Sometimes products just plain make sense. For decades, campers have lugged chests full of ice and/or frigid water from home to camp to keep their food and beverages chilled. All the while, the campers themselves sweated in the heat of a summer camp. IcyBreeze lets campers enjoy that inner chill even when not sipping on Read more ›
Just as the vehicle you choose to be the “mobile” in your mobile adventuring is essential to the success of that venture, the right awning can turn you from a weekend warrior to a semi-pro outdoor nomad who takes their Monday morning Zoom meeting in the middle of their favorite state forest. It’s a slippery Read more ›
I started getting paid to hike – or rather, to write about my hiking adventures – when I was 23. Now, 35 years and upwards of 34,000 trail miles later, I have many great memories, countless stories in print (including hundreds of reviews and stories here at Gear Institute), and several creaky joints – my Read more ›
For centuries, those who slept outside – armies, travelers, stock herders, hikers, etc. – relied on a ‘bedroll’ for their sleeping needs. The classic bedroll consisted of only a canvas ground sheet, a blanket or two, and maybe a small pillow. Today, though, the bedroll looks a bit different, thanks to the designers at Born Read more ›
The personal cooler was a mainstay in modern society when I was growing up. My dad took an Igloo Playmate with him to his suit-and-tie job every day. By 1980s standards, it was the bee’s knees. But let’s be real here, those things didn’t keep anything cold for more than a couple of hours. That Read more ›
When Orvis unveiled the Helios 3 series of rods in 2017, the Gear Institute test team declared them nearly perfect. The 9-foot, 5-weight Helios 3 earned a score of 99/100 – the best score of any trout rod we’ve tested in nearly 20 years. Enter 2024, and the new Helios series (NOT Helios 4 – Read more ›
Arc’teryx launched its original line of footwear in 2015 — it was a natural progression considering they had been owned by Salomon since the early 2000’s. But now the company has brought all design and development of their line of approach and trail running footwear in-house. Designed in conjunction with Arc’teryx sponsored athletes, these new Read more ›
Many adventures in the outdoors begin with a plan on what to bring. Once that’s put together, you need a good pack to carry it all. Taking that one step further, you also need to make sure that things are accessible. In the last few years, fanny packs – now known as “hip packs” have Read more ›
Orvis impressed our review teams with the first three generations of their award-winning Helios fly rod series. The original Helios and the Helios 2 (reviewed here) made great advances in graphite rod design and construction. The Helios 3 (see here) created a whole new level of performance in flyrods. It also earned the highest score Read more ›
No matter who you have on your shopping list, we think we’ve found some gifts sure to please any outdoors person. Holiday Gift Guide 2023 Under $50 Biolite Alpenglow Mini Biolite revolutionized camp cooking with their wood-fired stove and battery charger. But the company also makes a line of lighting solutions that are innovative, well-designed, and Read more ›
Having spent the last few years focusing mostly on accessories, limited edition tools, and new colorways on some of their classics, Leatherman closes out 2023 with their most advanced multitool to date — the Arc. Leatherman’s current multitool offering is pretty vast. You could set yourself up nicely with a tool like the Rev for Read more ›
Yoshina B660-SST As battery technology has improved, rechargeable power blocks are replacing portable gas generators as the preferred source of power in remote camps. Plenty of options exist in this field, but a couple of new products from Yoshino Power have impressed our team. For general basecamp use, the Yoshina B660-SST model offers everything needed Read more ›