Backpacking and hiking gear reviews from Outdoor Prolink’s professional mountain guides, wilderness guides, retail employees and other outdoor industry professionals.
I got my first down jacket in 1994, and as an east coast ice climber immediately dismissed it as useless. Any sort of precipitation rendered it a clumpy, soggy mess; worse than nothing. The synthetic revolution was happening, and sacrificing…
I tested the VOORMI High-E hoodie for 45 days, and I mean straight. I wore this hoodie every single day at some point, or sometimes for all 24 hours. Climbing in Yosemite Valley, exploring slot canyons in Utah, ski touring…
The nucleus of the mountaineer’s world… the Himalayas. A remarkable residence of giants with arms reaching from the heavens to the world below. 14 peaks over 8000 meters, the highest point on earth and a culture ingrained into the fabric…
Never heard of BlackYak? You’re not alone. They are relatively new to the US market (starting in South Korea), and making waves in the outdoor industry with their high end (and awesome!) products. The Women’s Bakosi jacket is meant for…
From climbing around the Rocky Mountains and San Juans to hiking around local bouldering areas, Outdoor Research’s Women’s Optimizer Jacket kept me DRY this Spring. This jacket is so incredibly (and surprisingly) lightweight that it has replaced my other hardshells…
Native Eyewear’s El Jefe Sunglasses are the stylish pair of shades that perform in any light condition the outdoors will throw at you. In order to test the Native Eyewear El Jefe sunglasses, they became my every day and every-adventure…
I sleep in my car. A lot. Summer, winter, rain, hail – it doesn’t matter. There’s something about being snug in a tight space, nothing but the open sky right out your door and birds singing you a good morning…
You’re at the trailhead, your alarm goes off at 4 am, and you begin your hike zombie style because you slept terribly in the back of your car last night – you’ve been there. You toss and turn endlessly in…
For some folks, their office views are about as lame as the dress shoes they are wearing to work every day. Lucky for me I don’t have that problem, and my hiking boots take the place of my dress shoes…
“Lite” is right when it comes to the SlingFin 2Lite Tent. Like all of my gear, it passed the kitchen scale weight test, making its way into my pack for a couple of summer adventures. But weight isn’t everything. As…