America’s Best Backpacking and Outdoor Adventures
By Michael Lanza
Whatever you need an insulated jacket for, there’s a down or synthetic puffy for your needs, within your budget. And whether you want a puffy jacket for outdoor activities like backpacking, camping, skiing, climbing, and hut treks, or just to keep you warm around town or at outdoor sporting events, this review will help you figure out how to choose the right jacket for your purposes, and it spotlights the best down and synthetic insulated jackets available today.
By Michael Lanza
You’re out on an all-day hike or a long climb or trail run or ride in the mountains. The weather forecast looked pretty good before you set out—but no one shared that memo with the wind that just started hammering your summit ridge, or the spitting rain and hail now pelting you as you contemplate the sudden drop in temperature and the miles between you and shelter. The question now is: What’s in your pack?
If you’re smart, it’s an ultralight jacket that takes up little space, but is about to gift you with just the right amount of weather protection when you need it.
Rain Jacket and Full-Zip Pants
Black Diamond Fineline Stretch Shell
$189, 10 oz./283.5g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-3XL, women’s 2XS-2XL
Men’s: blackdiamondequipment.com
Women’s: blackdiamondequipment.com
Few places test rain gear as brutally as New Zealand’s chronically rainy Fiordland National Park—which is where I put Black Diamond’s Fineline Stretch Shell and Full-Zip Pants through the paces in early December (late spring there) on two classic hut treks where rain occurs almost as prevalently as oxygen: the Routeburn Track and the Milford Track (photo above). In some of the heaviest and most relentless wind-driven rain I’ve encountered over four decades of hiking and backpacking, this jacket and pants performed quite impressively—and I saw their limits.
Hooded, Breathable Insulated Jacket
Black Diamond First Light Stretch Hoody
$299, 14 oz./397g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
blackdiamondequipment.com
Campsite temperatures below freezing in Utah’s High Uintas Wilderness in October and around 40° F in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains in August proved the warmth of BD’s First Light Stretch Hoody. But this jacket’s versatility goes well beyond warmth, owing to synthetic stretch insulation that’s breathable, packable, and warm for its weight, and traps heat even when wet—making it potentially the only insulated jacket you need for a variety of activities year-round.
By Michael Lanza
Choosing a daypack for hiking can seem overwhelming when you see the dozens of choices available today, which range all over the map in terms of volume, weight, carrying capacity, features, and cost—as well as fit and comfort. Look no further. This freshly updated review spotlights the best daypacks for hiking and offers expert buying tips that explain the subtle differences between packs to help you find the right one for your own adventures.