In a previous lifetime, my idea of a long-distance hike was a music festival. For four days, Iā€™d parade across dusty fields or clotted city streets, traipsing from stage to stage in pursuit of the next show. Who knows how many miles I clocked in those peripatetic bursts, but at that extended momentā€”a music critic in his 20s, way more committed to partying than pulmonary fitnessā€”it was the exercise I knew best.

Not long after I crossed the threshold into 30, though, that lifestyle caught up with me. Headed west on Gay Street in Knoxville, Tennessee, I sank onto the sidewalk and pulled off my boot, squeezing my left foot as though trying to force it back together. It was broken, I knew, a stress fracture from all these steps; why else would each step now feel like another new knife fight, as though someone were jamming a blade between my bones? I endured, switched into a pair of sneakers and limped around Tennessee until the festivalā€™s end.

Back home, my symptoms suddenly subsided, appearing only sporadically during the next few years as I became obsessed with distance running. But in 2019, soon after I entered Maine some 2,000 miles into a northbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, that old ache returned. Was my foot broken, my hike done? Nope.

After staying up late one night in an AT lean-to for a tailspin into online medical sleuthing, I realized it was cuboid syndrome, when the pointy joint on the side of your foot shifts slightly out of line for a spell. With just enough bandwidth to stream a , I learned something called the cuboid squeeze and fixed it myself.

But now, I donā€™t even need that technique. After 11,000 miles of hiking and countless more miles of road running in almost every state in the country, I simply never leave home without a 1.5-ounce piece of sculpted silicone thatā€™s changed my fitness and the way I travel: toe spacers.

Wait, What Are Toe Spacersā€”And Why Are They So Popular?

Toe spacers are having an unexpected moment. There are, right now, some 38 million that mention them. has suggested theyā€™re a panacea, and the notes they are ā€œtransforming peopleā€™s lives.ā€ Neurosurgeon and frequent TV medical commentator , Philadelphia Eagles star , body-positive model : Theyā€™ve all become advocates for a fitness craze I never expected to work, in late 2019, when I was desperate for anything to help me run again.

After finishing the Appalachian Trail, my first long-distance hike, my body was a messā€”every attempt to return to running felt like another litany of physical insults. Iā€™d already gone to multiple physical therapists and yoga classes, trying to recover, when a young pedorthist building custom inserts for my shoes took one look at my feet and told me I needed toe spacers. Bunions were forming on the sides of my feet, and my little toes were starting to scrunch into claws, or hammer toes. I needed, he said, to spread my toes back out after years of stuffing them into running and hiking shoes that squeezed them together. He pulled a clear zippered pouch from the wall and asked me to try themā€”, curved ribs of silicone with three holes through which your middle toes slide.

For the next several months, I wore them almost everywhere, tucked between the toe socks heā€™d also recommended and inside shoes with wide toe boxes, like Topos or Altras. I winced when I had to take my shoes off anywhere, knowing someone would inevitably exclaim ā€œWhat are those?!ā€ when they saw my spacers. But in the best way, my feet have never been the same again.

Which Toe Spacers Should I Buy and Try?

As best as I can tell, Correct Toesā€”developed by a podiatrist and runner named Ray McClanahan, who I interviewed for ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų in 2022ā€”are the most expensive models on the market, at $65 per pair. Theyā€™re also the only ones Iā€™ve ever needed, because they havenā€™t warped or ripped after five years of sporadic use. (More on ā€œsporadicā€ in a bit.) Iā€™ve never once resented what I paid.

But there are more affordable options now: Thereā€™s a on Amazon, though some reviews there suggest you indeed pay for what you get. s version for the same price looks more rugged, and I am certainly entertained by the idea of black toe spacers to match my endurance-black toenails. Correct Toes occasionally slip out from between my digits, so I like the way the and The Foot Collectiveā€™s wrap around all five. (The inclusion of an exercise band is a welcome bonus, too.)

You can even try with built-in toe spacers from Happy Feet, though I am slightly suspect of the oversized spacers that look more like toe bracelets from for a reason Iā€™ll get into right now.

So, How Do I Use Toe Spacers?

At the start, slowly. Have you ever stretched a muscle for the first time in a while, maybe because you noticed a new stiffness in your body? It was uncomfortable, right? Thatā€™s how toe spacers will feel for a bit, as you begin the business of prying apart bones, tendons, and ligaments that have been stuck inside narrow shoes for most of your life. I started with 15 minutes a day and gradually increased until I was wearing them almost all of the time, taking care to remove them before I fell asleep. (There is some suggestion that they restrict blood flow, especially at night; my toes simply feel stiff when I wake up with them still on.) Yoga Toes arenā€™t appealing to me, because theyā€™re too big to slip inside shoes.

These days, I donā€™t use them all the time. My feet feel better, because Iā€™ve changed my entire routineā€”foot socks always, Topo tennis shoes with wide toe boxes unless Iā€™m ā€œdressing up,ā€ and a regimen of toe exercises using resistance bands. But whether Iā€™m hiking across the country or going to another music festival, I always have a single toe spacer in my bag, ready to slot between my toes if my cuboid slips its position, as it sometimes does, or my arches begin to ache as though theyā€™re on fire. I rarely travel with two toe spacers these days, because both of my feet generally donā€™t hurt at the same anymore. Iā€™ve spent years learning how to manage them, after all.

During a recent 1,200-mile trek along Wisconsinā€™s Ice Age Trail, I would often end 30-mile days by wearing toe spacers in my tent, letting my toes stretch as I massaged my legs and made my dinner. I donā€™t think you need to use toe spacers for the rest of your life; I do think, however, they can be crucial for taking care of the body part that actually makes contact with the ground and supports the rest of the body in the process.

Do Toe Spacers Actually Work?

Toe spacers have reached such a critical mass of popularity that you can easily find opposing answers to this question, bandied about from the to . Iā€™m not a doctor or a foot-health researcher, so I wonā€™t pretend to tell you anything prescriptive or definitive.

But in the last five years, or since I started using toe spacers, I have logged close to 20,000 miles on my feet, whether hiking long trails, running on roads, or, yes, attending music festivals. I also turned 40. But I have rarely felt stronger as a hiker or a runner than I do right now, and Iā€™ve had no substantive problems with my feet in a long time. My knees are better, too, and knee pain was often linked with the foot woes I experienced.

Again, Iā€™ve never seen toe spacers as a cure-all; I massage my feet, strengthen them, stretch them. But when they ache, whether Iā€™m on a long hike or a reporting trip in another city, a day with toe spacers is my first line of defense. Itā€™s perhaps the best $65 Iā€™ve ever spent on a piece of fitness gearā€”so much so, in fact, that I bought a second pair in an alternate color so that I can mix and match them as I travel. Hey, Iā€™ve got to keep them looking surprising and ridiculous, since so many people now seem curious about what toe spacers are and if they can change how you feel, too.

Grayson Haver Currin is °æ³Ü³Ł²õ¾±»å±šā€™s thru-hiking and trail columnist. He finished the Triple Crown in November 2023, ending with the Continental Divide Trail, and has written about his and others’ adventures on trails across the country since 2019ā€”including, most recently, how you’re hiking downhill wrong, as well as the woman who smashed the Appalachian Trail record, and ridiculously expensive hiking shorts that chafed him anyways. He still takes toe spacers to music festivals and on his adventures.

The post My First Thru-Hike Wrecked My Feet. Now I Never Trek Without Toe Spacers. appeared first on ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Online.

When I started hunting nearly a decade ago,ĢżI balked at the absurd expense of hunting apparel. I was a lifelong penny-pinching minimalist. Did I really need a $400 jacket, $250 pants, and socks that rang in at $28 a pair? It seemed like overkill (pun intended).

But, on one hunting trip in Montana in 2017, winds and snow blew at rates far exceeding 40 miles per hour. Thankfully, a full set of truly windbreaking Sitka gear kept me comfortableā€”I moved easily across the open mountain ridge, completely unaffected by the gusts. Beneath the burly outerwear, First Liteā€™s merino layers wicked sweat and kept me warm. My feet were toasty and dry in wool hunting socks, and they remained blister-free in my well-fitted boots for all six miles of the loop hike. Eventually, I took one shot on a legal mule deer buck that I later field-dressed and packed off the mountain alone. It was my first solo big game animal tag, and if it werenā€™t for my gear, I would have turned around long before I ever had the chance to spot it.

Much of the hunting apparel in my camouflaged closet continues to perform year after year. Its durability surpasses that of most casual outdoor brands Iā€™ve tried, and I find myself using my hunting gear for many unrelated outdoor activities. Itā€™s certainly kept me comfortable enough to hunt in conditions Iā€™d have avoided before becoming a hunter.

Over the past ten years, Iā€™ve cross-country skied, snowboarded, snowshoed, ridden my horses, hiked, backpacked, traveled, and bundled up chilly friends in my hunting apparel. Below are the hunting-specific pieces that I’ve relied on most. The other good news: Hunting brands are starting to wake up to the versatility of their gear, so youā€™ll find that every piece below is offered in solid colors in addition to camouflage.

At a Glance

• Best base layers:
• Best rain gear: and
• Best pants for women:
• Best pants for men:
• Best socks:

When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside.ĢżLearn more.

Best Base Layers

First Lite Kiln Base Layers

I bought my first pair of Kiln baselayers eight years ago, and I still wear the same ones today. After hundreds of wears and washes, the wool continues to hold up. We even featured the most recent edition of the KilnsĢżin our 2025 winter gear guide, because they’ve held up so well over the years. This 250-gram base layer is both the perfect weight for fall and winter hiking and backpacking, but it’s also the best-fitting base-layer legging Iā€™ve found for women. The very high waist provides maximum coverage and keeps seams above pack hipbelts, and the wide band resists rolling down and sagging over the miles. The Kiln line comes in a crew, quarter-zip, hoody, and for men, as well as hoody and long-jane options for women.

Best Rain Gear

Sitka Gear Dew Point Jacket and Pants

I’ve tested dozens of other brands, but I’ve yet to find one I trust more than Sitka for wet weather.ĢżThat’s especially true for the Dew Point. This three-layer Goretex jacket is lightweight, packable, and supple enough to move quietlyā€”which means no crinkling or swishing when you’re sneaking up on wildlife for a photo-op or trying to avoid waking your partner in camp. The packability is also ideal for many scenarios, like backpacking long miles when you need gear that won’t take up too much space in your pack.ĢżPit zips allow for dumping heat, and itā€™s the most breathable rain gear Iā€™ve worn to date.

Best Women’s Pants

Ditale Sofia ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Pant 2.0

Ditale is a boutique brand thatā€™s newer to the hunting apparel scene, but that under-the-radar status isn’t likely to last long. Last year, I wore the Sofia ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Pant for everything from hiking and hunting to cross-country skiing, and I fell hard for them. Itā€™s the best physical fit Iā€™ve felt as a curvy athletic gal thanks to the wide range of sizing and smart features like the full running crotch gusset and articulated knee darts. Compared to other brands, the waist is both stretchier and higher-cut, but curved like a great pair of jeans. They’re actually flattering. This, to me, is the best all-around hiking pant for spring-to-fall temperatures, and the DWR makes it a great option for rain and wet flurries, as well.

Best ²Ń±š²Ōā€™s Pants

Stone Glacier De Havilland Lite Pant

Stone Glacier specializes in gear for men only, and the guys I hunt with are all clamoring to get a pair ofĢżthe De Havilland Pants. Offered in both a Lite and ($189), these pants boast all the technical details you need for three-season hiking, backpacking, and adventure travel. DWR-treated fabric, side zips, roomy side pockets, and a patented contour waist systemĢżmean these pants can take whatever you throw at themā€”and stay in place without slipping or chafing. The modern cut and neutral colors mean that you can wear them to workĢżor a casual dinner, and then hit the hills for an evening hike.

Best Socks

Farm to Feet Ely Socks, Full Cushion

Like many four-season adventurers, I have an obsession with wool socks. My favorites are the Farm to Feet Ely hunting socks. I have to hide them from my mother because she tries to steal them anytime she comes within striking distance. The light cushion version beats out every boot or ski sock Iā€™ve ever used, and the full cushion version keeps me warm and comfortable over long miles during the cold season. Gentle compression in the foot prevents blisters, and my Elys are stepping into their fourth year of use without any holes or threadbare patches to speak of. For under $30, I recommend treating yourself.

The post Need Hardcore, Durable Outdoor Apparel? Donā€™t Sleep on Hunting Brandsā€™. appeared first on ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Online.

Fifteen years ago, ultralight hiking gear was truly edgy. Every cottage brand had a 12-ounce silnylon pack. Half-length pads and body mapped designs were a compromise between full-on misery and smart packing. (or better yet, ) instantly marked you as a hardcore ounce-cutter. Critically, these experimental kits allowed thru-hikers astonishingly low baseweights.

. Ultralight hiking gear is still at the bleeding edge of the industry, featuring fancy new fabrics, bold innovations, and plenty of carbon and titanium bling. For the most part, itā€™s more durable, easier to use, and more comfortable. But is it actually lighter?

Those silnylon packs, so popular in the early 2000s with brands like Gossamer Gear, Six Moon Designs, and Mountain Laurel Designs, have been wholly replaced by heavier, more durable fabrics like (though a few products like are keeping the tradition alive). Minimalist pads are a rarity these days, with Therm-a-Rest cutting production of its lightest inflatable pad, the Uberlite. (Dedicated tinkerers sometimes cut and resealed the 8.8-ounce pad to save further weight.) The brandā€™s NeoAir Xlite weighs 4 ounces more, but is far more durable and warm enough for fall backpacking. Ultralighters have spent decades slowly boiling water with , but the best ā€œlight-enoughā€ canister stoves now perform so well that methenamine cubes are little more than a sideshow.

Does that mean weā€™ve moved beyond the uberlight experiment? I think so. The industry has shifted in a way that mirrors the average ultralight hikerā€™s own experience dialing in their kit. I know my own experiments with gear followed a similar path. When I first decided to ā€œgo ultralight,ā€ I focused on a 10-pound baseweight as an easy-to-track goal. Once I achieved that, I set my sights lower. Could I swap out a lighter sleeping bag? Yes, but some nights I would get too cold. A lighter pack? Sure, but it wasnā€™t as comfortable. A lighter pad? Noā€”I slept terribly. After a few years of trial and error, I had cut weight in a few places and added it back in others, and ended up roughly where I started. For me, more experience didnā€™t mean a lighter kit, after all.

Writ large, weā€™ve all cast our votes for what is worth going ultralight for, and it turns out many of us have the same preferences. For most of us, itā€™s not silnylon packs. Itā€™s not sleeping pads with cutouts to save weight. Itā€™s not rain gear that can unfold into a tarp.

With the ultralight industry more competitive than ever, it seems like fewer brands are willing to experiment out on the fringes. A likely culprit is the growing size of the average ultralight gear company. When youā€™re a one-person operation making gear for a handful of dedicated customers, taking chances isnā€™t that risky. But if you have a dozen people on the payroll and a well-honed production line, a product that doesnā€™t land is a serious misstep. A bigger customer base comes with less patience for gear that breaksā€”and more warranty claims.

To be clear, this is largely a good thing. The fact is, todayā€™s ultralight gear is so good that most attempts to reinvent the wheel are going to fail. But that also means that in a decadeā€™s time, we might see an industry thatā€™s mostly unchanged outside of newer, even more expensive fabrics and materials.

As a longtime ultralight gearhead, Iā€™ll be disappointed if that future comes to pass. I grew to love the ultralight community for its bold personalities who were more comfortable charting their own path than following trends, even if some of those paths were dead-ends.

Maybe itā€™s inevitable that thereā€™s less room for wild ideas as the community matures. But if the door to technical innovation is closing, that could mean other doors are opening. Maybe the way for a modern ultralight company to take risks isnā€™t with featherweight fabrics, but with , an ambitious sustainability goal, or engaging the community in a new way. Personally, I trust that the cottage ultralight community is creative enough to figure it out.

The post Is the Uberlight Gear Experiment Over? appeared first on ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Online.

In the corner of my basement sits a dusty Rubbermaid bin crammed with a decadeā€™s worth of outdated and obsolete electronics, otherwise known as e-waste. Itā€™s a tangle of cords, cables, clickers, cameras, camcorders, components, as well as graveyard of outdoor gear. There are wonky headlamps and dead camping lanterns, an old avalanche beacon and outdated GPS, some walkie talkies, and a couple of digital pocket cameras.

You probably have a similar bin. We know in our guts that this stuff doesnā€™t belong in the landfillI so we hoard it because a) we donā€™t know what to do with it, and b) it was expensive and maybe weā€™ll need that random cord someday.

E-waste has become an enormous problem for our planet. It’s the fastest growing waste stream in the world, even larger than plastic, yet only 12 percent of it currently gets recycled. This unfortunate fact has huge ramifications for the environment, and for people living near areas where the items get dumped, says Justin Stockdale, director of zero waste hauling at , a nonprofit recycling center in Boulder, Colorado.

ā€œHidden inside all the random cords and contraptions are valuable and finite resources like lithium, copper, gold, silver, lead, and palladium,ā€ Stockdale says. ā€œWhen these materials are disposed of improperlyā€”which they often are, in disadvantaged communitiesā€”it can be a disaster for the soil and groundwater and the health of the people nearby, particularly children.ā€

Because e-waste contains so much valuable material, a shady form of ā€œrecyclingā€ has emerged. Companies pose as recyclers, luring consumers to donate their electronics, which are then packaged and shipped to developing countries. Basel Action Network, a nonprofit that champions global environmental health and justice, calls it ā€œ,ā€ and explains why on its website.Ģżā€œAs a result of this massive, global flow of e-waste, former farming villages in countries like Vietnam, China, and Nigeria are now e-waste dumps. In these impoverished communities, recyclingā€ often means burning circuit boards, soaking microchips in acid, and burning plastics to sort them by order. In short, it means poisoning people and the planet.ā€

The good news: proper recycling of any and all consumer electronics is free and simple, as long as you know where to take them.

Before You Recycle E-Waste, Ask Yourself This

Is there still life left in that item? Does it still work, just not as well as youā€™d like? Does it just need a minor repair? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, your goal should be to find someone who will keep using it until itā€™s end of life. You could donate it to a local charity, resell it, or for outdoor specific items, send it to °æ³Ü³Ł²õ¾±»å±šā€™s program. Just print out a free shipping label and send it off to our repair partner, Gear Fix, which will make needed minor repairs and resell it. We donate 100 percent of the proceeds to charity.

E-Waste Recycling Near You

Some communities have excellent local options (like Eco-Cycle in Boulder). The key is to look for a recycler thatā€™s This designationĢżensures that the valuable materials, like gold, silver, copper, lithium, aluminum, and palladium, as well as toxic materials like lead, mercury, and cadmium are extracted and put back into the marketplace.

Electronics Recyclers International (ERI) is the largest e-Stewards recycler in the U.S. The company processes 100,000 tons of e-waste each year.

Thanks to ERIā€™s partnership with two of Americaā€™s mega retailers, recycling our e-waste responsibly is as simple as a drive to the nearest or . Both chains accept virtually any consumer electronics at no cost. This collected e-waste gets shipped off to one of ERIā€™s eight facilities around the country, where the recycling processĢżbegins.

ā€œOur first step when we receive materials is to sort out the items that may contain private data and immediately destroy it,ā€ says John Shegerian, chairman and CEO of ERI. ā€œAfter sanitization, items are sorted to determine if there is still a useful life for a device through repair or re-use methods. This amounts to 2.3 to 3 million devices per year that weā€™re able to put back into use.ā€

For items that canā€™t be repurposed, ERI removes all batteries, which are recycled separately. ā€œWeā€™re left with what we call the electronic carcass which includes all the plastic, metals, glass, and precious metals,ā€ says Shegerian.Ģż This material goes into a series of proprietary e-waste shredders (check out the video below), which turn it into what looks like coarse gray flakes flecked with colored bits, but is actually a valuable commodity.

Once shredded, the material flows into a complex sorting apparatus that uses robots, artificial intelligence, magnets, and ocular technology to divide it into various and specific reusable commodities, which then get sold to smelters and manufacturers who put them back into the circular economy.

ā€œNinety-eight percent of the material we receive gets repurposed,ā€ says Shegerian. ā€œLess than two percent is waste and is diverted to landfills.ā€

How to Recycle Batteries

Never throw a battery in your trash or a single-stream recycle bin. ā€œIt will eventually lead to groundwater contamination,ā€ Stockdale says.

Although Shegerian says that ERI they can handle any batteriesā€”single-use alkaline or lithiumā€”that remain in any devices that make it to them, some retailers (like Staples, currently) ask that you remove them before recycling. So, what should you do with your used batteries? Call2Recycle is an e-Stewards certified battery recycler with more than . Alkaline and lithium are often different waste streams, so before you drop your batteries in a bin, check the signage to make sure you’ve got the right one.

The bottom line, says Shegerian, is that thereā€™s no reason any electronics should go to the landfill. ā€œEveryone in the country has access to a Staples or Best Buy. Get your e-waste there, and weā€™ll take care of the rest.ā€

Doing right by the planet can make you happier, healthier, andā€”yesā€”wealthier. °æ³Ü³Ł²õ¾±»å±šā€™s head of sustainability, Kristin Hostetter, explores small lifestyle tweaks that can make a big impact. Write to her at climateneutral-ish@outsideinc.com.

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Women are everywhere in the outdoor industry, but few occupy ownersā€™ offices at outdoor companies. These six standouts in the surfing, cycling, camping, and hiking sectors buck the trend. All six brands bring fresh products and perspectives to the male-dominated market and demonstrate how gender parity enriches the industry for everyone who recreates outdoors. Shop at the below brands this

Wild Rye

Cassie Abel, co-founder and CEO

When her business partner left Wild Rye as a fledgling apparel brand to pursue personal interests, Abel assumed full ownership and squeezed the throttle on company growth and development. A brand that began with a couple of ski and mountain bike pieces expanded into a complete active lifestyle collection, spanning Youth size 8 to °Ā“Ē³¾±š²Ōā€™s size 24. ā€œOur goal is to bring women beautiful, technical, and well-fitting apparel pieces that inspire confidence and welcome more women into the outdoors,ā€ Abel said. Now a certified B-Corp, Wild Rye achieved Carbon Neutral certification and contributes financial support to various womenā€™s initiatives, including giving $20,000 to Planned Parenthood after the Row vs. Wade reversal and sponsoring women-led ski films and Ladies AllRide cycling camps.

ToughCutie

Brittany Coleman, founder and CEO

ā€œI hope to inspire more women and people of color to be confident in getting into ā€˜outdoorsy things,ā€™ā€ explains Coleman, who hatched the idea for her hiking sock company in 2019 and launched it in 2021. She envisioned a company that practiced inclusivity in ways she hadnā€™t seen as a business analyst for the apparel and hosiery sectors. So, working primarily with female designers and high-quality domestic yarns, ToughCutie launched Eve, a lightweight hiking sock in three heights. Now, the company is developing offerings for winter sports and runners. ā€œThere are so many ways to get outside and we want to play a role in helping our community get there,” Coleman said.

Shredly

Ashley Rankin, founder and owner

When they hit the market in 2012, Rankinā€™s wildly patterned womenā€™s mountain bike shorts enjoyed instant popularity because they raised the bar on fit and aesthetics. Here were bottoms designed by women for women, with bold graphics that helped riders feel emboldened, too. Now, Shredly produces a full line of mountain bike apparel (including a jumpsuit) for youth and women size 00 to 24. Along the way, Rankin learned that the bigger the challenge, the greater the gratification. ā€œAs a female owner of a womenā€™s specific outdoor company,ā€ she says, ā€œIā€™m now able to appreciate ā€˜he challenge and approach it as an opportunity.ā€

Hotline Wetsuits

Brenda Scott Rogers, founder and owner

An elite surfer at a time when few women attempted the sport, Brenda Scott Rogers won the 1978 World Cup at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, then founded Hotline the following year. She began by importing surf booties from Japan, then expanded to producing wetsuitsā€”which Scott Rogers designed for women as well as men. After launching the marketā€™s first womenā€™s-specific wetsuits, Hotline expanded into products for various other water sports, including kidsā€™ gear.

Good-To-Go

Jennifer Scism, co-founder, head chef and CEO

As a professional chef who trained at The French Culinary Institute in Manhattan and defeated Mario Batali on The Food Networkā€™s Iron Chef competition, Jennifer Scism sought the finest ingredients and used sophisticated cooking techniques to dazzle diners at the top-rated restaurant that she ran with her business partner, chef Anita Lo. Her backpacking meals continue that commitment to quality food: Good-To-Go uses real foods, often preserved using methods that Scism pioneers herself, to make yummy camp dinners and breakfasts (such as the brand-new Ranchero Scramble). Next up: Carrot-Ginger Power Bowl and other salads that donā€™t require boiling water and let hikers enjoy quick, veggie-laden lunches with virtually no prep. Scism credits her strength and success to female collaborators who challenged and nurtured her: ā€œThere is no lack of strong women,ā€ said Scism, ā€œAnd once you create that dynamic group around your shared mission, you each become stronger.ā€

Carve Designs

Jennifer Hinton and Thayer Sylvester, co-founders

While on a surf trip in Mexico, Hinton and Sylvester lamented the lack of board shorts that fit their bodies and handled real-world rigorsā€”and the duo determined to change the scene. Since 2003, the pair has produced sustainably-made apparel for surfing and now, swim and beach lifestyle. Each item is still designed and tested by women, and they strive to support their employees by offering flexible schedules and financial backing for other initiatives, like SheJumps, Brown Girl Surf, and the Send It Foundation.

The post Six Outdoor Brands to Support This Women-Led Wednesday appeared first on ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Online.

For years, Iā€™ve been searching for the best water bottle for travelā€“one that lets me avoid plastic and single-use materials at every leg of every journey. This elusive bottle of my dreams needs to be leakproof and insulated. It needs a wide-mouth for easy filling and cleaning, but it also needs to be easy to drink from without dousing my face.

It needs to be compatible with cup holders. And it needs to be versatileā€“sometimes I want water, sometimes I want coffee, and sometimes I want a cocktail or glass of wine on the plane. One thing I never, ever want: to drink from a single-use container that will end up in the landfill shortly after I empty it.

In order to achieve thisĢżgoal, Iā€™ve historically had to pack two containers: an insulated bottle for water and coffee and a cup for in-flight beverages.

But no longer. ($52, 1 pound, 5 ounces) is the bottle Iā€™ve been searching for.

Things I Love About the CamelBak MultiBev

It holds 22 ounces, making it the perfect size for me. Not too big to lug around, not so puny I need to refill every 20 minutes. The slim profile means I can slip it in the side pocket of my pack and every cup holder Iā€™ve encountered. According to my tests, it keeps tea hot for 12+ hours and water chilled for 48+.

Still, you might say, many bottles do these things.

The clincher for the MultiBev is that the bottom screws off and becomes an elegant 16-ounce cupā€“perfect for a cocktail or glass of Merlot at 40,000 feet or ideal for a bedtime peppermint tea in my hotel room. Speaking of that peppermint tea, the cap of the MultiBev hides another neat feature: a foldable silicone sipper lid that fits neatly onto the cup for dribble-free drinking.

On a recent campervan trip in new Zealand, I discovered that the cup also doubles as a coozie for a beer can! I like a nice cold beer on occasion, and when I slip a can into the cup, it keeps it cool for a good long time, even in the hot sun.

I also like the little details: the easy-to-carry to handle, the non-slip rubber base, and the fact that the whole shebang is dishwasher safe.

The Impact of Using the CamelBak MultiBev on a 3-Day Trip

On a recent business trip from Boston to Boulder that involved air, bus, and Uber travel, I packed the MultiBev. I estimate that it allowed me to refuse about 34 single-use containers in 72 hours: six coffee cups and lids, probably 20+ plastic water bottles, and eight plastic airline cups.

Aside from travel, the MultiBev has become my daily bottle for around town as I try to avoid putting any single-use plastic to my lips. We all know plastic is everywhere these days. Iā€™ve written about some of the sneaky ways (like through laundry detergent and cutting boards) it gets into our environment and our bodies. Plastic is even .

But one thingā€™s for sure. From now on, I wonā€™t be drinking it.

Doing right by the planet can make you happier, healthier, andā€”yesā€”wealthier. °æ³Ü³Ł²õ¾±»å±šā€™s Head of Sustainability, Kristin Hostetter, explores small lifestyle tweaks that can make a big impact. Write to her at climateneutral-ish@outsideinc.com.

The post I Finally Found the Perfect Bottle for Plastic-Free Travel appeared first on ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Online.

I can remember my first ski coat clearly: a purple anorak made by Columbia that I got when I was 11 years old. It was the coat that kept me dry and warm as I learned to ski and, in my mind, it became an essential force field for the chairlift. I wore the damn thing until it shredded. I can also easily recall my first pair of higher-end ski pants. They were made by The North Face and were with me all through high school until they completely fell apart.

However, if you asked me to tell you what base layers I wore as I grew up skiing, Iā€™d laugh in your face. Base layers, while essential, are totally forgettable. Up until last year I had a bucket of random base layers that I picked through when I would go hunting, hiking, or skiing, but none of them left any kind of impression. I would just choose a merino top if I knew I was going to sweat a lot, and a thicker, synthetic layer if it was really cold.

Then last fall, I came across the from Stone Glacier. At first it seemed like just another base layer top with a hood. My opinion changed, however, when I was forced to live in the Chinook for four days straight after getting caught in a storm while hunting in New Mexico. It snowed hard for the first two days, so we ended up tent camping, hunting, hiking, and cooking outside in foot-deep snow. I wore the Chinook under a midlayer, a down jacket, and a waterproof snow jacket as we hiked into camp and then never took it off for the entire four days, not even when sleeping. Wearing the top for nearly 100 hours straight made me realize that the Chinook stood out strongly in an otherwise boring sea of base layer tops.

The Chinook isnā€™t just a standard merino shirt meant to insulate and vent sweat in cold conditions like the other base layers in my pile. Thanks to clever, well-thought-out tailoring and design features, itā€™s a versatile, comfortable, and now essential piece of my outdoor kit.

To start, other base-layer tops tend to be hemmed like t-shirts, so when you raise your arms the shirt comes over your belly. The short hem on these shirts also tends to get pushed up by hip straps, so youā€™re constantly pulling the shirt back down. Thanks to a longer cut on the Chinook, I never had either of these problems. I also loved how it stayed tucked into my ski pants while skiing so I never got snow down my waistband.

Because itā€™s designed as a hunting layer, Stone Glacier offset the shoulder seams lower than normal so that they wonā€™t rub your shoulders raw while carrying a heavy pack. This matters to backpackers and backcountry skiers as well, even if they carry less weight in their packs, since they haul those packs for long distances.

Stone Glacier chose a 17.5 micron merino wool, which is thick enough to work as your only layer when youā€™re huffing in temps near freezing. But itā€™s also thin enough to dump all your sweat and vent the majority of your excess heat. Iā€™ve worn it as my only top layer when climbing up to a glassing point to look for animals and for dawn patrol at my local ski area.

Last month I wore the Chinook while climbing the 14,000-foot Handies Peak in Colorado, and it was the only top layer I needed for a full morning of hiking in temps ranging from 38 degrees up to above 50. Not having to stop to add or shed layers made the trip easier and significantly more enjoyable.

The Chinook isnā€™t the only base layer with a hood, but the hood is better than any other Iā€™ve ever tested. Cut to snugly hug your head and cover your mouth when the front zipper is up, the Chinook hood is like a built-in balaclava. I regularly wear it under a ball cap while hiking and skiing to keep the sun off my face but not risk freezing my ears. It fits well under a ski helmet as well, and the face covering comes in handy when the wind is whipping and I need that extra bit of protection. The hood is so useful, in fact, that I often leave my beanie and neck tube at home, which means less gear to manage while out adventuring.

Finally, even after several hundred hours of use, the Chinook shows no signs of wearing out. Stone Glacier mixed the merino with a small amount of reinforcing nylon so Iā€™ve been able to get it stuck on tree branches, grind it under backpack straps, and generally abuse the material without ever worrying that I was going to put holes in the fabric. I know the Chinook will eventually shred like my other gear, but when it does Iā€™m sure Iā€™ll remember it as clearly as my trusty purple anorakā€”and Iā€™ll run out to buy a new one.

The post The Most Versatile Base Layer You’ll Ever Own appeared first on ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Online.

Winter hiking is not our favorite term, to be totally honest. It puts too much emphasis on the winter part, making it feel like you should be building snow caves or crossing a glacier to qualify. For many, however, winter hiking is simply a cold, possibly wet day hike on your usual trail, or an afternoon tromp through some snowy woods. The best winter hiking boots of 2024 work for all of those scenarios, keeping you dry, warm, and planted wherever your cold weather adventures may take you.

Winners at a Glance

• Best All-Around: Merrell MTL Thermo Rogue 4
• Best for Easy Day Hikes: Oboz Andesite II Mid
• Best for Technical Terrain: Salewa Ortles Light Mid PTX
• Best for Bushwacking: Meindl Bergell MFS Hiker
• Best for Deep Snow: Columbia Expeditionist Shield

The Reviews: The Best Winter Hiking Boots of 2024

Best All-Around: Merrell MTL Thermo Rogue 4 ($260)

Pros: Great for longer miles in mixed terrain
Cons: The aesthetic isnā€™t for everyone
Sizes:Ģż²Ń±š²Ōā€™s 7-15, °Ā“Ē³¾±š²Ōā€™s 5-11

The Thermo Rogue 4 is the unicorn of winter hikers; these boots strike the often elusive balance between a great hiker and a solid winter boot. They won us over as hikers thanks to a tall lightweight ballistic mesh and Gore-Tex membrane that provided plenty of ankle support but also snugged to our feet like a sock, creating a comfy, blister-free fit right out of the box. Their hiking chops are boosted by meaty, Vibram Arctic Grip outsole soles with five millimeter, terraced lugs lined with tiny teeth that bite into packed snow on otherwise sloppy terrain. During snowy treks in zero-degree weather, the boots provided just the right amount of warmth thanks to 200 grams of Primaloft Gold Eco Series synthetic insulation and Solarcore Aerogel for the insole and over the toe. Category manager Jakob Schiller wore these boots on a late winter hike in New Mexicoā€™s Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where he tramped through 12 miles of rocky trail and post-hole snow. ā€œWhen youā€™re hiking mixed terrain that has dirt and snow, nothing beats these boots,ā€ he said.

Bottom Line: Burly winter boot protection without the bulk

Best for Easy Day Hikes: Oboz Andesite II Mid Insulated B-Dry ($210)

Pros: Versatile, springy, comfortable
Cons: Not enough support for long hikes
Sizes: ²Ń±š²Ōā€™s 8-14

Our top pick for chill, short treks in winter, the Andesite II is an ultra-comfy daily hiker that will keep your feet happy in a variety of cold and wet conditions. Albuquerque, New Mexico-based tester Kip Malone loved the mid-high design and nubuck leather uppers, which created just enough support and protection for shorter hikes on dry, rocky terrain and enough structure to handle snowshoes and traction devices. A B-Dry waterproof/breathable membrane kept wet snow from seeping through, and 200 grams of recycled synthetic insulation was enough to keep the cold at bay without turning the boots into a hot box during strenuous uphill efforts. Malone praised the bootā€™s rebound, which comes primarily from a single-density EVA midsole that put ā€œa noticeable spring in every step on packed or hard surfaces.ā€ While thereā€™s a TPU shank sandwiched in the sole for support, testers found that the boots were too flimsy to qualify as long-haul footwear or a solid backpacking choice. They fit well out of the box, however, and were roomy enough to allow for midweight winter socks without sizing up.

Bottom Line: A good all-arounder for weekend warriors.

Best for Technical Terrain: Salewa Ortles Light Mid PTX Boot ($300)

Pros: Rock-friendly outsole, rock plate, crampon compatibility
Cons: Expensive
Sizes: ²Ń±š²Ōā€™s 7-13, °Ā“Ē³¾±š²Ōā€™s 7-11

Vanlifer Max Halbach is a German native who grew up scrambling over exposed terrain in places like Austriaā€™s Wilder Kaiser and Scotlandā€™s Black Cuillin Ridge. That made him especially appreciative of the Ortles Light Mid PTX boot, which is designed as a fully-waterproof light hiker that can handle mixed technical terrain, including rock, snow, and ice. Its dexterity on steep rock is owed to a grippy Pomoca Alpine Light outsole that smeared and held fast on smooth rock, but also provided solid protection in chundery, loose rock. The uppers are made from a PFC-free, Cordura-like fabric that was tough as nails, helped keep the weight down (only 20 ounces for a menā€™s size 9) and, in combination with extra padding around the ankle, provided Halbach with a snug fit. Burley bonuses like a midsole rock plate to prevent bruising and crampon-compatible heel welt vault this lightweight boot into light mountaineering territory. ā€œThese boots are overkill for the average hiker, but if you want to get after it, look here,ā€ says Halbach.

Bottom Line: Perfect for steep, technical hikes on mixed terrain

Best for Bushwacking: Meindl Bergell MFS Hiker ($320)

Pros: Ultra durable, supportive
Cons: Heavy
Sizes: ²Ń±š²Ōā€™s 7-12

In some winter scenarios, itā€™s better to not have insulation in your boot. Thatā€™s because insulated hikers can overheat when youā€™re really huffing up a trail, leaving your feet clammy and cold. When category manager Jakob Schiller chased elk through the mountains of New Mexico and hiked in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this winter, he reached for the Bergell MFSā€™s. With thick leather uppers lined with a Gore-Tex membrane and a fleece layer under the footbed, the boots kept all moisture at bay better than a typical insulated boot, and, when matched with a medium-thick wool sock, created plenty of warmth for cold days down to 10 degrees. The boots are heftier than others we tested, weighing in at three and a half pounds per pair, and took a minute to break in, owing to that thick leather build, but were also the most durable and reliable boots in test thanks to a meaty, multidirectional Vibram outsole and full rubber rand. ā€œNo matter where I put my footā€”into a bog, on a rock in a scree field, on a grassy slopeā€”I knew I would be safe. I wasnā€™t going to lose traction or roll my ankle,ā€ says Schiller. Bonus: because the boots arenā€™t lined, they can also pull double-duty as summer backpacking boots in mild conditions.

Bottom Line: A burly boot for heavy loads and tough terrain in milder climates

Best for Deep Snow: Columbia Expeditionist Shield ($140)

Pros: Fully waterproof, light for the level of insulation
Cons: Not built for long miles
Sizes: ²Ń±š²Ōā€™s 7 ā€“ 15

If you smashed together a duck boot, a deep-winter boot, and a regular hiker, youā€™d get the Expeditionist Shield. Columbiaā€™s arrow-shaped treads and outsole held tight to packed snow, felt solid on icy patches, and was just stiff enough to not leave tester Kip Maloneā€™s feet fatigued on dirt trails. Thanks to an entirely rubber bottom section, Malone found these boots were ideal for stomping through sloppy wet snow without fear of seepage. (Thereā€™s a waterproof membrane lining the full boot as well.) The deep-winter chops come from 200 grams of synthetic insulation and a reflective liner, which, when matched with a wool sock, was warm enough for snowshoeing on bitter days when temps dipped well below freezing. Malone stood around in the snow without moving for 30 minutes and was pleasantly surprised to find that his feet were still plenty warm. The Expeditionist Shields arenā€™t quite insulated enough for ice fishing in Minnesota, but theyā€™re far more nimbleā€”perfect for hikes in the three to five mile range.

Bottom line: Armor for all but the coldest conditions and unavoidable slush

How to Buy

The first question to ask about buying Winter Hikers: Where and how will I use them? Do you live in Colorado and love to snowshoe, or are you down in Georgia and just in need of something waterproof and warmer than a normal boot? Will you be running and fast-packing in the boots, or carrying a heavy pack over rough terrain and sitting around a campfire? Narrowing down your use-case is absolutely necessary because winter hikers are more specific in their design than normal hikersā€”you donā€™t want to get stuck with a boot thatā€™s too warm, heavy, or stiff. To help you make the right choice, here are the factors youā€™ll want to consider.

Insulation

In our testing, most synthetic insulations are similar in terms of warmth. Pay less attention to the type of insulation and more to the amount. Hikers that will keep you warm in the snow but not overheat your foot often come with about 200 grams of insulation. Boots with more insulation are often designed for inactive use (apres, ice fishing, etc.) and not for hiking.

Traction

Just like winter tires that are designed to perform on snow and ice, some winter hikers come with winter soles designed to do the same. Vibramā€™s Artic Grip outsole has a proprietary compound (theyā€™re very tight-lipped) that makes a noticeable difference in terms of traction on wet ice. And the lugs on Merrellā€™s Thermo Rouge 4 have tiny teeth that bite into packed snow and kept us from falling on our faces.

Waterproofing

If youā€™re serious about winter hiking, your boot should have a waterproof membrane. Weā€™ve seen folks head out with leather boots treated with waterproofing spray or oil and they never perform as well as a tried-and-true Gore-Tex (or similar) membrane. Weā€™re sticklers about moisture, because wet, cold feet will mean the end of your hikeā€”or worse.

Fit

Like all boots, winter hikers will tear your feet to pieces if they donā€™t fit well. Even if you canā€™t try on your preferred boots at a local store, go ahead and order them, wear them around your house for a couple days, and make sure your foot isnā€™t screaming to get out. Youā€™ll want to pay attention to things like heel slippage (which causes blisters), toe space, overall width (do you feel better in a narrow boot or wider boot?), ankle support, and how easy they are to pull on and off.

How We Test

• Number of testers: 8
• Number of products tested: 13
• Coldest temp experienced: -5
• Highest elevation reached: 12,500 feet

To qualify for our test, this yearā€™s winter hikers needed to have the basics: strong hiking chops with added warmth for colder conditions. But thatā€™s just the beginning. We field-tested and analyzed waterproofing, traction, comfort, and stabilityā€”four critical factors in winter climatesā€”in conjunction with the level of warmth retention a boot offered.

To put these boots through their paces, we set out to the coldest, snowiest places we could find, including Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Alta, Utah, both of which set annual records for snowfall in 2023. Testers ran the gamut from carefree van dwellers who were criss-crossing the country to winter athletes to moms and dads with just a few hours to burn off steam. During the test we clomped through fresh snow, tried our best to slip in icy parking lots, post-holed on late-winter hikes, and stood around in snowbanks to see how long it took for our feet to go numb. But most importantly, we put in miles. If a boot wasnā€™t comfortable, supportive, and reliable, it didnā€™t make our list.

Meet Our Lead Testers

Kip Malone is a grumpy old man. At least when it comes to footwear. At 58 heā€™s moved past ā€œgiving things a shotā€ and straight to ā€œit better work.ā€ He doesnā€™t have time to deal with shoes that give him blisters, come with unnecessary features, or leave his feet cold when heā€™s out trying to get miles in on the trails around the Sandia Mountains outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. In other words, heā€™s the perfect tester. Over the decade heā€™s been testing for ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų, Malone estimates he has worn 200-plus pairs of boots.

Jakob Schiller is a former gear editor at ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų and now a columnist. He also lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but traveled the country this winter in search of all manner of snowy, icy conditions. He tested various boots in places including Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the Rockies outside of Denver, Colorado, trails around Flagstaff, Arizona, and in the mountains near Taos, New Mexico. Heā€™s not as grumpy as Malone, but does have four kids that help him to appreciate the little free time he does have.

The post The Best Winter Hiking Boots of 2024 appeared first on ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Online.

I made my first backpacking stove in my college girlfriendā€™s backyard with a hole punch and a can of Fancy Feast. After emptying the cat food in the trash (she didnā€™t have a cat, and I was a dirtbag but not like that) and removing the label, I marked two alternating lines of holes on the can and punched them out. We inaugurated the stove that night at a primitive campsite in , boiling up hot cocoa while we watched the city lights twinkle on one side of the hills and listened to the waves lap at the shore on the other.

Years later, I found that stove in a box in my closet while I was getting ready to move house. I spent a minute turning it over, thinking about the miles I had logged with it, in California and New Mexico and Colorado, the coffee brewed and the meals cooked under a clear desert sky. Then, I threw it in the recycling. Iā€™ve never bothered making another.

Alcohol-burning stoves used to be de rigueur for ultralighters, and making your ownā€”whether out of a Coke or cat food canā€”was a rite of passage. While itā€™s not clear when hikers started making their own, lightweight alcohol-fueled stoves have been around for well over 100 years, with Swedish manufacturer Trangia beginning to build theirs in 1925. But now, theyā€™ve become a tool on the margins, mostly found in the packs of and die-hard old-schoolers. With tech making them obsolete and a warming and drying world making them hazardous, itā€™s time to bid a fond farewell to the alcohol stove.

Alcohol burners may have been easy to make, but they werenā€™t what youā€™d call easy to use. My design, the ā€œSuper Cat,ā€ was probably the simplest: You poured in some alcohol, touched a match to it, and put your pot on top. But it took some getting used to. I singed a few arm hairs lighting mine up or adjusting the tinfoil windscreens I used with it, and the lack of simmer control meant it was pretty much only good for boiling water. (Some more complicated models let you adjust the flame, though not as easily as a canister or liquid-fuel burner.) If you put in more than the exact amount of fuel you needed, extinguishing the flame was tricky; I usually snuffed it out with my empty pot, being careful not to burn myself. Where the learning curve on most modern stoves is gentle, I melted a puffy and spilled burning fuel in a couple of fire rings before I got the hang of the cat food can.

Is it any wonder, then, that modern backpackers are mostly giving them up? Lightweight canister stoves like the come in at less than 2 ounces, sip fuel, and turn off with the twist of a valve; direct-from-manufacturer versions . Itā€™s the same trend that ultralight gear as a whole has charted over the past few decades: Where going light used to mean sewing a quilt and tarp yourself, today thereā€™s a laundry list of manufacturers big and small using modern materials to create more reliable, durable, and easy-to-use lightweight gear than most people could ever craft at home. Whatā€™s more, the most extreme ultralighters have largely cottoned on to the fact that no stove will ever be as light as, well, no stove, and have chosen to cold-soak instead of mess around with alcohol burners.

Then there are the fire restrictions. As climate change drives temperatures higher and causes wildfires to burn faster, hotter, and , forests and even entire states are commonly spending months under fire bans. While those bans usually allow camping stoves, they consider alcohol stoves to be open flames and generally prohibit their use. Even if you still prefer your Coke can stove to your Pocket Rocket, you need to either find a backup or potentially give up on being able to eat cooked food in the backcountry during the summer and fall.

Alcohol stoves arenā€™t completely extinct. Some companies like and are still turning out commercial versions of my old Fancy Feast stove, and thereā€™s something to be said for having a lightweight device that can burn anything when youā€™re flying somewhere camping fuel is hard to find. But for most backpackers, especially in North America, carrying one is like making a tarp out of Tyvek: something that you do because you want to prove you can or because youā€™re too stubborn to change. If youā€™re still rocking your old spirit burner, I salute you, and please check for fire bans before you light up. If youā€™re not? Donā€™t bother.

Counterpoint: Long Live the Alcohol Stove

Not so fast. I wonā€™t be giving up my alcohol stove any time soon. Iā€™m quite fond of it. Itā€™s a that weighs 10 ounces and includes the burner, pot, windscreen, and plastic, lidded, insulated container that doubles as a bowl and cup. True, there are faster, easier cookers out there. But sometimes thatā€™s not the point.

Sometimes I want to lean against a log and listen to the wind in the leaves instead of a roaring canister stove on high. Sometimes I want to wait patiently and gratefully for my water to bubble (about 8 minutes is all), especially when a delicious meal will follow. ( is my absolute favorite.) Sometimes I donā€™t want to lug around multiple fuel canisters and figure out how to recycle them after my trip. Sometimes I just want to go old schoolā€“simple, ultralight, and uncomplicated. And when I do, Iā€™ll keep going back to my trusty alcohol stove. ā€”Kristin Hostetter, Head of Sustainability and Contributing Editor

The post RIP to the Alcohol Stove appeared first on ŗŚĮĻ³Ō¹ĻĶų Online.