Hiking Gear Reviews

Gear Review: Salomon Synapse J Kids Hiking Shoes

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Salomon Synapse J
Salomon Synapse J

Kids Hiking Shoes
Salomon Synapse J
$75, 1 lb. 2 oz. (youth size 4.5)
Sizes: unisex kids 13 to youth 6
salomon.com

If there’s a dayhike that will beat up a flimsy pair of kids hiking shoes, it’s going up and down Mount St. Helens, a 10-mile, 4,500-vertical-foot slog over sharp-edged, volcanic rocks and highly abrasive, fine-grained pumice. But my 13-year-old son wore the Synapse J on that big day, and on dayhikes at Mount Rainier National Park, Arches and Canyonlands national parks, Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve, and elsewhere. He’s also worn them to school and playing outside for most of the past year, and these low-cut hiking shoes not only have the support and protection for a hike as hard as St. Helens, but they’re still going strong.

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Gear Review: Scarpa Zen Pro Shoes

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Scarpa Zen Pro
Scarpa Zen Pro

Hiking/Scrambling Shoes
Scarpa Zen Pro
$169, 2 lb. 1 oz. (men’s Euro 42/US 9)
Sizes: men’s Euro 38-47, 48
backcountry.com

Even as shoes have gotten more technologically advanced, it’s still the rare breed that crosses over nimbly between comfort for hiking many miles and performance for steep, off-trail scrambling. But thanks to unique construction and materials, the Zen Pro proved itself that kind of unusual hybrid on dayhikes up to eight miles in Utah’s Canyonlands and Arches national parks and for approaching rock-climbing routes in Idaho’s Castle Rocks State Park.

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Gear Review: Outdoor Research Helium Hybrid Jacket

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Outdoor Research Helium Hybrid Jacket.
Outdoor Research Helium Hybrid Jacket.

Ultralight Wind Shell
Outdoor Research Helium Hybrid Jacket
$165, 5.5 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
outdoorresearch.com

On a 7.5-mile trail run in Idaho’s Boise Foothills near my home, on an April morning with temps in the 50s and a strong, cool wind blowing, I stopped after climbing uphill for close to an hour. Sweating hard in that wind, wearing a lightweight, long-sleeve top that was now wet, I felt almost instantly chilled. Ahead of me were the last few, mostly downhill miles. So I pulled on this ultralight shell. While I was still perspiring for the rest of my run, the jacket delivered enough wind protection that I stayed warm. And when I finished, the inside of the jacket was only slightly damp.

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Gear Review: The North Face Radium Hi-Loft Jacket

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The North Face Radium Hi-Loft Jacket
The North Face Radium Hi-Loft Jacket

Fleece Jacket
The North Face Radium Hi-Loft Jacket
$170, 15 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
thenorthface.com

Given all the modern choices in outdoor apparel for the backcountry, is the classic fleece jacket obsolete? Not hardly. An insulating layer that’s highly breathable remains indispensable when you’re active in cold temperatures; I always have some kind of fleece layer when out backcountry skiing, cross-country ski touring, hiking, or snowshoeing in winter or any time of year in temps in the 30s or colder. The good news is that advancements in fabrics have transformed your father’s fleece into a more versatile outer or middle layer—like The North Face Radium Hi-Loft Jacket. Wearing it quite a lot while cross-country skiing on a four-day, December yurt trip in Idaho’s Boise Mountains, and as a middle layer while resort skiing as well as around town, I found it impressively warm, comfortable, and functional.

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