Owen Mitchell

We really like a good ultralight adventure, and having a good ultralight backpack makes a lot of that possible. Finding the perfect balance of lightweight with enough structure and capacity is not easy, but we think we've done it.

We've gone on fastpacking adventures, hiked through blowing hot sand and frigid snow. We've squeezed our backpacks through dense forests and alders trying to find...

A hiking watch is something you don't need but you probably do want. Technology is slowly creeping in to our outdoor adventures, and hiking watches are a great example of a piece of tech that many of us try once and then never leave home without.

We've worn our hiking watches through rain storms and snow storms. We've worn them through humid jungle treks and bashed through alders. Thankfully...

A good backpacking tent is a critical piece of gear for enjoying yourself in the outdoors. And you may think that tents are mostly alike, but there is a huge difference between a good backpacking tent and a tent you'll return as soon as you get home.

To test out backpacking tents we've gone on week long backpacking trips and fast and light 1 night trips deep in to the mountains. We've set up...

Hiking socks are one of those underappreciated pieces of gear that you don't think about until something starts going wrong. The right pair can keep your feet dry and comfortable, and the wrong pair will turn your foot in to one big blister.

To test out hiking socks, we've logged countless hours in all kinds of terrain. We've gone running, hiked on trail and off, climbed up mountains and slid on...

A good pair of hiking sandals is great for any warm weather adventures, especially when you're going to be around the water. Whether you plan to do some actual hiking in your sandals or use them as camp shoes on a backpacking trip, they come in handy.

Being based on the ocean in the Pacific Northwest, we've had ample opportunity to test out hiking sandals. We've hiked plenty of beaches and creek...

They're not quite hiking shoes and they're not quite climbing shoes. They're something in between. When you leave the trail behind and head in to the mountains, the right pair of approach shoes can make all the difference.

To test out approach shoes, we scrambled up many different chimneys, stood on top of some pointy peaks, and filled our shoes with pebbles sliding down scree fields. We also...

Hiking shoes are a great option if you're looking for something a little lighter, more breathable and more nimble than the typical hiking boots.

We've scrambled up chimneys and boulder fields, trudged miles of sandy beaches and bushwhacked through the backcountry wearing a variety of different hiking shoes, to figure out what hiking shoes we couldn't live without. Below are the shoes we think...

Rain pants are one of those pieces of gear that you throw in your backpack and hope that you never need. But when you do need them, you really want the best.

We've been caught out in rain storms on sunny days, spent days living in our rain pants on multi-day backpacking trips, and survived sideways sleet that stung the eyes. Here are the rain pants that, after all that, live in our backpack.

Not everyone packs long underwear for their camping, hiking and backpacking adventures, but we think the people that don't are really missing out on a great piece of gear.

We've worn our long underwear on the ski hill and out backcountry skiing, we've thrown them on around camp at night to keep warm, and lounged in our long underwear in backcountry huts and looked good doing it. These are the...

For those hot summer days, or even for those not so hot days when you want to move fast, a good pair of hiking shorts is something you should absolutely have in your closet.

We've trekked through hot forests, cold mountains and a few beaches to figure out which hiking shorts we felt like we couldn't live without.