A recap of top stories, week of Sept. 14-18, 2015.
1) September Snow: Montana Gets 16-Inch Dump: It’s still summer, but the snow is already falling deep in the high mountains.
2) Best Hunting Knives For Any Budget: From $12 to $400, these are the best knives designed for field dressing game.
3) Wind-Proof: MSR Camp Stove Upgrade For 2016: A tester reviews the MSR WindBurner stove, which lights easily, stays heated, and quickly boils water — even in harsh wind.
4) ‘Nano Pop’ Is Tiny Titanium Bottle Opener: Use your keychain as leverage to open bottles.
5) ‘Scale Solar System’ Reveals Vastness Of Universe: This video fills us with wonder at the vastness of the solar system. Space really is the ultimate adventure frontier.
6) Watch Man Ride Mountain Bike On Slackline: Bike riding on a slackline strung high in the mountains must be among the hardest feats accomplished on a mountain bike to date.
7) Western States 2015 Survey: The Gear Runners Chose: Western States’ annual runners’ survey is almost as anticipated among running geeks as the race itself.
8) Underwater ‘Headphones’ Stream Audio Thru Jaw: Good underwater headphones will help those swim workouts go by much faster.
9) The Beautiful Caribbean ‘Playground’: This video shot in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands will have you ready to pack your swimsuit and not much more.
10) How To Build 100% Natural Tiled Hut: We learn something new every time we watch this skilled outdoorsman build from the literal ground up.
11) ‘Stick Sword’ Gets An Upgrade: Sticks make great play swords. This product protects from the inevitable finger bashes of play sword fights.
12) ‘Pack Of All Trades’ For Bike, Hike & Travel: This mid-size Boreas Lagunitas is a ‘pack of all trades’ perfect for a wide variety of outdoor activities.
13) Colorado To Spend $100 Million On Bike Infrastructure: Colorado wants to be the best state for biking, and it is investing to improve bike lanes, educate drivers, and give more people access to two wheels.
14) ‘Bed-Like Experience’ For Campsite: The Exped DeepSleep System is five inches thick and has a quilt and top sheet for luxurious sleep in a campsite. We put it to the test for this review.
15) Nut Tool Has Spring-Loaded ‘Impact Hammer’: The LittleHammer is another perfect example of climbers using ingenuity to solve a simple problem.
16) Most Graffitied National Parks, By The Numbers: More than 600 incidents of graffiti have been reported in National Parks since 2013.
17) The ‘Orange Screw’ Is Ultimate Tent Stake: Sold as the ‘ultimate ground anchor,’ the Orange Screw can hold hundreds of pounds when threaded deep into dirt.
18) WTF Interbike?: Sometimes sexism comes down to something as small as a pair of socks.
19) One Allen Wrench To Rule Them All: The TeleHex: The TeleHex is lighter and smaller than many hex tools, packing four wrench sizes into a single head.
20) Lance Armstrong Coming To Big Screen: Thriller examines one of the greatest deceptions in the modern era, uncovered while Armstrong was celebrated as a hero, winning the Tour de France seven times.
21) Tested: The $3 Million Messenger Bag: Worth every penny, the Peak Designs Everyday Messenger rises above the rest.
22) Felon Swims ‘Wilderness Crossing’ To Get Into USA: Thousands of people cross illegally into the United States from Mexico each year. But in this odd case, a man decided to swim in from Canada, along with another man to ‘protect him from bears.’
23) US Ski Team Frolics In New Zealand Powder: A side benefit of being a world class ski racer? Face shots in New Zealand.
24) SOG Mini Aegis: Quality Knife Off ‘Big Box’ Shelf: Shopping at a big box store, this knife is a gem among a sea of garbage.
25) Trackside Seat At Toughest Downhill MTB Course: The Red Bull Hardline course in Wales is crazy hard. Watch the world’s best mountain bikers put to the test.
26) Drone On A Leash… Meet The ‘Flying Selfie Stick’: A retractible leash limits flight to 26 feet high, just enough for great views — and to become a potential nuisance.
