Outside Magazine 'Gear of the Year' Winter 2011

And the winners are. . . Outside magazine has announced its winter 2011 “Gear of the Year” awards, a primo kit of cold-weather equipment recommendations featured in the magazine’s Winter Buyer’s Guide issue, on newsstands next week. Outside recruits dozens of testers and gear writers to cull the list, which includes eight categories of equipment, from jackets and packs to snowboards. The best product from each category wins a “Gear of the Year” nod for its innovation and design.

This year, Gear Junkie founder Stephen Regenold was contracted to head up one section of Outside’s guide, “Backcountry Shell Jackets,” and he picked a perhaps unlikely candidate as the GOY — Canada Goose’s Hybridge Lite, a high-end down “puffy” jacket trimmed optimally for winter running and aerobic activities in the cold.

Congrats to all the companies, from Rossignol (two awards out of eight!), Salomon (backpack), Saucony (winter runners), Helly Hanson, Volkl, and Atlas snowshoes. Here’s the full list of this winter’s “Gear of the Year” awardees:

> Alpine Ski: Rossignol Super 7

> Resort Jacket: Helly Hansen Odin Mountain

> Snowboard: Rossignol Krypto Magtek

> Backcountry Ski: Volkl Nunataq

> Snowshoe: Atlas Aspect

> Winter Running Shoe: Saucony PowerGrid Cortana

> Backcountry Jacket: Canada Goose Hybridge Lite

> Backpack: Salomon Quest 30

—The full rundown on the award winners — as well as reviews of hundreds more pieces of gear from the Outside Winter Buyer’s Guide — will be online at OutsideMag.com next month.