Joe Ballent

For $145, this is quite a deal.

Pros: 4000 cubic inches is great for weekend warriors who want to stash climbing gear and a few changes of clothes. I'm personally a huge fan of gear loops and daisy chains: the Lakota has several, not to mention a heavy duty one that can double as a suitcase strap. This pack is built heavy-duty and has plenty of padding to go easy on your back and hips. A single frame up the back mirrors the natural movement of the spine so you don't feel like you're putting on a titanium jetpack (although I guess that could be cool). Intuitive buckles and tighten-down straps.

Cons: I'm struggling here. That's a good thing.

Great pack! Really happy with it so far.

Pros: Rolls down to a low profile, quick to inflate.

Cons: Not much back support considering it's size and price. If you like to rough it however, it's a fairly ideal pad.

Pros: Durable materials, one-finger release drawcord, glove-friendly zips. Loved being able to stash a significant amount of gear (camera, knife, etc) in the hip pockets. Therma-rest-comparable material used for padding makes for a comfortable fit.

Cons: What a ton of wasted space. Osprey got so caught up in making us go 'ooo, ahhh' over the technology of the backside air venting that they ate up half the usable space in the pack. Hence a pack with the profile of a full-on backcountry expedition pack is reduced to the utility of a weekend pack. As someone who likes to maximize space efficiency when packing, this is a big no-no.

Pros: Lightning quick set-up and intuitive design. The fire starter switch is very convenient, and everything nests together pretty well. As for cook times, this thing boiled water faster than any home kitchen I've ever used. If you ever need to level some underbrush, or just boil some water fast, the Helios gets the job done without using as much fuel as comparable designs.

Cons: The price hurts us dirtbags a bit more than most, and you only get one pot. If you're cooking for a group, obviously you'll have to augment your backcountry kitchen set with more cookware, but if you're flying solo and don't mind lugging a slightly larger stove around, you can eat like a king.

Pros: Insanely quick and easy setup. The one-pole design is genius, convenient, and intuitive: clutch when you're doing a crash-course setup in the rain. Packs quick, small, and light.

Cons: 2-person? It's more like a 1-and-3/4-person tent. But if you're willing to get cozy, have at it.

I've always wanted to wear see-through, metallic orange peels on my face, but I think this is as close as I'm going to get. Got the facemelt edition. I've got a larger head and they fit me well. The arms extend back past the ears which makes for a good fit, and means they are less likely to fall off. That being said, I'm a pretty active person and expect to be able to put glasses through a beating. Von Zipper includes a little note with the glasses basically saying 'these are a piece of art. you wouldn't wreck a piece of art, so please be gentle with your pretty new sunglasses!" Hm. For 70 bucks I personally think you should be able to throw them down the stairs and they run back up to you, but I guess style points help make up for lack of abusability. Enjoy.

If you're starting to build a rack, it's hard to go wrong with a deal like this.

Pros: Good value. The straight-and-bent-gate combo is classic and makes for easier clipping. These draws are also not super heavy.

Cons: Dyneema runners are much more prone to spinning and twisting, increasing the likelihood of back-clipping. However, as long as you're careful and smart about your clips, this should not be a problem.

I own two sets with varying lengths of dogbones (for reducing rope drag on overhangs or slabs) and they've performed really well. Not the top of the market, not the bottom, a good middle-of-the-road draw that will catch your falls and help you build a great beginner/intermediate rack.

In my opinion, about $150 of your $250 is going towards having 'Arc'teryx' stitched on your jacket. Wore this in full-on monsoon season while rafting, and yes it performed as far as shedding rain. Yes, it is packable and by no means a poor quality jacket, but I've also got a 6-year-old Marmot pullover shell that performed just as well for less than half the cost.

My chief criticism is that the wrists are velcro-adjusted. My old Marmot shell has elasticized rubber gaskets at the wrist, which work great for sealing out moisture and do not require adjusting. Velcro can be adjusted but doesn't provide as much of a customized fit; water is more likely to seep in through wrist openings with this design than with the rubber elastic.

Positives: easy-adjust hemline drawcord and hood drawcord. Very lightweight and packable as promised, and pretty durable/abrasion-resistant.

Again, this is not a poor-quality jacket; it will get the job done. But you can easily find high-quality, packable, lightweight shells for less than $250. Save some of the cash for beer for after your trip.

whether your nalgene be red,
or whether your nalgene be blue
bring it along on a hike
and take it for rafting, too

smash it and bash it
and scrape it along
a rocky and rough forest floor

throw it and roll it
and tow it along
and still your nalgene wants more

this nalgene is tough
but it never brags
despite a wide mouth it won't speak

fill it on up
with water or brew
and screw it shut tight for no leaks!

These things are badass. They weigh hardly anything compared to your conventional quickdraw, and the gates are extra resistant and springy. While this makes clipping slightly more difficult, it is sure to drastically reduce gate flutter if you take a whipper or load the biner funny.

A few cons: price is obviously a biggy, but if you can afford them these are good draws. I'm also not a huge fan of skinny Dyneema runners, particularly longer ones, as they tend to be more twist-prone thus increasing your risk of backclipping. If you're smart and careful about clipping then you don't need to be overly concerned with this.

Overall an impressive product, and worthwhile if you've got the paycheck to justify adding these to your rack. In related news, if anyone wants to buy me a set of these, feel free.

The orbit can just about fit in your wallet, it's so tiny. Good power for such a small lamp, and the rechargeable battery option is neat. I generally prefer headlamps, and think that if you're going to spend $30 on a light, why not get one that stays on your head and goes with you? That being said, it all depends on your needs. If you're car camping and want a good dinner table centerpiece for nighttime card games or ghost stories with the kids, grab the Orbit for a great lightweight option. If you're going caving, you can get a great headlamp for the same price. It comes down to preference.

The XT-3 is a decent tent, but not outstanding considering the price tag.

Pros: The Lightning is spacious for a 3-person tent. Someone like myself with a high tolerance for the sardine factor would find no issue fitting 4 people in this tent if it was called for. Pretty roomy feeling ceiling as well. The rain fly did a great job for me of shedding water as long as I made sure the tie-downs were bomber. Also, even when packed up with rain fly and footprint, the construction is super lightweight.

Cons: Not an intuitive skeleton. Setting up the poles for the first time in the dark took a bit of doing. Once it's been done the first time it's a piece of cake, but bring your thinking cap on the first backcountry adventure. Stakes were pretty flimsy and didn't really hold (this is partially because I was camping in sand), and I had to put rocks on top of the stakes to hold down the rain fly. Even though the tent is pretty lightweight, it's somewhat bulky and hard to really compact down to a low profile.

If you're going to drop $400 on a tent and plan to be in the backcountry a lot, I'd spring for a different model. If you're going out just a couple times a year, you'll probably be happy with the XT-3.

Overall Stohlquist has made a good product. Extremely low profile means this jacket will not inhibit your range of motion, great for paddlers and especially kayakers. You get a decent amount of float considering the minimal cut, and I had no problems with the jacket riding up. I am about 6' and 175 lbs and the Large was perfect. With this particular model I'd say it's safe to err up a bit on sizing and cinch down rather than get something too small and constricting.

My only real complaint with the jacket is that the pocket doesn't hold much. I wanted to carry my camera and a relatively small knife and had to cram them in there.

Ultimately a high-value product; a good jacket at a great price.

NRS generally makes a good product, and 'duckies' are hella fun. Occasionally I've experienced leaky valves, but this generally can be fixed by really scrubbing the sand out of them. A comfortable ride even through munchy stuff; myself and a buddy who also guides actually surfed a couple of these in Cow Swim on the Green (class III) with no major trouble, super buoyant with a wide base and low center of gravity to the water surface. At night when you're tired of the campfire, or just had too much dessert from the dutch oven, deflate the backrest to make a comfy bed :)

Saw this in the Outside Mag buyer's guide and took a chance with my poor river guide tip money. It's been billed as having the ability to 'hold everything you need for a day of sport climbing at the crag.' This would be true if all you needed for a day of sport climbing at the crag was a pair of dice, a few broken toothpicks, some yak hair and a half a bar of soap. No room for a rope, draws, shoes, you know... Real climbing stuff. There is little intuition in the design, the side pockets are way too deep and narrow for any conventional water bottle (or anything useful that needs to be accessed quickly), and the rope tarp is big enough to comfortably cushion several bacteria, and THEIR rope. Bottom line: Don't Do It!

The Amphibs come in real handy for all your platypus-wrastling, gator-surfing needs. True-to-shoe fit sized up nicely, and they break in super comfy, hugging your feet like little teddy bears. Easy on, easy off, and if you're creative you can push down the back heel flap to make sandals when you're wandering around the campfire wondering where you left your (other) beer. They are slow to dry, but this comes in handy when you get lost in the desert and are forced to wring them out to subsist on your own foot sweat (eat your heart out, Bear Grylls). Super rugged and durable- I put a pair through 4 years of abuse and rafted the Grand, Cataract, Westwater, Yampa, and Lodore Canyons, as well as several on Mars in them. Finally I was forced to retire and mount them on my wall when a dragon managed to bite through the side-mesh. The cross-lacing is Kevlar; movie science tells me that this means these shoes are at least partially bullet-proof. I rarely have to tighten down the rear buckle, and even when you're not chasing swamp sharks, the Amphibs can substitute nicely as just a regular running shoe with an anatomical fit. Also they tend to stink after heavy use, but that's probably just me. Bring on the adventure.

I got my Chaos a few years back and have loved it ever since. Despite that fact that it doesn't look huge, you can fit quite a bit of gear in it. A few things I've managed to fit at one time(while the bladder was filled with water)
-bike pump
-spare bike tube
-multi-tool
-knife
-map
-clif bar
-camera
-wallet

The mesh air director in the back does help for hot-weather excursions, and the many extra loops offer you versatility in what you put on the pack and where you put it. I've even clipped a pretty significant first aid kit along the bottom while mountain biking. At $50 this thing is a steal, way versatile for your outdoor needs.

When your brain is rattling around as you yardsale down some fresh stuff, you may as well protect it in the Variant.

I've got a larger head and the L fits just right. Pretty lightweight considering the impact it can withstand. The Variant has accommodated a couple different makes/profiles of goggles easily. The vents are easy to open and close even when your hands are buried in bulky gloves, and I've used the helmet not just for skiing but for ice climbing as well. Overall a good look in a quality helmet.

Sizes pretty true to street shoe, and synthetic won't really stretch out. Fairly aggressive profile and edges make for good teeny-toes moves and allow you to stand up on/edge on small stuff you might not be able to in a more rounded shoe. The rubber is grippy and the teeth on the heel make for good heel-hooks. I've noticed ever so slight wiggling of my heel during use, but this can almost always be remedied by cranking down a bit on the velcro.

The Alchemy is a superior product in most respects. Ergonomically designed per it's backcountry sports roots, it fits slightly looser around the shoulders to allow full range of arm motion, so those of us that are into ice climbing can stick that move without risking belly button exposure to the elements. It promises and delivers bomber wind resistance. As far as water-proofing, it stands up as well as any rain shell to all but the heaviest of deluges, and I've even substituted my rain shell with this jacket in times of need.

Very few cons: it is not an easy-on, easy-off jacket, as the non-adjustable wrist cuffs can be a hassle sometimes. This also means you cannot tighten them down to further seal out the cold, although they fit pretty comfortable and pretty smart on their own.

I'm 6' tall, 175lbs, and the L is a perfect fit for me. I've put it through unspeakable beatings, from hucking up ice flows at sub-freezing, to frigid spring days on the river. Overall, a workhorse product with simplified design... plenty of bang for your buck, and a loyal companion in the backcountry.