Gear Reviews

Gear Review: GoLite Rush 20 Daypack

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GoLite Rush 20

Daypack
GoLite Rush 20
$120, 1 lb. 3 oz. (S-M)
20L/1,220 c.i.
Unisex sizes S-M and M-L
golite.com

For a long dayhike, mountain bike ride, or adventure race, I like a daypack that’s light, well-organized so that I can quickly get what I want from it, doesn’t make my back all clammy, and is almost unnoticeable when I’m carrying it. The Rush 20 is all of those things. On back-to-back dayhikes of 27 miles and 22 miles in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, and a shorter dayhike with my family in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, I hauled as much as 15 pounds for up to 12 hours, and never once thought about my load.

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Gear Review: Loda Kody Mid GTX Junior Kids Boots

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Lowa Kody Mid GTX Junior

Kids Boots
Lowa Kody Mid GTX Junior
$160, 1 lb. 11 oz. (size US 5/Euro 38)
Sizes: Euro 27-42
lowaboots.com

My 11-year-old son—who has tested at least one model of boots every year since he began backpacking at age five—pronounced these kid backpacking boots comfortable the moment he first put them on. He then went on to sing their praises through a weeklong, hut-to-hut trek in Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park, and a five-day, 38-mile backpacking trip in Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness.

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Gear Review: CW-X Pro Shorts

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CW-X Pro Shorts

Trail Running Shorts

CW-X Pro Shorts
$72, 6 oz. (men’s small)
Sizes: men’s S-XL
cw-x.com

After numerous hilly trail runs in my local Boise Foothills—ranging from six miles to a 25.5-mile, 4,600-foot, seven-hour July morning trail run-hike—I’m completely sold on the physiological benefits of these compression running shorts. Even on that 25-miler (running about three-quarters of the distance, walking the rest), a distance that would typically leave my quads feeling very worked and bloated with lactic acid, I felt strong right to the finish. My recovery from that run was faster, too, with much less stiffness and residual fatigue than I’m accustomed to after that long an outing.

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Gear Review: Hiking Shorts from GoLite and MontBell

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Hiking Shorts

GoLite Yunnan Shorts

GoLite Yunnan Hiking Shorts
$75, 6 oz. (men’s small)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
golite.com

Hot summer hiking is a breeze in these shorts. I wore them for five straight, hot August days backpacking with my family (read: sweating under a heavy pack) in Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness, and on summer dayhikes from Idaho to New Hampshire’s rugged and humid White Mountains. These shorts are cool and dry fast, thanks to mesh-lined hand pockets and a lighter, thinner nylon than is used in many other hiking shorts—perfect for summer hiking.

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Gear Review: MontBell EX Light Down Jacket

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MontBell EX Light Down Jacket

Ultralight Puffy
MontBell EX Light Down Jacket
$190, 5 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s S-XL
montbell.us

Don’t ask: How lightweight can a down jacket be and still keep you warm? Instead, reframe the question: How light a puffy do you want and how does it fit into your layering system? With sewn-through construction to prevent down from migrating, elastic cuffs to seal out drafts, and no hand pockets, this jacket stuffed with just 1.8 ounces of premium, 900-fill down feathers is no fat puffy. But it’s a very light stand-alone insulation piece for mild summer temperatures, or a versatile middle layer in a system that you can customize for a variety of outdoor activities in any season.

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