Backpacking and hiking gear reviews from Outdoor Prolink’s professional mountain guides, wilderness guides, retail employees and other outdoor industry professionals.
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…
During the summer months, I’m in the mountains as often as the weather (and my job) allow me to be. Over the years I’ve tried to make my hiking pack as light as possible but there’s one thing I just…
Let me preface this review by saying that my search for a replacement multi-day pack has just about pushed the boundaries of friendships, store clerks and maybe even manufacturers. Whether it’s that I have somehow grown into in-between sizes that…
This year I spent the entire month of May in Nepal on a geologic expedition exploring the mountains around Everest. In preparation for this trip, I was looking for clothing that is able to endure long days of hiking and…
As years and years pass, and we mature, gifts always become increasingly difficult to give and receive. We know what we like, either we already own it or we’re fine without something. I knew I had reached adulthood when I…
The La Sportiva TX3’s served as the perfect shoe to help get me out of my winter slump and into full-on, hardcore, spring sendage mode. Through several climbing trips to the around the Midwest and Southeast, around town, and even…
Cold. Wet. Sloppy. Such is springtime in Montana. As the mountains slowly release from the depths of winter, feet of snow start melting off, feeding gluttonous rivers that rise from tranquil trout streams to raging torrents. Perfect conditions for testing…
Being that I sold sunglasses for several years at one of the top retailers in the US I’m very picky when it comes to my sunnies. I know what I want and what I don’t. I don’t want a brittle…