Gear Review: Five Ten Access Hiking Shoes

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Five Ten Access
Five Ten Access

Hiking/Approach Shoes
Five Ten Access
$140, 1 lb. 10 oz. (US men’s 9)
Sizes: US men’s 4-14
moosejaw.com

Five Ten bills the Access as a go-anywhere, do-anything shoe, so I thought I’d test the authenticity of that claim on an 8.5-hour, 20-mile, 4,500-foot, mid-September trail run-hike of the Alice Lake-Toxaway Lake Loop in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains—including, midway through our day, a 1,400-foot, third-class scramble up 10,651-foot Snowyside Peak. I was honestly a little nervous about committing my feet to these shoes for such a long day, mostly out of concern that they’re not really designed primarily as a trail-running shoe. As it turned out, my feet were as comfortable as they’ve ever been on an ultra-hike or long trail run. Here’s why.

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Patagonia Nano Puff Hoody

Review: Patagonia Nano Puff Hoody

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Synthetic Insulated Jacket
Patagonia Nano Puff Hoody
$299, 13 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXL, women’s XXS-XL
backcountry.com

A lot of people wore this jacket before I did—or, more accurately, a lot of people wore most of this jacket—before I zipped it up at my campsite on a rocky ledge high above Baron Lake in Idaho’s magnificent Sawtooth Mountains. But I wouldn’t know that by simply looking at or wearing my Nano Puff Hoody. I’m speaking only partly metaphorically: Besides having excellent performance qualities, this jacket now contains cutting-edge, synthetic insulation that comes mostly from recycled polyester—which means that it’s not only good for me in the backcountry, but it’s good for the planet my kids are inheriting.

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Deuter Speed Lite 20 daypack.

Review: Deuter Speed Lite 20 Daypack

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Daypack
Deuter Speed Lite 20
$80, 20L/1,220 c.i. 1 lb. 3 oz.
One size
backcountry.com

At first glance, Deuter’s Speed Lite 20 struck me as a daypack with the right capacity and features for virtually any adventure—and super lightweight, which I like. So I decided to put it to a serious test, on an 8.5-hour, 20-mile, 4,500-foot, mid-September trail run-hike of the Alice Lake-Toxaway Lake Loop in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, including a 1,400-foot, third-class scramble up 10,651-foot Snowyside Peak. And there’s much to like about the Speed Lite 20.

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Along the Bayview Trail, Desolation Wilderness, California.

Photo Gallery: A Desolation Wilderness Dayhike

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By Michael Lanza

Although California’s Desolation Wilderness had long been on my list of places I wanted to explore, my first dayhike there happened serendipitously. We had just finished a 65-mile backpacking trip in Yosemite National Park and were planning on launching straight into an 86-miler in northern Yosemite, but wildfire smoke sent us packing. So we wound up in the Lake Tahoe area, which wasn’t getting smoke from the fires, looking for a dayhike. And we found a great one.

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Gear Review: Leki Micro Vario Carbon DSS Folding Trekking Poles

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Leki Micro Vario Carbon Antishock Trekking Poles
Leki Micro Vario Carbon Antishock Trekking Poles

Trekking Poles
Leki Micro Vario Carbon DSS Folding Trekking Poles
$220, 1 lb. 1 oz. (110-130 cm).
Sizes: regular/unisex 110-130 cm, Lady 100-120cm
moosejaw.com

How much does a good pair of trekking poles matter? I used these three-section, folding poles on a dayhike in August that I wasn’t certain I could finish: the 32-mile, 10,000-vertical-foot, nine-summit Pemi Loop in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. For the last few miles, the poles may have been the only thing holding me up. Whether or not you intend to take absurdly long hikes, this one did help me identify the many strengths of Leki’s Micro Vario Carbon DSS Folding Trekking Poles, and evaluate the usefulness of the antishock mechanism.

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