Fall weather is nothing if not unpredictable. So the perfect fall jacket needs to adapt to fog or rain or snow or sun or sleet or rain or—let’s hope—sun again. It needs to offer more warmth than summer outerwear, while accommodating moderate temperatures and workout-generated heat better than a winter kit. That’s not easily done. Enter the ($260), a classic softshell that continues to define the breed. A softshell? Yes. Softshells are the most misunderstood piece hanging in the closet because they’re not strictly insulation and they’re not 100-percent waterproof, but the right softshell technology splits the difference, offering enough protection for 80 percent of the weather you’re apt to encounter this fall. Maybe even more.

The Gamma AR has a tough, moisture-resistant woven outer fabric rather than the light waterproof-breathable material some makers have adopted. It isn’t simply a light rain shell, but a broadly versatile piece. Arc’Teryx’s proprietary polyester/nylon Fortius fabric provides warmth and breathability via a lightly brushed interior and an open weave of the face fabric. Even with all that, the coat sacrifices only a little in the moisture-resistance arena. True, it will wet through under hard rain, but a quick snow or rain shower won’t trouble it. When wet, it dries in a flash because polyester—which comprises 65 percent of Fortius—hates water. The Gamma AR also has Spandex woven in, which allows stretching across the back, or anywhere else you might need it.

The Gamma is cut fairly slim and is meant to layer lightly over synthetic or wool (or sure, cotton) tops, so it wears well with, say, . As temps drop you can add base insulation, would be a perfect companion. If it’s really wet, the Gamma will slide easily under a hardshell like the to serve as the insulating layer.

No matter the weather, the Gamma AR plays well with others, which is the second most important factor in a fall coat. The first is an all-around ability to hold its own while providing comfort, whether that’s during a scramble up rock, ride down singletrack, or walk to that new craft brewery. With the Gamma AR, there’ll be no pulling out another piece of clothing to ward off the sweat-induced chill after a hard pitch or a mountain-bike climb, and no clammy skin beneath the “swish swish” of a hard shell as early evening toasts are raised.

Available in men’s and women’s sizing.

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Interesting combination: Something for surfing and all-around water sports, plus heart rate and calorie-counting functions. And not much money.

What’s surprising is that these days that isn’t an unreasonable thing to ask. Several watches today manage all those functions. The issue may be price–that kind of functionality isn’t cheap. But let’s see what’s out there.

• Garmin Forerunner 310XT
• Suunto Quest
• Polar RS800CX G5

The Best Calorie-Counting Heart Rate Monitors: Garmin Forerunner 310XT

łŇ˛ą°ůłľľ±˛Ô’s ($250) offers a pretty powerful set of features in a watch designed for water sports. For starters, it’s waterproof to 165 feet, which should be adequate. It has GPS, so it tracks your location, speed, distance, and more. It watches your calorie burn. And with an optional heart strap it will keep track of your heart rate as well. It has all the usual watch features—even a backlighted display—and can talk wirelessly to a PC or Mac.

The Best Calorie-Counting Heart Rate Monitors: Suunto Quest

ł§łÜłÜ˛ÔłŮ´Ç’s ($300) starts life as more of a watch than the Garmin. It lacks GPS, but offers a more compact, wrist-friendly profile, and can be set up for use as a running or cycling tracker. It monitors heart rate, calorie burn, intervals, and all that good stuff. A USB stick transfers data to a computer for detailed analysis. And it’s rated to 100 feet for water-resistance, so it’s fine for sports on the water’s surface.

The Best Calorie-Counting Heart Rate Monitors: Polar RS800CX G5

OK—this one, maybe not so reasonable price-wise. But you sure get a lot!

I’m referring to Polar’s very slick ($600). It has it all: GPS sensor to track route, full heart rate and calorie-counting functions, easy connectivity to a computer with a USB cord, water-resistance to 165 feet, and much more. The high-end multi-sport pack comes with three sensors to cover any activity. Expensive, but if you really want a do-everything watch, this is it.

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I agree: Summer is a great time to run, especially on trails. They’re drier (well, usually) than in the winter, you can run early or late without headlamps, and the cool forest beats running out on the hot pavement.

So for summer you want a little different trail runner. Something lighter and more breathable than winter shoes. These are my three favorites.

• New Balance Minimus 10 Trail
• Salomon XR Mission
• ASICS GEL-Scout

Best Summer Trail Runners: Minimalist

I’ve long been a fan of New Balance—their shoes are sturdy, reliable, and fit well. Now they have a trail runner that takes some cues from the minimalist running world. The ($105) is built with a  light, airy upper that is connected to a grippy Vibram outsole for a great combination of superlight comfort and great feel for the trail. It’s low (4mm) drop from heel to toe helps encourage a neutral foot strike, and it can be worn with or without socks.

Best Summer Trail Runners: Stability

Not many companies know trail-running and endurance sports as well as Salomon. That experience goes into their new ($110), which besides coming in some wild colors, has lots of great features. Those include Salomon’s excellent Contragrip outsole, a design that wraps the foot closely for a great fit, and a lightweight built-in chassis for stability.

Best Summer Trail Runners: Women’s

ASICS have been my go-to shoe for many years. Women, I know, will appreciate that company’s attention to detail and excellent cushioning. The ($120) is a shoe for rugged summer runs, with a protective rock plate and reverse lugs for downhill stability. It has a great fit, and, of course, sports ASICS’ excellent gel cushioning.

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That’s a great question. Car-camping, to me, is about kicking back and having as much fun as you can. RVs have all the amenities, but those folks end up spending a good amount of time inside, watching TV. But the folks with tents—a different story! They’re outside, sitting around campfires, toasting marshmallows, having a fine time.

Car-camping is even more fun with the right equipment. These choice items define the luxury of not having to carry all your gear on your back.

• Kelty’s Noah’s Tarp
• Primus Firehole 300
• Aerobed Extra High şÚÁĎłÔąĎÍř Bed

Car-Camping Comfort Gear: Tarp

Sure, the good old blue tarp from the hardware store can serve a lot of functions. But looking good and working well aren’t two of them. ($90) solves that problem. It sets up in several configurations, creating flexible shelter to keep off the elements. You can use your own poles or nearby trees for support, or buy Kelty tarp poles for $40 each. The Noah’s Tarp sets up tautly and is large enough to cover both a picnic table and a few camp chairs near the fire pit.

Car-Camping Comfort Gear: Stove

The camping chef needs a quality stove. The ($250) is just such an appliance. It’s close to commercial quality, with two 12,000-BTU burners, a built-in timer, piezo igniter, precise controls, and much more. Whether you’re making a breakfast omelette or an evening stir-fry, the Firehole offers the control to make it possible. It runs on ubiquitous propane canisters, so fuel availability is never an issue.

Car-Camping Comfort Gear: Mattress

Thin pads are fine for backpacking. But when car camping? You need to be comfortable. So invest in the ($150). It’s a 13”-thick inflatable bed that’s designed for outdoor use. It comes with an inflator that recharges off your car’s 12v outlet, and has a special valve that releases air in seconds for fast packing. Sweet dreams!

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Buying one’s first kayak is a bit tricky. You haven’t boated much, so you don’t know exactly what you want. You’re afraid of making the wrong decision and getting a boat that’s not right. And you don’t want to spend too much.

There are several ways to manage these issues. The main thing to do is rent some boats. Most kayak rental places have several styles, sizes, and even brands of boat. So try several and see what features or designs seem to suit you best. After several hours of boating, you’ll get a sense of what works. Talk to people as well, and get their opinions.

Then when you do buy, don’t gold-plate it. Lots of good boats are very affordable. Once you decide this is really for you, then go ahead and spend the big bucks.

Whitewater Kayaks for Beginners

The Mamba is designed to be stable and easy to drive for newbies.

This is a fun boat: the ($1,050). It’s designed to be stable and easy to drive for newbies, but with the performance that will let you use your increasing experience to tackle tougher water. At just over eight feet long it’s short enough for great maneuverability, and its chine (the shape of the bottom hull) aids stability.

Features include easy-to-grab handles at the bow and cockpit, molded-in foam that adds rigidity, and an adjustable foot brace.

Another solid boat is the ($1,000). It’s another all-purpose boat, good for learning but also good for showing off new skills, on fast water or spinning green waves. Lots of adjustments for comfort, rugged construction, easy rolling.

Flatwater Kayaks for Beginners

On relatively still water, sit-on-top kayaks are immensely popular. They’re easy to manage, comfortable, and fun.

A great example of this type of boat is the ($700). This is a lot of boat for the money. It’s based on a touring hull, so it tracks well and has lots of stability. Then it adds comfortable padded seats, a handy drink holder, bow and day hatches to store the stuff you need for a day-long excursion. And bow and stern handles make it easy to handle.

Sit-on-top kayaking is made for sociability, so take a look as well at the ($890). It seats a pair for comfortable cruising on lakes, moderate swells, slow rivers. You can even fit in a child or a Golden Retriever. And it’s designed for easy paddling, good tracking, and reassuring stability.

Sea Kayaks for Beginners

The long-distance cruisers of kayaks

Kayaking Northern Patagonia

Take a 20-mile paddle across Lago Lácar

Read More

Sea kayaks are designed long for easy tracking, and have capacious hulls for multiple days of gear. They’re not real fast or maneuverable, but they can get you through long trips on open water.

A classic example is the ($1,550). At close to 16 feet, it has the perfect profile for good cruising speed and easy tracking. It sits low to the water to resist wind, and has good stability in surf and swells. For better control, you can deploy a rudder from the cockpit. The Squall has a comfortable padded seat for long days, and its bow and stern hatches offer enough room for overnight gear.

Or, check out the ($1,600). It’s a touch longer than the Squall at 17 feet, and its combination of initial stability (when you first sit in the boat) and secondary stability (when it starts to roll) makes it a great choice for stormier open waters. Its seat is fully adjustable, and if you need it you can drop down a skeg. Three hatches offer room for a week’s worth of gear.

More Kayaking

• What It’s Like to Kayak Chile’s Rio Nevado
• Kayaking 101: Getting In and Setting Out
• Lost at Sea in Folding Kayaks

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No question, long runs can really take it out of you. But if you’re a committed runner, you want to be able to get back out there and hit the roads or trails again hard, as soon as possible.

To me, recovery from a solid workout means three things: The first is equipment that can help reduce the need for a lot of recovery. The second is gear that actually can aid the recovery process. And the third is a set of nutrition tools that can expedite recovery from a hard workout.

• Recovery Tools: Prevention
• Recovery Tools: Post-Run Support
• Recovery Tools: Treat Yourself

Running Recovery Tools: Prevention

It helps if you can reduce the need for recovery even during the workout. Everyone’s running style and footwear needs are a little different, but these shoes are a great place to start.

Try a pair of ($110). They’re a new design from one of the premier running-shoe makers out there. The 860v2s take the minimalist school to heart in this lightweight shoe, but still offer good pronation control and plenty of cushioning. You’ll feel great wearing them, and great after your run as well.

I wear a pair of Saucony Kinvaras, and will soon be upgrading to the new ($100). These are a very lightweight shoe that have a low heel-to-toe angle, helping runners who are forefoot strikers find their stride. I was a long-time heel-striker but re-built how I run to reduce the pounding. These shoes feel great—almost like no shoe at all, but with better cushioning.

Running Recovery Tools: Post-Run Support

There are indeed things you can buy to help you recover in a more active way. The general principle is to apply gentle compression to run-weary legs, with the idea that this improves circulation, supports tired muscles, and reduces lactic acid production.

One simple step to take, for instance, is to buy a pair of CW-X ($38). They’re made with a web-like fabric that gently squeezes the ankle and calf, so that muscles can recover more easily.

Wearing the right shoes after a run can help too. Check out the Salomon ($75). These are a very light slip on with a nicely cushioned sole and leather footbeds, very comfortable and relaxing to wear around the house after a run. They’ll give tired feet a nice break.

Running Recovery Tools: Treat Yourself

I think the happiest thing I ever read was an article several years back that described chocolate milk as a near-perfect post-workout recovery drink, with lots of protein and carbs to help you snap back. I love chocolate milk, so this was wonderful news.

So after a long, hard run, treat yourself. Since chocolate milk isn’t terribly portable, a delicious bar is a good alternative.

Also, a lot of fitness experts recommend a dose of protein soon after a hard workout, to help muscles revive and re-build. A good way to get some protein is with the ($22 for a box of 12). Each contains 12 grams of soy protein that’s easy to digest and goes right to work. And the bars come in a range of flavors.

You might also try ($21 for a box of 12). They have even more protein than the Luna—20 grams, although they also pack more calories (270, versus 200).

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You know you need to stay hydrated when exercising. In warm weather, most experts suggest fluid intake of eight ounces of water or sport drink every 20 minutes. If you don’t keep up with fluid intake, your performance will drop. Worst case, you go into severe dehydration and even risk your life.

Hydration packs allow you to carry several liters of fluid comfortably and provide easy access. These are my favorites for mountain biking, marathoning, and hiking.

• Mountain Biking: Ultimate Direction Grind 12
• Distance Running: CamelBak Marathoner Hydration Vest
• Hiking: Osprey’s Manta 30

The Best Hydration Pack: Mountain Biking

One of my favorite rides near where I live is up in the Olympic National Forest, near the trailhead for the tremendous Royal Basin trail in the national park. We call it the “Gold Creek look,” but it actually follows a circuitous route down a series of switchbacks, up a Forest Service road, along a fast, steep sidehill, then down another series of really steep switchbacks. It’s about 20 miles, and takes four hours or so.

I always carry a pack on this trip. First, to pack a sandwich, some Snickers bars, and other things to eat. Second, to carry a spare light jacket and first aid kit (we had to rescue one of our guys once after he went off the sidehill and broke a collarbone). And third, to carry water.

The pack I carry is an ($110). It’s a great pack for a hard trail workout. Plenty of water capacity (96 ounces); a comfortable mesh backpanel that help keeps me cool; and just enough room to carry some extra safety items. The Grind 12 carries well, too—I hardly notice I have it on.

The Best Hydration Pack: Distance Running

I’m a reformed marathoner, but I still like to road and trail run. The right pack makes it even more enjoyable.

For a long day of running, you want something light and comfortable, with just enough capacity to keep you hydrated and fed. Something like the ($100). It’s a light, sleek pack that stays close to your body. It can carry 70 fluid ounces of water, and the CamelBak Big Bite valve makes it easy to get a drink. Cargo pockets hold a cell phone or gel packs, and a mesh pocked can carry a light jacket or vest.

The Best Hydration Pack: Hiking

On a day hike, you want a hydration pack that carries plenty of liquid, but also has room for all the gear you need—extra clothes and food, first aid kit, headlamp, sunglasses, and so on.

($149) is just the ticket. First, it’s an excellent hydration pack, with a 100-fluid-ounce bladder that fits against an anatomically contoured plastic sheet so that it rides comfortably. The bladder has a large mouth for easy cleaning and refill, and the drink valve pivots so you can sip from either side.

The Manta also is an excellent daypack. It has a light alloy frame and contoured shoulder straps so it carries well even when jammed full of stuff. And with 1,600 cubic inches of capacity in the small/medium size, there’s plenty of room for gear.

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One of the great things about backpacking these days is how light gear has become. Overall, I imagine the load before fuel/water/food for a trip of four or five days is about half what it was 20 years ago.

Tents are a great case in point. It wasn’t that long ago that the sweet spot for a two-person backpacking tent was six or seven pounds. Now under five is what I regard as minimally acceptable. Mind you, we’re talking about summer-weight tents here—one area where tent makers cut weight is through using more mesh and less ripstop fabric. But you still get excellent weather protection through full-coverage flies, and adequate room for two. Or one, if you prefer to go solo and camp really light.

These following three tents are my favorites.

• REI Quarterdome T2
• MSR Carbon Reflex 2
• Marmot EOS 1P

The Best Backpacking Tents: REI Quarterdome T2

I’ve been using REI’s for two years now, and think it’s a great tent. It offers a little more cool-weather protection than the Carbon Reflex due to more ripstop nylon in the canopy, and it’s three-pole design is super-stable. But it still offers plenty of mesh for breathability, plus a fly that extends right down to ground level. I also like the T2’s big twin doors, and its real sense of roominess.

The T2 arrives packed at 4 pounds, 8 ounces. But that can be trimmed to just under four for the trail, which is impressive. And at $299, it’s an excellent buy.

The Best Backpacking Tents: MSR Carbon Reflex 2

Carbon makes bicycles light and sturdy—and it can do the same for tents. MSR’s uses carbon poles for a weight savings of about 30 percent versus traditional poles. Carbon is strong and flexible as well—ideal pole material.

Overall, the Reflex utilizes a popular design employing an end-to-end pole that acts as the “spine” of the tent, with a short transverse pole that holds up the sides of the fly and canopy. The canopy is mostly mesh, but a fly extends all the way to the ground for good rain protection. And the design allows for two doors and two vestibules, so each occupant has space for her boots or other gear left outside. And getting in and out is easy.

Weight is a mere 3 pounds, 9 ounces as packed—you can trim that a little when packing. That’s pretty remarkable. But it’s $499, so you have to really want to save that extra pound, because you’re paying about $200 to be rid of it. Still, this is a great investment for weight-conscious late-spring-to-early-fall backpackers.

The Best Backpacking Tents: Marmot EOS 1P

I like to backpack with friends. But I’m also perfectly happy to take my Thoreau side out for a hike.

For those occasions, I like a small solo tent such as Marmot’s ($229). A solo tent saves weight, and also takes up less room in a small pack. The EOS comes in at just under three pounds—barely enough to register as an item in your pack. It has lots of mesh in the canopy, with a sturdy fly that seals the tent tightly in the event of a storm. There’s plenty of room for a solo hiker, and it’s tall enough (36 inches at the peak) for getting dressed or sitting up and reading.

Marmot always does a good job with the little things, such as plenty of inside pockets, zipper pulls that don’t rattle in the wind, and reflective tabs that make the tent more visible in the dark.

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It’s true you can easily spend $180 and up for a road helmet. But for good protection you don’t need to.

So take a look at Giro’s ($90). A few years back it would have been the top of the Giro pecking order, now it’s just a great value in a light, 25-vent helmet. I like Giro’s “RocLoc” fit and strap system, and of course the Savant meets all current standards for head protection.

THE ALTERNATE: Of course, you can splurge as well—on a Mavic ($250). This is a very hot-looking helmet, but one with enough venting to keep you plenty cool. Plus it has exceptional fit, and a removable visor.

Need something for mountain biking? Then take a look at this next one.

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Mountain-biking helmets really are different from road helmets.

Mountain helmets typically have more venting at the top of the helmet, so warm air can escape when you’re grinding up a long slope in the big ring. So take a look at the Bell ($90). It’s an excellent all-around mountain helmet, with plenty of ventilation and a removable visor.

THE ALTERNATE: Here’s a new take on the trad MTB helmet: The POC ($160). The Trabec inherits features from POC’s ski helmets, such as a more all-head fit than some other helmets, which tend to sit on top of the skull. Plus it’s a very cool-looking helmet.

For something more urban, check out this this next helmet.

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