Remember Scott Schmidt and the early ’90s? The famous proto-freeskier was known for his sick drops and a signature North Face ski suit, which the company still sells an iteration of in its revived Steep Tech line.
A transparent shell fabric and dyed goose down create a unique look for Hi-Tec’s 2012 Timaru jacket. New “Color-Tec” treatment increases loft of down as bonus, the company cites.
Love it or not, Patagonia’s recent “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign added a new voice to the holiday shopping conversation in one bold and opinionated move. Our contributor looks back on the ad’s effects now two weeks out.
For the third year, Vancouver-based Arc’teryx will give capes made of Gore-Tex fabric to the city’s homeless. Called the Birds Nest Project, the annual charity leans on end-of-roll fabric remnants and Arc’teryx employees who volunteer their time.
The harsh sun of tropical places demands clothing that can protect. A new shirt and gloves fight UV rays and yellow sunbeams all the same, plus provide extra benefits for paddling a boat or gripping a fishing pole.
Your dog needs warmth and protection in the winter months, too! Our editor looks at two “doggie jacket” options for his Weimaraner, a fit dog with thin fur and a propensity to howl when it gets cold.
For those not-so-cold active days, this wool-blend Ibex jacket has become a Gear Junkie favorite. A streamlined, hood-less design, a thin breathable back, and a jersey pocket on the rear make it unique.
Significant technologies for 2012, including a new down insulation alternative, were unveiled in Colorado last week by The North Face. Gear Junkie was on site to cover the launch and get a glimpse at the “core” products coming to stores next year.
This week, in the sleepy town of White River Junction, Vt., we visited Ibex’s headquarters to meet the men and women (and dogs!) behind the merino wool products we have worn for years. Plus, we got an exclusive first peek at the company’s 2012 product line.
Handheld cartridge air pumps are usually reserved for bike tires. But Utah-based Klymit thinks it’s found a better way to insulate jackets and sleeping pads with tiny cartridges or argon gas. Our contributor interviews the company founder and CEO.
Last night, at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, amid dinosaur bones and live stingrays undulating in a shallow pool, Columbia Sportswear previewed its spring 2012 product line. Gear Junkie gives a run-down of the ceremonies and the company’s unique new wares.
Among the strangest apparel products we have tested all year, this button-up cotton shirt is touted as a performance piece for city biking. Its strange fabric has roots in clothing made for British jetfighter pilots, midcentury mountain climbing, and old-school Antarctic exploration.
It packs to the size of a hockey puck. It weighs just 3.5 ounces, as scant as a single Clif bar. But unfurl this Castelli jacket and you get a layer to protect against inclement weather and cold wind.
This crazy-expensive bike suit was tested in a wind tunnel and touted to “exceed the standard for aerodynamic performance and speed.” Our writer gave it a three-month ride test.
A quick post about the brand behind our ‘Search for the Most Durable Person’ contest this month. CORDURA makes fabric for everything from bike-messenger bags to spelunking suits.
In its next issue, due on newsstands at the end of this month, Outside magazine will announce the Summer 2011 winners of its Gear of the Year awards. Here’s a sneak peek. . .
It weighs about 3 ounces and packs in a tiny stuff sack smaller than a fist. But the Cirrus Pull-On from Rab can add enough warmth to save the day on a hike or a remote climb.
Mention the term “fleece” in an outdoors setting and people think of a synthetic fabric. Icebreaker steps back to the origins of fleece with a new line made of wool.
Athletics behemoth adidas AG is entering the U.S. outdoor marketplace with footwear, apparel, outerwear, and optics. Gear Junkie gets a Q&A with an adidas managing director for a peek at the company’s ambitious plans.
Oregon-based Thunderbolt Sportswear offers a premium pair of pants with its namesake “softshell jeans,” a Schoeller-based product that retails for $188.
It weighs 8 ounces and packs to the size of a grapefruit. Our contributor gave the Gnar Jacket from Sierra Designs a test in the depths of a Minnesota winter.
Contributor Josh Turner puts the Columbia Heat Elite Jacket to an ultimate objective sedentary test: Spectating at a football game on a winter day at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
Part II of Gear Junkie’s “Best in Show” series highlights top products from the Outdoor Retailer trade show and includes touchscreen gloves, an alpine “smock” jacket, and a GPS device that connects to your smartphone.
The twice-annual Outdoor Retailer trade show, held in Salt Lake City, is an exhibition of the best outdoors equipment in the world. Gear Junkie offers part I of our “Best in Show” gear list from the hundreds of new products that debuted in Utah last week.
The Gear Junkie crew is off to Utah this week and the twice-annual Outdoor Retailer trade show. Here’s a quick visual tour of a few new products that have already caught our eye.
Touting the uncommon feature of “removable raglan sleeves attached with magnets,” the Versa proves to be a solid cycling and aerobic shell jacket from Sugoi. Gear Junkie gave it the test this past fall.
A new collaboration by Adidas and Burton is a clean and classic outerwear and apparel line. It just may make you reconsider what “Adidas” as an acronym actually stands for.
Will 2011 mark the rebirth of the waterproof-breathable jacket? A slew of recent news from Polartec, Mountain Hardwear, Columbia, and Gore points to substantial upgrades on the “breathability” side of the hardshell equation.
SmartWool’s merino-blend knicker bibs give a “sweatpants-level for comfort,” or so says GJ’s resident bike dork, T.C. Worley, who put a pair to the test this fall.
Swedish company prides itself on classic design and a vintage look that could’ve been pulled from an LL Bean catalog page from decades back.
With electric gloves and jackets, plus a new company mission, Columbia Sportswear busts a move and calls “bullshit” on key players in outdoors industry.
No, thanks.
