Fall is our favorite part of the year in New Mexico. Not only is it green chile season, but it’s also the best time to get outside for spectacular hiking, ideal fishing, and the start of hunting season. This year, we dialed in our fall kit for all these activities with multiuse gear good for a quick jaunt up a local trail or several days in the backcountry. Here are our 11 favorite pieces.
Kuiu Kenai Hooded Jacket ($200)
Kuiu uses Toray 3DeFX+ insulation, which allows this midweight puffy to breathe well (think Patagonia’s Nano Air), making it ideal for high-output actives in cold weather where you don’t want your jacket to wet out and freeze the minute you stop moving. We like the piece as an outer layer for the fall and a midlayer once ski season rolls around. The camo print is loud, but we dig it.
Western Rise Granite Camp Pants ($100)
Built with a water-resistant, four-way-stretch material, these pants are as comfortable as they come and perfect for cool-weather hikes and backcountry camping. They’re also classy enough to wear to the bar when we’re done hooking fish.
Salomon Utility TS CSWP Boot ($150)
Like the Granite Camp pants, these boots also pull double duty. They keep our dogs warm and dry with a waterproof membrane and 200 grams of Thinsulate insulation and help us stay on our feet when it’s slick, thanks to the Ice Grip soles. Unlike normal hikers, these kicks have a touch of urban style, so they fit in on city streets.
Black Diamond Cosmo Headlamp ($30)
We always carry a headlamp in our hiking, hunting, and fishing bags. The Cosmo weighs next to nothing (3 ounces) but pumps out 160 lumens, which is enough to light up the entire trail if you’re caught out after dark.
Sitka Stormfront Jacket ($600)
Yes, the price tag is hefty on this Gore-Tex jacket, but that’s because it’s a bomber piece that we expect to wear for at least the next decade. Totally waterproof but plenty breathable, it’s built with a little extra room and plenty of articulation so it layers well over a puffy and doubles as our ski jacket when the snows starts flying.
Voormi Access Pullover ($200)
This is hands down our favorite fall midlayer. Voormi’s special blend of reinforced and DWR-treated wool will take a beating while thrashing through trees and will keep a light rain at bay. It also adds tons of warmth when we need it but dumps heat and wicks sweat better than any synthetic midlayer of the same thickness.
Avex 3Sixty Pour Thermal Bottle ($30)
Yes, it’s extra weight, but we love having a hot thermos of coffee in our bag when we take a break on the river. This vacuum-insulated, leakproof bottle keeps our brew steamy for 16 hours, has a 360-degree pour spout (so there’s no guessing), and an insulated lid that doubles as the cup.
Filson Dry Duffle ($180)
Only a few select items live in our truck at all times. A set of chains, a shovel, extra water, a fishing rod, and this bag, which is where we store an extra set of clothes, work boots, or whatever else we might need on the road and in the hills. The vinyl-coated polyester will take a beating, so we don’t have to worry about tossing it around, and the roll top splays completely open for easy access to everything inside.
Patagonia Nano Puff Pants ($180)
±ٱ’s might as well just put a picture of these pants next to the word “cozy.” Perfect for sitting around camp or wearing under our waders on a cold day, the PrimaLoft Silver insulation adds a silly amount of warmth for our legs, which usually get ignored in favor of our core. A zip fly makes for easy access, and a DWR coating fights off river water and light rain.
Truck M1 Gloves ($30)
Cold hands suck, but so do bulky gloves, especially if we need to do anything with our hands besides hold ski poles. Thankfully, the Truck M1s strike a perfect balance. Built from waterproof goat skin and Polartec fleece, the gloves are thin enough to be useful but warm enough to keep our digits from freezing off, even on brutally cold days.
Maven B1 10×42 ($1,110)
Sure, these top-of-the-line binoculars from Lander, Wyoming–based Maven have incredible clarity, a buttery-smooth focus, and superb depth of field, but the coolest part may be the , which lets buyers pick everything from the color of the lens rings to the amount of magnification. The binocs shown here (gray camo paired with a pink focus wheel and blue tripod cover plate) are ideal for hunting and serious birding, with 10x magnification and a 42-millimeter lens.