Hiking
Substratum hiking boots incorporate emergency fire-starting kit
Recently launched outdoor line Rocky S2V is more determined than the Discovery Channel to ensure that you're prepared to survive. For backcountry skiers and other winter explorers, it offers a jacket with an integrated survival kit. For hikers, it offers the Substratum boots, which can start a fire as well as pull you out of other jams. Read More
In recent months, Google Maps has ramped up its cartographical efforts to provide more detailed maps of North Korea and take users to more exotic locations like snow-covered mountains and underwater coral reefs via Street View. Now thanks to the Trekker, Google's own backpack-mounted camera system, users can explore stunning 360-degree panoramic images on a virtual hike through the Grand Canyon. Read More
Barefoot shoes have been one of the biggest stories in running over the past few years. Their somewhat controversial benefits include encouraging better dynamics and preventing certain types of leg stresses and injuries. It's not clear if those benefits will transfer over to hiking, but at least one manufacturer is giving it a shot. The new Lizard Kross Scramble is a minimalist hiking shoe designed for trails and rock approaches. Read More
It may read like a Scandinavian misspelling of a common tree, but the Fikkes is actually an innovative piece of gear that combines two staples of the outdoors. This pole will help you fish distant bodies of water of all kinds. Read More
The Piggyback Rider Backpack is the latest way to carry your child on your back. The newest models add more storage capabilities to the Piggyback Rider system, which lets your child essentially stand on your back. Read More
The Heatstick from Danish company Heatgear attempts to give backpackers and military personnel a better alternative to the camping stove. Not only is it lightweight, but this flameless heat source can also cook while you hike. Read More
For generations, campers and backpackers have been relying on poles and guy lines to form the taut, wind-breaking structure of tents. With its new Hoopla 4, Mountain Hardwear has a different idea: rely on the tent fabric itself to create the main structure with minimal hardware involved. Read More
Camping in the wilderness may never be the same after a “glamped” experience at Minaret Station. Located in the heart of the Southern Alps in New Zealand, the site offers luxury tented glamping amid a picturesque glacial valley. The remote location is only accessible by air, where guests are flown in by helicopter before being escorted to their luxuriously furnished tented suite. While the accommodation is constructed from canvas tents and the property classifies itself as a “camp," this nature retreat has little in common with the traditional camping experience. Read More
Apparently, OluKai Maliko is Hawaiian for funky, hoof-like shoes. The term also carries a hint of innovation. Not only do these shoes split your toes, they give you extra grip. Forget sticky rubber and aggressive traction patterns, the Maliko brings a sole that's lined with suction cups. Read More
Sometimes you don't have to reinvent the wheel; you just have to add a more functional inflation valve or lightweight spoke. That's the direction that TrekPak takes in redesigning the photography backpack. The start-up uses a new, simple type of hardware to make organizing your camera gear fast, easy and secure. Read More
