Michael Lanza

Gear Review: Osprey Atmos 65 Backpack

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Osprey Atmos 65

Backpack
Osprey Atmos 65
$239, 3 lbs. 7 oz. (medium)
Sizes: S 62L/3,783 c.i., M 65L/3,967 c.i., L 68L/4,150 c.i.
ospreypacks.com

When you’re carrying a heavy pack on a hot day, a breeze across your sweaty back can feel like a plunge into a cool swimming hole. That may be the first thing you notice about the Atmos 65 (which also comes in a 50-liter version; the women’s packs are the Aura 65 and 50): the ventilated mesh back panel keeps the pack off of your back, allowing for excellent airflow. But you get more than just a cool back with the Atmos and Aura packs—you get high-end fit and organization.

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Gear Review: Westcomb Switch LT Hoody Jacket

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Westcomb Switch LT Hoody

Four-Season Jacket
Westcomb Switch LT Hoody
$430, 15 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL
westcomb.com

A more breathable waterproof shell seems to be the holy grail of apparel manufacturers these days, and I’m all for that. Polartec says its NeoShell polyurethane membrane has the durability, ability to block wind, and waterproofing of a hard shell, and the breathability, stretch, and supple feel of a soft shell—while coming in lighter than competing technologies in both categories. If the Switch LT Hoody is an indication of where apparel makers can go with NeoShell, I think we’ll be seeing more and more jackets that can legitimately be called a four-season shell.

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Gear Review: Ribz Front Pack

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Ribz Front Pack

Ribz Front Pack
$60, 12 oz. (small)
Sizes: Small (fits waists 26-36 inches), regular (fits waists 32-46 inches)
ribzwear.com

Backpacks are great. They’re an enormously efficient way to carry a lot of gear. The downside, of course, is that you cannot get at most of what’s inside a backpack without taking it off. For years, I’ve used a chest pack for my camera gear and tried other front carrier packs without really finding a system that I loved. The Ribz Front Pack has now solved one of my most enduring gear dilemmas by being everything I’ve sought: convenient, adequately roomy, comfortable, and entirely unobtrusive.

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Gear Review: Mammut Spindrift Guide 40L Ski Pack

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Mammut Spindrift Guide 40L

Backcountry Skiing Pack
Mammut Spindrift Guide 40L
$190, 3 lbs. 3 oz.
One size, adjustable
mammut.ch

For all the backcountry skiing packs on the market, it’s hard to find one that’s comfortable, well organized without being over-engineered and too heavy—and that’s large enough for multi-day yurt trips and gear-intensive users like guides, yet with the versatility to shrink for smaller loads. I know this, because I’ve spent literally three years trying out packs for my good friend Chago Rodriguez, a ski guide and avalanche-safety instructor. Mammut’s Spindrift Guide 40L is the first backcountry skiing pack that we both really like, simply because it met all of our admittedly picky criteria.

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Gear Review: Five Ten Pursuit Boots

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Five Ten Pursuit

Lightweight Boots
Five Ten Pursuit
$150, 2 lbs. 6 oz. (men’s US size 9)
Sizes: men’s 7-12, 13, 14
fiveten.com

I don’t personally anticipate a future in military special ops or SWAT—which these shoes were designed for—but after wearing them while hiking and scrambling with a 30-pound climbing pack in Idaho’s Castle Rocks State Park, plus off-trail hiking and on a technical descent of a slot canyon in Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park, I think the Pursuit is a great dayhiking and scrambling shoe.

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