Outdoor Apparel Reviews

The Patagonia R1 Air Full-Zip Hoody.

Review: Patagonia R1 Air Full-Zip Hoody

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Fleece Hoody
Patagonia R1 Air Full-Zip Hoody
$199, 12.5 oz./354g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXL, women’s XXS-XL, kids XS-XXL
backcountry.com

Here’s an axiom of outdoor layering systems that will never change: No piece of outdoor apparel offers more versatility than a highly breathable, midweight insulation layer. It’s very possible that the only “layer” you will wear more is your skin. Find a highly breathable midweight hoody or jacket that’s soft and fits like it was custom made for your torso and you have something that may spend more time on your body than in your closet—and few compare with Patagonia’s R1 Air Full-Zip Hoody’s versatility for almost any outdoor user, from hard-core backpackers, climbers, and backcountry skiers to the average dayhiker or fitness walker, as I have found time and again wearing it backpacking, dayhiking, various forms or skiing, and camping, as well as countless days around town.

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A skier on Pilot Peak in Idaho's Boise Mountains.

The Best Mittens for Winter 2026

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By Michael Lanza

Let’s start with two truths about mittens: 1. We know they’re warmer than gloves. 2. We often choose gloves over mittens, anyway, for some reasons that make sense and some reasons that, well, don’t make much sense. Whether you need them for resort skiing or snowboarding, hiking, walking, snowshoeing, bike commuting, trail running, clearing snow, or something else, this review covers the best mittens for a wide range of temperatures and cold-weather activities.

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The Flylow Baker Bib.

Review: Flylow Baker Bib

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Skiing and Riding Bib
Flylow Baker Bib
$440, 2 lbs. 2 oz./952g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXL, with tall and short sizes
backcountry.com

Skiing in Utah’s Wasatch mountains virtually every single time it snows exposes me to a wide range of inclement weather conditions: from subzero temperatures and cold smoke to warm, humid clouds dumping wet snow that can soak outerwear in minutes. Moreover, skiing as often and hard as I do exposes my clothing to a serious amount of wear. For these reasons, I went on a quest for a bib that would keep me dry through wet, seven-plus-hour days of skiing and have the durability to last hundreds of ski days. That search that led me to the Flylow Baker, which I’ve found ideal for resort skiing and colder, wetter days in the backcountry.

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A backcountry skier at Baldy Knoll in Wyoming's Tetons Range.

How to Dress in Layers for Winter in the Backcountry

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By Michael Lanza

If hiking, backpacking, and climbing from spring through fall teaches us the fundamentals of layering our clothing for comfort in variable weather, the backcountry in winter confers a graduate degree in layering. In mild temperatures, getting wet with perspiration or precipitation merely risks discomfort. In freezing temps, it can quickly lead to hypothermia and actually become life-threatening.

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The Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody.

Review: Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody

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Ultralight Insulated Hooded Jacket
Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody
$345, 10 oz./283.5g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-3XL, women’s XXS-XXL
backcountry.com

Since getting my first Micro Puff Hoody when Patagonia rolled it out eight years ago, I have zipped into this lightweight, synthetic jacket in countless circumstances that include: sitting at campsites on cool, windy evenings and mornings while backpacking in the Wind River Range and on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim; wind blowing over 40 mph while belaying a climbing partner and in camp at Idaho’s City of Rocks; on winter days (wearing it under a shell) when skiing downhill in the backcountry; and at kids’ soccer games on blustery autumn and spring days.

Most recently, I wore the latest update of the Micro Puff Hoody on three mornings in the 40s Fahrenheit on an August backpacking trip in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains; and three mornings and evenings in the 40s and 50s Fahrenheit, with strong wind at times, on a late March backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon—affirming again that it remains one of the lightest and most versatile insulated jackets on the market, and remarkably warm for its weight.

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