I dig this stove, and it's the one I always turn to (I also have a Primus Multi-fuel). I like it because it's efficient, quick, and super easy. You can carry it around, use it in your tent (or your vestibule), hang it, and you don't need to worry about balancing a pot on some tiny stove. And if you absolutely need to use a bigger pot, you can.

That said, it's not for everyone or every situation. If you're cooking for a big group of people, want to do something gourmet - simmering, making perfect food, or if you can't find (or hate) canisters, you might want to look at something different.

If you have one pad, the Prolite 4 full size should be it. It's light and small enough to pack, yet thick enough to be comfy and warm in most conditions. No questions.

I've gone through Garmonts and Scarpas, and had pretty much resigned myself to pain in the backcountry. So, when I tried the Methods, I fell in love with them. Each person's feet are different, so your experience my vary, but I liked 'em a lot.

Sadly, I'm looking for a stiffer boot, so I'm on to the Factor. I'm 5'8", 150lb, and ski aggressively and was really able to push these around. So be aware.

Also be aware about a strange thing about these: they smell like hay when they're new. Weird.

I love this sleeping bag. It weighs next to nothing, and fits in a tiny stuff sack the size of a Nalgene bottle (really). The temp rating is pretty accurate - I've been cold below 40, but it's been manageable. When it gets colder, I usually double up and wear a jacket to bed as well. Way pricey, but if you're gear head like me, totally worth it. I've seen it on steepandcheap.com - much to my chagrin, not before I bought it.

This bag is the epitome of sweetness. I love the fact that I don't need to worry about condensation, or a wet jacket, or morning dew. Super warm - I tried it on a summer trip in the Sierras and it was way too hot. Instead, I've used it in shoulder seasons and winter, doubling up with a down jacket. Expensive, but worth it.

I have two of these: the large, which I use for carrying things on trips, and the extra large, which I really just use to store stuff at home. Eventually, maybe I'll go on some epic trip that requires the XL. Or I'll use it as a tent.

I like the bag because it's frameless (many large bags have frames), has handy shoulder straps, and uses that weird rubberized fabric so I don't worry if something spills on it. The "lid" is good and bad - it lets you quickly get into all parts of the back better than a straight zipper, and it has a handy pouch for small items, but it can be hard to zip up if the bag's super full. Finally, the bag has some external loops and is very easy to tie down.

I've used these for pretty much every warm-weather pursuit for the last five years. I chose them over the Cap 1 and other poly shirts because their weave is more breathable (and dries almost immediately), is a little warmer in chilly mornings, and I just like the feel of the weave more than the slick feel you get in other poly shirts. I love the seam placement - they never bother me under a pack. But... the whole "they don't smell" thing is a load of bull. I can get mine stinking in under an hour. Maybe I have exceptionally strong BO (I like to think of it as natural pheromones - ladies hit me up!), but they are rank! I'm gradually switching over to wool so my partners will stop hating me.

These are super warm, breath well, and are nice and light. The zipper is critical if you're engaged in any activity. I'll wear it around camp, but only during activity if temps are freezing. Highly recommended.

This is the bomb-diggity. I love love love it. I wear it anytime I'm doing something outside and it's between 20 and 60 degrees, which is most of the time (above 60, I'm in short sleeves; below 20 and I'm in Cap 3). I also just wear it around cause it looks good. The best part about it is that it doesn't smell. Well, it smells like wet wool if it's wet, but at least it's not my wonderful BO.

I loved the 200 tops, so I got these and ditched all my other bottom baselayers. I'm 5'8, 150 and the mediums fit perfectly.

Meh, I love my other Icebreaker stuff, but this piece just doesn't do it for me. It's not warm enough for its weight, so I end up leaving it at home. Also, it's not nearly as comfy as the lighter weights. The sleeves have thumbholes, however, which are really sweet. So, bonus star for that.

When I'm relaxing in the sun, I keep my Rainbows near my feet. But when I occasionally need to put down my beer and climb around, I grab these. They stealth soles are super sticky, and the adjustable straps are nice and snug. They really do work - I've worn them scrambling around on sandstone, running in sand, and climbing on granite.

There are two drawbacks: they are pretty heavy and the toe strap seems to get tighter over time, requiring readjustment. Other than that, super sweet!

I know you're thinking that this looks like a nice ultralight jacket. It's even lighter than that. No, even lighter. It breathes pretty well, but hey, it's a jacket. I got it in bright yellow/orange because black was too hot.

I haven't tried it out in a more severe conditions (I'm planning to layer this over my base when the going gets tougher), but so far it's sweet. And did I mention that it's light and bright?

I've taken this all over the place and it's always served me well. It's quite bright (at least relative to an earlier headlamp I had), and is very small and compact. The only problem, also mentioned by someone else, is that switching between modes isn't the easiest thing to do. You have to cycle through modes to get to the dimness level/mode that you'd like everytime (or maybe I'm just not good at it). Still, minor complaint for a great light.

What can I say? It's totally sweet. Super light, it keeps me dry. The whole poncho thing was a little less than I had hoped: the zips come up about two-thirds to the arms (I had hoped they'd come up the whole way), and they provide adequate ventilation. The length is good - I tried this and the Arcteryx Alpha SL, which I found too short to cover my down vest (bad). This is perfect.

This pack fit fine and was comfortable, but it is amazingly heavy - an ounce heavier, in fact, than my much larger trekking pack. This might be fine for a larger pack, but these days, a pack of this size needs to be ultralight.

I should qualify this review by disclosing that this isn't the pack for me and I haven't used it on any serious hikes. That said, this is an awesome pack. It's basically a dry-bag with straps, but what straps they are! The suspension features this cool rotating thing that makes it very comfortable to wear (the Needle has something similar).
Quibbles: The bottom of the pack is small and oddly-shaped. My sleeping bag doesn't fit nicely, and I had to put other things below it to fill it out. Because it's basically a dry-bag, it doesn't have any give, and it's hard to slide things around inside. I had a very hard time getting my bear canister packed.
Overall, great pack. Not right for me. Also, really expensive, but if you're seriously considering it, that's probably not the deciding factor.

I dig this. It's soft, comfy and was easy to size. The placement of the main buckle strikes me as strange (it's way over on the side), but there's probably some reason for it. If I were going to do this again, I think I'd get a larger reservoir. That said, this is a perfect size for a quick run, and I can wear it with my weightvest.

I bought these intending to wear them with a full pack, but haven't done that yet. I do wear a 40-lb weightvest two miles to work several days a week and they are holding that fine. My only real complaint is that my heel is loose, and I get some toe-crunch. I'm hoping that I can solve that by adding another hole up near the top, but a little toward my ankle. Will see.

I also tried the later model, the 103. Did not like that as much as this one.

Title says it all. These were a driving factor in my decision to get the matching The North Face shoes. Once these are on, they're great. It's the getting on that's awkward. Not only are the clip things a bit difficult to manage, but the overall fit is quite tight and, well, just awkward. Still, I'm glad I got 'em.