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Emerging Gear: Coffee Grounds Shirt, ‘Sweet’ Shades, and More

A peek at emerging products from the sometimes cutting-edge, sometimes quirky world of gear design. Explore the grid or click through for a slideshow.

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A peek at emerging products from the sometimes cutting-edge, sometimes quirky world of gear design. Explore the grid or click through for a slideshow.

Rab Equipment Skyline Phantom Pull-On

Rab phantom pull-on windbreaker in lime

Rab Equipment’s new Skyline trail-running collection has over a dozen items, including the Phantom Pull-On ($200). The ultra-lightweight layer has a deep-venting YKK chest zip, a reduced-volume hood, and 7-denier fabric with stretch. The men’s pull-on layer weighs just 3 ounces. It’s super stashable, reflective, and designed for the mountains. See Rab’s women’s collection here.

Chrome Industries BLCKCHRM Yalta Bag

Chrome BLKCHRM 22X YALTA rolltop bag

Inspired by technical sailcloth material, Chrome’s BLCKCHRM 22X Series is all about strength and durability. The BLCKCHRM Yalta 3.0 Bag ($180) has 22X nylon backed with CORDURA TPX Durable Laminate Technology, a removable waterproof liner, and waterproof zippered pocket. Light and tough, it’s a great option for the next time you travel.

Sweet Protection Ronin Sunglasses

Sweet Protection Ronin sunglasses with pink tint

The Ronin sport performance sunglasses ($170) are designed for high-intensity sport activities. The Ronins have a rigid lens geometry and semi-frameless design for a better field of vision. The Ronin is available with your choice of contrast-enhancing lenses: Aquamarine, Topaz, Bixbite, Obsidian Black Polarized, Photochromic, or Clear. Major style points if you wear these on your next MTB ride.

Pakt Travel Backpack

Pakt travel backpack

We all may not be traveling right now, but this streamlined backpack has us wanting to. The Pakt (currently $199) features an RPET recycled exterior, a lay-flat dual compartment, zip-around construction, and a ton of organizational features. It has a top-loading interior, removable hip straps that transform into a sling, lockable zippers, security compartments, and more. Best of all, it’s carry-on friendly. Find the Pakt backpack here.

Abby Cap Mountain Goat Wool Trucker

Abby trucker cap with bison and mountain patch picture

We’ve been wearing the Mountain Goat cap ($32) all winter, and its mix of fit, fashion, and warmth have made it a go-to. The artwork comes from Abby Paffrath, who runs Art 4 All by Abby, in Wilson, Wyoming. Check out the Mountain Goat Wool Trucker and other items — like shirts, water bottles, and more — all emblazoned with mountain-inspired art.

Klymit Cross Canyon 2 Tent

Klymit_CrossCanyon2 tent pitched with door open

Designed for three-season use, Klymit’s new line of tents is finally here. The Cross Canyon tent series (from $200) delivers a comfortable camp setup at a low price. The Cross Canyon tent has aluminum poles in a single-pole chain structure for quick setup, two entry doors, dual overhead ventilation, and a tent storage sack that can double as a floor mat. The 75-denier-strength fabric tent floor offers 31 square feet of room (in the two-person model).

Coalatree Switchback Recycled Tee

switchback recycled collared shirt

Last year, Coalatree released a hoodie made from recycled coffee grounds. Now, it’s made a T-shirt out of the same materials. The Coalatree Switchback tee ($49) takes spent coffee grounds and melts it down with plastic to create the fibers for the shirt. The brand also uses waterless dyes to be as sustainable as possible. The Switchback shirt also has UV protection and hidden pockets.

Salsa Cycles Stormchaser

Stormchaser bike

Salsa Cycles’ newest single-speed gravel bike is here, and we couldn’t be more excited. The Stormchaser ($1,499) is designed for you to ride “even in the worst weather.” The build consists of an aluminum frame and carbon fork, with an added Class 5 Vibration Reduction System to soak up micro-impacts. The bike also has abrasion plates on the fork, fender mounts, and internal cable routing. So plow through that mud and ride on.

Prylobite Designs EDC Keychain Knife

Prylobite Designs EDC knife in two colors

Created by an industrial designer, the Pangea Designs Prylobite EDC Keychain Knife (from $100) is an awesome minimalist tool new to the EDC market. The Prylobite has a friction-folder knife design, meaning there’s no lock needed to hold the titanium blade closed. It functions for one-handed opening and as an integrated pocket clip with a G10 or stonewashed titanium handle.

Vasque Breeze LT GTX

one Vasque Breeze LT GTX hiking boot

Vasque took its award-winning hiking boot and gave it a brand-new look. The spring 2020 Breeze LT GTX ($180) has new monochrome colors (black and tan) in addition to the boot’s GORE-TEX technology, Vibram Megagrip traction, and synthetic, abrasion-resistant uppers. The boots weigh under 2 pounds.

OROS Apparel Orion Parka

Black model zipping up a tan OROS Orion Parka

Warmest apparel on Earth? OROS thinks it has that solved. The brand took the same insulation (aerogel) that NASA used to insulate the Mars Rovers in space and redesigned it for apparel. The OROS Orion Parka ($215) uses the brand’s insulation technology called Solarcore to give the parka extreme warmth. The layer also has an insulated hood, airlock waist, insulated pockets, and a shell rated to 10/15K water column tests.

Revelate Designs Spinelock Seat Bag

Spinelock seat bag attached to bike

The Spinelock seat bag ($179-185) has the lowest-profile mounting hardware on the market. It’s fully waterproof and has been tested around the world. The Spinelock comes in 10L and 16L options with an impact-resistant nylon base plate and a low-profile forged aluminum clamp with rotating arms.

United By Blue SoftHemp Tee

United By Blue striped Softhemp tee

New for spring 2020 are a few items in United By Blue’s SoftHemp collection. The women’s SoftHemp tee ($42) is 55% hemp, a more sustainable crop that requires a fraction of the water that cotton does to grow. The shirt comes in two color themes and has cuffed short sleeves and a striped chest pocket. See the men’s modern SoftHemp shirt here.

REEB 'Lickskillet' USA-Made Gravel Bike

REEB manufactures bikes by hand in Lyons, Colorado. And today it announced a gravel grinder in size-specific, lightweight, butted and heat-treated steel or hand-selected butted titanium. REEB named the all-road gravel bike for the steepest gravel road in Boulder County. The Lickskillet starts at $4,700.

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