I just received my OR Palisades jacket, and let me just say, WHAT a relief! I was replacing a North Face nylon rain jacket that among other things, was a furnace, had very uncomfortable elastic at the waist and wrists, had the kind of scrunchy face pulls around the hood that made me have no peripheral vision when I was in a storm, a jacket so irritating, I left it in my pack during rainstorms. This OR Palisades jacket is the perfect replacement. The torso flo vents work BOTH ways, so you can unzip from the pits, and keep it closed at the hips, or you can unzip from the hips to the pits, for a sort of rain bib (so I can put it over my pack belt). The hood has the kind of gathering mechanism (at the back of the head) of my expensive Patagonia trench, so it looks quite elegant and pulls back right at the eyes so I can see everything while my face and neck are completely enclosed. Also it has velcro wrists which close down to even my teeny tiny wrists, while still being overall a great size and length for my tall frame. And instead of elastic around the whole waist (which jumps up as you move) it only has a pullcord at the back, so the front stays flat, and if i open the vents just a bit, allows for movement of the body without movement of the jacket. Oh! And the color is BEE-YEW-TEE-FUL! The Eggplant is a beautiful shade. Well done OR! And thanks, Backcountry, for letting me return that North Face Jacket after wearing it in a bit before I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I am SO pleased with this replacement.

I finally returned this jacket, after feeling icky EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY TIME i wore it, high in the sierras or back at home. It wasn't comfortable even in cold weather, and a windstorm at 11,000 feet, because the liner AND the jacket stuck to me when I sweat, so I felt cold and sticky and sweaty at the same time! I found the elastic too tight, the neck too high, the hood a terrible shape so that I had to pull it extremely tight and virtually smash it against my face at to keep the rain off. Plus the velcro scratched like crazy and got caught on everything in my pack, tent and on my person. I prefer snap double closures like you find on Patagonia Rain Gear. Also, at 16 ounces, it was a real drag in the backcountry. It took up useful space and weight. To replace it, I'm getting something lighter, with pit vents and no liner (the liner only seems to increase weight and heat retention). Would not recommend this jacket for the backcountry. Kudos to Backcountry for their awesome return policy. I felt awful about it once I put it to use, and I'm so glad I can exchange it for something I really like!

I finally returned this jacket, after feeling icky EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY TIME i wore it, high in the sierras or back at home. It wasn't comfortable even in cold weather, and a windstorm at 11,000 feet, because the liner AND the jacket stuck to me when I sweat, so I felt cold and sticky and sweaty at the same time! I found the elastic too tight, the neck too high, the hood a terrible shape so that I had to pull it extremely tight and virtually smash it against my face at to keep the rain off. Plus the velcro scratched like crazy and got caught on everything in my pack, tent and on my person. I prefer snap double closures like you find on Patagonia Rain Gear. Also, at 16 ounces, it was a real drag in the backcountry. It took up useful space and weight. To replace it, I'm getting something lighter, with pit vents and no liner (increases weight, heat retention, and fewer things to stick to me). Would not recommend this jacket for the backcountry. Kudos to Backcountry for their awesome return policy. I felt awful about it once I put it to use, and I'm so glad I can exchange it for something I really like!

This is my third or fourth pair of the gingers. I wear them until I have compacted the rubber so much that they're hard (5 years or so). They have an arch support, they are gushy soft for at least 3 years, and the low profile strap looks really cute with anything. I love them, and I will continue to buy them.

I'm an eternal fan of Bridgedale socks. They have to be the best made of any socks I own. These are soft and comfy in my trail running shoes but light enough for the gym. Nice to be able to get the amazing comfort of my favorite hiking socks while running around town.

I like this bra, it is very comfortable. But if you have a large bust and a narrow torso, it's going to move around a bit.

It held them up and out of the way, but because I had to buy a larger size to accomodate my chest, which meant that the back size was too wide for my narrow ribcage, it moved around a bit on a long backpacking trip.

I think it would be awesome if my proportions were a bit different. It's the cutest, nicest sportsbra I've come across. It's highly adjustable otherwise and very airy--not a big breastplate but a cute, comfy top. Just wish I could adjust the ribcage size.

I forgot how much I loved these socks on my backpacking trip last year, until I pulled them out to train for this year's hike. Soft, comfy, thick but cool. I LOVE them and I'm back to buy more!

This is an excellent, EXCELLENT filter. I can't recommend it enough. I (a total backpacking newbie) went on a 4 day backpacking trip in the high Sierras with 5 very experienced backpackers. I like to hydrate, far more than the average person, and I have once tried to pump water from a normal Katydin filter, only to be totally disappointed at how hard/long it takes to get a little water. So when I discovered this filter on the Backcountry website, I thought it was too good to be true.
It was perfect! In the end it made the trip so much easier: We all could fill our bottles as soon as we got down to set up camp, we had plenty of water for cooking and drinking, and nobody was stuck with the labor of pumping for 6 people. We had plenty of water again in the morning, and then could all pack out with full bottles of water for the long trek ahead.
Every guy on the trip said he'd never drank so much water hiking, because it was too hard to pump, and that it had made a real difference in their trip.

This is one of my favorite t-shirts. I have worn it in town and in the high Sierras backpacking. It is really comfortable in hot and cool weather. The fabric is soft even though its synthetic, the fit is great, and the style is really flattering. Highly recommended.