Gear Reviews

Salewa Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX boots.

Review: Salewa Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX Boots

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Backpacking and Trekking Boots
Salewa Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX
$230, 2 lbs. 5 oz./1.05 kg (men’s US 9/Euro 42)
Sizes: US men’s 7-14, women’s 6-10.5
publiclands.com

Eight days of hiking in Iceland, including two dayhikes totaling nearly 10 miles of the peaks Blahnukur and Brennisteinsalda in the Fjallabak Nature Preserve and six days trekking nearly 49 miles on the world-class Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls trails, presented the full range of conditions that will test any boots: rain falling at times on most days, temperatures from the 30s to 50s Fahrenheit, and hiking on often-wet dirt, pebbles, rocks, mud, and slick, wet snow. I chose Salewa’s Alp Trainer 2 Mid GTX precisely for dealing with those conditions and they truly passed every test with flying colors.

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Beyond Clothing Alpha Aura Jacket.

Review: Beyond Clothing Alpha Aura Jacket

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Hooded Fleece Jacket
Beyond Clothing Alpha Aura Jacket
$180, 12 oz./340g (men’s medium)
beyondclothing.com

On days of resort and backcountry skiing ranging from relatively mild winter temperatures just below freezing to a frigid day ski touring that dropped to 10° F by the time I finished, Beyond Clothing’s hooded Alpha Aura Jacket demonstrated its versatility as a supremely breathable middle and outer layer for cool- to cold-weather activities year-round, with unique design features that improve its weather protection and durability under a backpack.

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The Mystery Ranch Tower 47 climbing pack.

Review: Mystery Ranch Tower 47 Crag Pack

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Rock Climbing Crag Pack
Mystery Ranch Tower 47
$325, 47L/2,870 c.i., 4 lbs., 7 oz./2 kg
backcountry.com

When it comes time to huck a heavy rack of gear to the crag, most climbers I know conscript a hiking or backpacking pack to the task. Invariably, their gear ends up in a massive, twisted pile of cooked spaghetti in that pack’s main compartment, and these climbers must then dump everything out to find what they need and repack each time they move to another route. With the Tower 47, Mystery Ranch solved this problem by designing a pack for cragging from the ground-up. With a high capacity, the comfort for carrying your most heinous load, a mission-specific design, and durable construction, Mystery Ranch has created a pack that I have no complaints about after two years of frequent use.

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The BioLite Headlamp 800 Pro.

Review: BioLite Headlamp 800 Pro

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Rechargeable Ultralight Headlamp
BioLite Headlamp 800 Pro
$120, 5.3 oz./150g
bioliteenergy.com

From an 18-mile, 13-hour, four-summit, partly off-trail hike in Utah’s Wasatch Range in early October to many evenings biking city streets after dark, I’ve found that BioLite’s rechargeable Headlamp 800 Pro stands out for a rare combination of ultra-bright power, wide range of modes, modest weight for a backcountry headlamp that packs this much power and versatility.

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The Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32 ski touring pack.

Review: Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32 Ski Touring Pack

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Ski Touring Pack
Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32
$200, 30L/1,831 c.i., 2 lbs. 9 oz./1.2 kg (S/M)
Sizes: S/M and M/L (32L/1,953 c.i.)
blackdiamondequipment.com

When ski touring or riding in the backcountry, besides our skis or board, our pack becomes the piece of gear we interact with the most—and we place competing demands on a ski touring pack: We want it light and comfortable for the up and the down but to also have easy, quick access and critical organization and features. On many days of backcountry ski touring, I found the Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 32balances those demands well and excels for backcountry and side country tours that involve more minimalist capacity needs.

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