Hiking Gear Reviews

Salewa Wildfire hiking and approach shoes.

Gear Review: Salewa Wildfire Hiking-Approach Shoes

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Hiking/Approach Shoes
Salewa Wildfire
$129, 1 lb. 11 oz. (US men’s 9)
Sizes: US men’s 6-12, women’s 3-9
moosejaw.com

The term “approach shoes” can misleadingly imply that those shoes aren’t made for dayhikers who largely stick to trails, perhaps only occasionally wandering off-trail, when actually, that couldn’t be further from the truth. For years, I’ve found that shoes lumped into this category are my favorite picks for typical dayhikes of any distance, on trails ranging from packed dirt to rocky, and I’ve liked them for performance aspects that should appeal to most hikers: good fit and breathability, protective uppers, and outstanding traction. Hit those targets while making the shoe lighter and it’s even more attractive. That’s why I tried out the low-cut Salewa Wildfire on hikes ranging from a nine-mile, roughly 2,500-foot jaunt to Observation Point and Hidden Canyon in Zion National Park to hiking and scrambling on spring days at Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve.

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Patagonia Nine Trails 20 daypack.

Review: Patagonia Nine Trails 20L Daypack

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Daypack
Patagonia Nine Trails 20L
$129, 20L/1,220 c.i., 1 lb. 11 oz. (S/M)
Sizes: S/M and L/XL
backcountry.com

What’s an ideal daypack for three-season hikes? When you’re only carrying food, water, extra clothing, and perhaps some incidentals like camera gear (as I do), a daypack of 15 to 20 liters is ideal for most dayhikers in three-season conditions: They’re light on your back but offer all the space and features you need. Sometimes the story behind a piece of gear will appear sparse, precisely because it dispenses with the superfluous in service to functionality. On various dayhikes from Zion National Park to a 27-mile, 16-hour traverse of western Maine’s Mahoosuc Range, I found the Nine Trails 20L hits a sweet spot for supremely easy access, low weight, capacity, and comfort.

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Gregory Citro 20 daypack.

Review: Gregory Citro 20 and Juno 20 Daypacks

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Daypack
Gregory Citro 20/Juno 20
$170, 20L/1,220 c.i., 2 lbs. 3.5 oz. (without reservoir)
One men’s and one women’s size
Citro: backcountry.com
Juno: backcountry.com

On a 16-mile, roughly 5,000-vertical-foot October dayhike of 11,749-foot Mount Timpanogos in Utah’s Wasatch Range, on a day when I needed clothes for temperatures ranging from around 50 to the 30s Fahrenheit, with strong, cold winds at higher elevations, I carried the Citro 20 for several hours with about 15 pounds of water, food, clothing, and camera gear inside. That day convinced me that many hikers would like the men’s Citro 20 and women’s Juno 20. Here’s why.

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Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody.

Review: Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody

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Breathable Insulated Jacket
Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody
$249, 12 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
backcountry.com

The range of activities, conditions, and seasons in which you wear a jacket arguably says more than anything else about its value, so I’ll tell you what I’ve done (so far) in my Ascendant Hoody: On a 39-mile, mid-September backpacking trip in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, I wore it in camp on cool, windy mornings and evenings. I’ve worn it as a middle layer on days of skiing downhill at resorts, and as an outer or middle layer skiing up and downhill in the backcountry. And I’ve regularly pulled it on to ride my bike on errands around town this winter. Its versatility derives from having just the right amount of breathable insulation to make it the insulated jacket you grab more than any other all year.

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Review: The North Face ThermoBall Active Jacket

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The North Face ThermoBall Active Jacket.
The North Face ThermoBall Active Jacket.

Hybrid Insulated Jacket
The North Face ThermoBall Active Jacket
$150, 14.5 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
ems.com

The December sun was about to drop over the horizon, and the air temperature was dropping even faster—but I was enjoying the skate-skiing around Bear Basin, in the quiet ponderosa pine forest outside McCall, Idaho, too much to head for the car just yet. It didn’t matter. I knew I could wring out the last minutes of daylight and stay warm, despite my base layer being quite sweaty, thanks to the hybrid design and unique insulation in the ThermoBall Active Jacket.

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