a wood saw, openers, an awl and tweezers, at 3.4 ounces (97 g). It handles the small cutting and repair jobs of a camping trip; the blades do not lock.
The AquaQuest Safari is a 70D ripstop nylon tarp with taped seams, a 5,000 mm waterproof rating and 19 tie-outs, at 1.7 pounds (770 g) in the 10 x 10. Light enough to carry and tough enough for regular use, it is the one we would pick first.
The AquaQuest Guide is a 40D ripstop nylon tarp with taped seams and a 5,000 mm waterproof rating that weighs 1.3 pounds (590 g) in the 10 x 10. It is the backpacking tarp of the range, for hammock campers and tarp sleepers who carry their shelter.
The AquaQuest Defender is a heavy 70D nylon tarp with taped seams, a 20,000 mm waterproof rating and 19 tie-outs. At 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) in the 10 x 10 it is built for car camping, canoe trips and base camps, not for counting grams.
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.
Reach, throw, row, go: the throw comes second because a rope from a stable boat is safer for everyone than a swimmer going in after someone. Canadian rules require a buoyant heaving line in almost every paddlecraft. The NRS Compact Rescue is small enough that it actually rides along, which is the only feature that matters in a bag you might use once in a decade.
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.
A women’s-cut merino hiking sock that regulates across seasons and dries overnight in a sink. Check the size chart carefully before buying several.
In bear country your food is your responsibility, and increasingly, a hard-sided canister is required by law. The BearVault BV500 is the transparent, tool-free canister that keeps bears out and your trip on track. Heading into bear country? Read our guides to protecting food from wildlife and handling wildlife encounters. Our field rating ★★★★★4.7 What…
In a surprise bear encounter, a cloud of deterrent you can deploy in a second beats anything else you’re carrying. SABRE Frontiersman is a maximum-strength bear spray with a 35-foot (11 m) range, the kind of insurance you hope never to use. Heading into bear country? Read our guides to wildlife encounters and protecting food…
The default backcountry heat pack: cheap, feather-light, air-activated warmers giving up to 10 hours of heat with nothing to charge or refill. Why they earn a place in every pack and first-aid kit.
The bushcraft-standard folding saw: a 7-ounce (200 g), rust-resistant blade that locks open and closed and cuts wood far above its size. Our overall folding-saw pick for most people.
The women’s storm shell for hard weather — durable 3-layer Gore-Tex with TorsoFlo hem-to-bicep venting, built for sustained rain, wind, and alpine objectives.
A US-made 1095 survival knife with a no-questions lifetime warranty — the buy-it-for-life fixed blade. Our field review of the ESEE-4.
A full-tang carbon-steel bushcraft knife you can baton and spark a fire with, at a fraction of premium prices. Our field review of the Morakniv Garberg survival knife.
A razor-sharp Swedish stainless fixed blade that carves beautifully for the price of a sandwich — the best-value first outdoor knife. Our field review of the Morakniv Companion.
The near-indestructible BPA-free hard bottle with measurement marks and a wide mouth — the do-everything first water carrier. Our field review of the Nalgene 32 oz Wide-Mouth.
0.6 oz (17 g) of US-made aerospace aluminum with a clever upside-down pry trick and a lifetime warranty. Our field review of TheTentLab Deuce, the benchmark backpacking cathole trowel.
Leatherman’s biggest tool: 21 functions, oversized pliers, full-size lockable blades, replaceable cutters, made in USA. Our field review of the heavy-duty Leatherman Surge.
18 tools with outside-accessible one-hand blades, replaceable wire cutters, and a 25-year warranty. Our field review of the Leatherman Wave+, the do-everything full-size multitool.
When your life is on the line in a remote place, you want the most dependable way to summon rescue, one with no monthly fee to lapse, no messaging to fumble, just a single button wired to the world’s government search-and-rescue satellites. That is exactly what a personal locator beacon is, and the ACR ResQLink…
If there is one device that has become the standard for calling for help in the backcountry, it is this one. The Garmin inReach Mini 2 packs global two-way satellite messaging and interactive SOS into something the size of a small stopwatch. Light enough that there is no excuse to leave it behind, capable enough…
A compact solo kit is perfect until the group grows or the trip gets longer. Then you want more supplies, better organized, ready for more than a scrape. The Surviveware Comprehensive (98-piece) is the step up: a labelled, water-resistant kit with enough gear to handle a family, a basecamp, or a multi-day trip without weighing…
Once you have learned real map-and-compass navigation, a basic fixed-declination compass starts to hold you back. The Suunto M-3 is the natural next compass: a precise baseplate model with adjustable declination and a globally balanced needle, built for the hiker who actually navigates rather than just checks which way is north. Our field rating ★★★★★4.7…
For an alpine start at 3 a.m., a technical trail run in the dark, or a ski descent under headlamp, a basic light is not enough. You need serious output and a beam that keeps up with you. The Petzl Swift RL throws 1100 lumens from a 100-gram headlamp and, thanks to a light sensor,…
On an exposed ridge in a stiff wind, an ordinary canister stove flickers, wastes fuel, and takes forever to boil, if it boils at all. The MSR WindBurner is built to ignore all of that. Its enclosed radiant burner and pressure regulator keep boiling fast and efficient in wind and cold that bring lesser stoves…
A hollow-fiber filter handles the backcountry streams of North America beautifully, but point it at a questionable tap in a developing country, or a stagnant pond after a flood, and it meets its limit: viruses. The Grayl GeoPress is built for exactly those consequential situations. Fill it, press it like a French press, and drink…
Cold ground steals more warmth than cold air, and in winter it will end a trip fast. The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm NXT is the pad alpinists and mountaineers trust to put a thick layer of insulation between them and frozen, snow-covered ground, a 7.3 R-value in a mattress that still packs to the size of…
A benchmark multi-day pack whose Anti-Gravity suspension makes forty pounds feel like far less — the hauler to trust on long, heavy trips.
We tell every hiker to carry two ways to treat water, and water-purification tablets are the lightest, cheapest insurance you can add to any kit. Potable Aqua with PA Plus is the classic: a tiny two-bottle set that treats water when your filter clogs, freezes, or gets left at home.
A first-aid kit is the one piece of gear you hope to never open. The trick is carrying enough to handle real problems without so much weight that you leave it behind. The Adventure Medical Kits Ultralight/Watertight .7 hits that balance about as well as any kit we know — comprehensive, genuinely waterproof, and light enough to live in your pack.
If we could put one water-treatment tool in every day pack, it would be the Sawyer Squeeze. It is light, simple, needs no batteries or wait time, and filters as you drink. For most North American backcountry travel, it is close to the perfect balance of weight, reliability, and cost.
The Coros Apex 4 is a GPS watch with offline topo maps, dual-frequency GPS, a titanium bezel and sapphire glass. The 46 mm model tracks for about 65 hours on a charge. The screen is plain and it lacks smartwatch extras.
The Garmin inReach Messenger is a 4-ounce (114 g) two-way satellite communicator with SOS. It pairs with a phone app that sends each message by Wi-Fi, cell or satellite, and its battery lasts up to 28 days. A subscription is required.
