My wife is allergic to wool, these fit the bill for a hiking sock. She loves teh feel and how well they wick. Thumbs up.

These are light and pack away small in your pack. I have always carried them as insurance on cold (sub 40s) hikes. Finally used them for a few rain/sleet/snow cold days on the Colorado trail worn over silkweights and I gotta say I am very impressed with the breathability. No moisture build up. Now it was cold and lower humidity but they worked as adv. Front zip pocket was handy for keeping the digital camera against my leg and warm enough to function. My only gripe is the elastic pull for the waist. It didn't fail but looks suspect. If it did it would not be a show stopper, merely an inconvenience.

Love this bag. I am 6-2+ and about 210. Got the long and it has plenty of room. The only downside is that it is snug, this contributes to its great weight and I feel it makes the bag feel warmer because there is less bag to heat. The equivalent wider bag by WM is the Alpinlite Super. The extra length lets me gather up some extra bag around my hips and knees so that when I lay on my side there are no tight spots/cold spots. I have been to single digits on several occasions in CO or on the AT in just silkweights and a hat and have been very comfortable, tho I do sleep warm. The full length zipper helps to regulate temperature on warmer nights or to open it up all the way and use as a quilt. The draft collar works great. I expect many years out of this bag but when I buy another it will be WM. Again this bag is snug, so if your are claustrophobic or want alot of wiggle room go with the Alpinlite. I dont use a stuff sack for this either, it goes in a dry bag in the bottom of the pack to fill in nooks and crannies and the rest of my kit goes in on top. Great bag.

Works great on the beach on nonwindy days. I thought is was fairly easy to set up, but having a helper helps. It will sit over a picnic table pretty well too if you are car camping. Fairly compact when broken down.

These seem to be a cross between Smartwool regular hiking socks and the Adrenalins. The nice, snug fit of the adrenalins with the thicker padding at the toe and heel. Personally, they are too hot for where I live 11.5mos out of the year. I love the Adrenalin but could see going with the PHD for cooler hiking. I think you cant go wrong with these under that criteria.

I have had my precip for a few years now and I love it. It is light enought to always bring it along. I count it as a piece of safety gear because I pack pretty light. When it is cold and windy this is my wind shell. Betweeen the main zip, the pit zips and the pocket zips and cuffs it is easy to tweak so that I am not sweating. I have not had any leaking problems in the rain. I typically refresh the DWR every season as a matter of maintenance so I havent had any probs with that. It is sized for layering and the sleeves are pretty well sized for me (typical long sleeves are too short for me). Usually can be found on sale somewhere.

I got this for my bro-in-law for hiking and work. He works for a contracting firm and is often in environments that are around 120deg. He says the shirt rocks. He also uses it to run in. Here in the Deep South the heat index approaches 110deg with high humidity frequently. The shirt works as advertised.

I bought a CB hydration pack and the bladder came with this widget. Great item to prevent being out of water when you need it. The 90deg turn is nice too.

which are the previous model. So far the best hiking shoe I have worn. I wear 4E width so a company that carries wide shoes has my business. What amazed me off the bat was that just walking I could feel air venting through the top front of these shoes. The toe bumper is fairly rigid and does provide protection. I have done 20 mile days in wet feet in these and felt great and blister free.

Awesome comfort for a pound. Packs down nice and small (water bottle). Your hips and ribs will thank you. Also makes a great kids air mat. If you travel UL with a frameless ruck you can put this in the pack deflated against your back with a few puffs in it. Load your gear and put in a few more puffs. Will add some rigidity to your pack.

My 5yr old daughter stayed warm in one of these down to almost freezing. She crashed and not a peep was heard until I woke her up. I am fairly certain we could squeeze another 10deg cooler out of it. Packs down good but it would be nice to see a kid sized bag under 2 lbs.

Easy to use. No complaints. Durable material.

I am one of those folks that tends to push stakes in with my feet. I have yet to bend one of these. Good stuff.

I have wide feet unfortunately. I liked everything about these except how narrow they were (to me). I wore them daily for several months as a regular work shoe. They breathed great but never stretched out. If you have regular width feet you will probably love these.

More comfortable than CCF, not as comfortable as a true inflatable. If they deflate and it is below freezing you will be cold. I have 2, but only use them as loaners now. If I want thin, light and less comfort I take my Z-lite. For comfort I take my POE Ether Thermo which is still lighter than this.

Got this for my wife. She is long waisted and it is difficult to find shirts that are long enough. This one fits great. The feel of the material is good too.

Of the 5-6 different low cut hiking socks I tried, I liked these almost as much as my favorite the smartwool adrenaline light. If the smartwools didnt exist, these would be my socks. Good fit and padding, no itch, good hot weather comfort.

Pretty comfortable, definate upgrade from plain CCF pad. Also, you never have to worry about leaks. Rolls up kind of large, but you can fold it if you need to or roll it up, put it in your pack vertically and let it unroll in you pack. Then pack your stuff inside. This technique works good with frameless rucks like Golite and others.

Tough and I have never had one leak. Easy to clean. I got a few when I started backpacking but they got cut when I started shaving weight (a 1 liter platypus weighs 1/10 of one of these). If you use these, consider getting a cookpot/cup that slides over the end of the bottle to save space in your pack.

If you are planning on using your carrier for anything other than going to the store these are great options. These have protected all 4 of my kids on hikes in the woods to touristing Niagara falls to a trip to the zoo. THe design appears not to have changed much: the pole section slide into the sleeves on the back of the carrier and are secured with snaps. Velcro on the front hooks into d-rings on the front of the carrier.

If you got your kid carrier to pack you kid in the mall then you don't need this. If you plan on going to the woods this item and the sunshade are great. No need for loading the kid up with bug juice or sunblock. Assuming your kid is old enough to swat skeeters, they cant reach their legs anyhow (my kids started in these carriers at about 5mos). I think the price is steep but I got mine on sale when I got them (we have 2 carriers, sunshades and bugnets).

I dont use a resevoir any more. But when I did, I used a 100oz. No complaints, worked as advertised. In cold wx blow the water back out of the tube to prevent freezing.

I agree with another reviewer, this is single serving for someone with a big appetite. I like to have a 1000cal meal at the end of a hiking day in the winter to keep me warm. This is great with a dash of garlic powder and a splash of 270cal per oz extra virgin olive oil. Very satisfying for one or share with a buddy with other food.

these are not to shabby, especially with a dash or 3 of dried chipotle powder. The egg puffs can be eaten dry and are not that unpleasant.

These are pretty good, especially with a few dashes of dried chipotle powder. Also, they are not too bad dry, sort of like egg puffs.

Got this for my wife. She likes the shorter sleeves and the long length (she has a long torso). She dislikes polyester and in-hand the material was questionable to her. However, when worn she said it felt nice and breathed real well when wearing a pack and it being 96degrees/90+ percent humidity. Even tho it doesn't say anything about "no-stink" the shirt smells the same as it did when she put it on. A good buy.

Got this for my wife. She loves that it is leak free and you can completely disassemble it for cleaning.

My wife has the larger sized one and the kids kept stealing it. They are 5, 4, and 2 and do not have any problems with the bite valve. The widget factor seems to encourage them to drink so I love em. Disassembles into 4 parts (bottle, cap, straw, bite valve) and is fairly easy to clean.

These are the socks that got me hooked on Smartwool. Two pair made it through 8mos of daily wear (many times for multiple days) and still had enough life for several shorter hikes. Great boot socks.

Very well fitting with the way the elastic is constructed in (I have square, wide feet). Lightweight, good for running, biking or general daily wear. Personally, they do not have enough cushion for hiking, for that I like the Adrenalin Light. Great socks.

Comfortable, well ventilated, and easy to adjust. Headlamp clips work good.

Nice and secure, which is extra confidence when you are an occasional climber. Works well with my atc-xp.

very easy and intuitive for the occasional climber

Think jersey weight, 2 layers. This is my cold weather hiking hat. Covers the ears and just enough noggin. It is my first layer on when the temps start dropping and my first line of defense against overheating. Small and light. Great sleeping cap too.

This has all the basic features you would want. Does what most other GPS units do, without bells and whistles. I bought it 7yrs ago prior to deploying overseas so I could have a GPS in my pocket at all times. It rode in a cargo pocket for 8mos on countless patrols. I still use it occasionally while hiking as backup to map and compass (hmmm analog navigation in a digital world). Battery life is as described.

I used one of these for several years in the army. Never had any complaints about it. Lightweight and simple to use. I always did the declination in my head. After over a decade of service it developed a leak. I replaced it with another Suunto.

These pants are hard to beat. I bought 2 pair to deploy to Afghanistan with in 2002. After months of hand scrubbed washes and subsequent redeployment to the world of running water they are still kickin almost 7yrs after purchase. I have subsequently bought others and generally use them as casual pant or if I am doing any home improvements. The material is heavy duty and will put up with alot. Pockets are usefull (the rightside tool pocket even holds a M16 magazine). If you are looking for tough, comfortable, and good looking pants... look no further these are it.

Got hooked on carhartts wearing the pant version of these while deployed overseas. This is tough, heavyweight cotton and will give you alot of life. In case you dont already know "carhartt brown" looks like Georgia clay. Its their signature color - wear it proudly!

These are now my favorite shorts. Bought 2 pair on SAC and will buy more if they come up again. I live in the deep south and its shorts weather here 11.5 mos of the year. These are cotton but it is so light it breathes well. They are a comfortable length and the cut is such that you dont flash folks if you squat down. Highly recommended.

First the good: great material. It is very light and comfortable and breathes well. It has a good amount of useful pockets and when the zipoffs are removed the shorts arent too short. There is a wicking material in the waistband.

Why they dont work for me: The mesh liner. I normally do not wear underwear at all but dont mind liners in swim trunks, running shorts, etc. I tried them out as is. Too tight and restrictive. No problem, I cut them out. Wore them on a weeklong hike. I discovered that the way the seams are does not mesh with my hydraulics, even if I was wearing silkweight longunderwear. Sadly, I will not be using these again.

That being said, I think these will work great for anyone who doesn't mind the liner.

My daughter loves her "smarty-man" socks. Great fit.

This may work for you. I got it to replace the tiny scissors in my first aid kit and to have some tools available. Folds compact and weighs little but it is unable to cut moleskin. A nogo for me.

Used someone elses on a hike, it is definately small and light but pumping is difficult and the output is very slow. I did not time or measure but, in my estimation, was slower than .5 LPM. My semihomemade gravity filter weighs 6oz and does just about 1 LPM with no work.

The thought of "water now, chunk-free" is what drove me to this filter. I have dropped the hose literally into mud puddles and produced good water. It comes with some quick disconnect fittings you can rig to your hydration bladder if thats what you use. Both the output per minute and per number of strokes is accurate. It weighs 11oz dry and 14oz wet. If you let it freeze (dont!) it will not pump but will defrost quickly inside your coat.

I have since moved on to a semihomemade 6oz gravity filter but will still use the hiker pro if I suspect some sources will be muddy puddles.

I keep at least 10 of these packed in my 1st aid kit. The great thing is that they are individually sealed, so you don't contaminate the whole pack when you just need one. The packaging is tough (some would say too tough). A small nick with your knife prior to tearing open makes things easier. Have drank plenty of water after the 15min wait without problems. These saved a hike when the group filter broke after just one liter filtered.

Hands down the best field coffee you will taste. In fact, in my hiking group I can usually find volunteers to carry any component of it that I don't want to carry if I mention making coffee. Word of warning: I think the fill limit is like 16oz for the JB. I have pushed this to about 24oz when making the coffee. I attempted to go more once but got nailed by the inverse of "a watched pot never boils" and had a java volcano that sprayed about 3 feet in the air. Good show! Great coffee! Use a courser grind.

Self contained system that packs into its own cup. Dont trust the piezo starter, always carry a backup lighter. Above freezing gets you hot water FAST. When you get to single digits the performance seems to really suffer. If you are a coffee drinker get the coffee press; the resulting brew is outstanding. There are lighter options, but the JB is a good option, especially if you do freezer bag cooking or freezedried meals, and like good coffee.