Outdoor Activities | Product description

May 12, 2025

5 Reasons In-Person Car Auctions May Be Going, Going, Gone

　　The auctioneer’s hammer at the car auction selling block might soon be used to hammer nails in the coffin of traditional “tent” car auctions. Sure, Mecum Auctions posted over $275 million in sales at its 2024 Kissimmee, Fla., auction from over 4,300 vehicles offered for sale. Last year, Barrett-Jacksons first fall auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., even posted over $200 million...

May 12, 2025

(Virtually) Hands-Free Pellet Grilling Under $800: Traeger Woodridge Review

　　Ive been smoking meat on a Traeger for about 8 years, and Ive cooked some delicious meals. But technology has changed vastly since I received my old-school pellet grill. So, I jumped at the opportunity to do a Traeger Woodridge review. Launching today, the Woodridge line packs modern technology into a pellet grill that starts at $799. 　　In a world...

May 12, 2025

How to Keep Your Chin Up When It Hurts

　　When John Orth, a violin maker from Colorado, set out to break his own world record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours, he had no idea he was competing against a college kid from Virginia. And that kid, Andrew Shapiro, didnt know Orth had his eyes set on the same number—10,000 pull-ups. No one had previously thought such a...

May 12, 2025

You Don’t Have to Work Out Every Day. Here’s How to Be a Weekend Warrior.

　　You should do something that makes you sweat every single day, right? 　　At least, that very loose metric has long been the standard for anyone who wants to stay fit, live longer and healthier, and stave off any number of diseases that are associated with inactivity. According to federal guidelines in both the U.S. and UK, adults should do at...

May 12, 2025

Big Agnes Unveils ‘Breakthrough’ HyperBead Tent Fabric: Extreme Strength, No PFASs

　　Big Agnes may have just rocked the boat for the world of ultralight tents. The Steamboat Springs backpacking brand announced its new HyperBead fabric this week, which it claims is 6% lighter, 25% more waterproof, and 50-100% stronger than traditional ultralight tent fabrics. HyperBead uses no PFAS chemicals, DWR, or other water-resistant treatments, so its environmentally friendly to boot. 　　We...

May 12, 2025

Two Dials, Zero Buckles, Even Pressure: Dual BOA Ski Boots Launch Across Brands

　　Two of the biggest brand names in ski boots both launched dual-BOA alpine boots today. K2 and Salomon released the new Cortex collection and S/Pro Supra Dual BOA, respectively, and, notably, neither boot uses a single traditional buckle. Instead, these techy alpine boots leverage two BOA fit system dials to independently adjust the tightness of the entire shell — fromtoe...

May 12, 2025

The Best, Most Expensive GPS Watch I’ve Ever Used: Garmin Fēnix 8 Solar Review

　　Garmin launched the fēnix 8 at the end of last summer, breaking the $1,000 barrier for entry into a GPS watch model line. I expected a lot from this watch, not only because of the price, but because I had been using the fēnix 7 for a year and found it to be an excellent tool for every activity I...

May 12, 2025

A Driver’s “Reckless Joyride” Damaged the Eureka Dunes in Death Valley

　　The Eureka Valley Sand Dunes on first mention in Death Valley National Park are a photographers playground. The golden mounds that rise 600 feet from the valley floor are framed by the red-and-white stratified sandstone of the Last Chance Mountains. Green lumps of prickly shrubs, called Eureka dunegrass, sprout up from the sand. 　　People are in we the first time they...

May 12, 2025

Salomon Cross Hike 2 Mid GORE-TEX Review: A Trail Runner in Boots’ Clothing

　　For years, I’ve been on team trail runner. Ditch the bulky boots and reach for the GTX version of beloved trail running shoes for a combination of light and fast, no matter how much you have packed in your backpack or how long you have been on the trail. In my mind, it saved weight and made hiking more fun....

May 12, 2025

Lightweight Warmth for Backcountry Hunts: Argali Alpine Sleep System Review

　　Finding the right sleep system for your adventures is a bit like finding your security blanket. The wrong one ensures you dont have a good time. The right one means you wake up refreshed and ready for more. 　　When your pack weight matters almost as much as staying warm, the Argali Alpine Sleeping System is built to strike that perfect...

May 12, 2025

Zpacks Duplex Lite Tent Review: Cut Weight, Not Comfort — Unless You’re Over 6 Feet Tall

　　Many hikers become obsessed with saving weight when deciding on gear for thru-hikes. Cut a few ounces here, save a few grams there — it all adds up. Gradually, we dial in our weight item by item, realizing we didnt need a second pair of shorts or a fourth pair of socks. 　　A few items, however, are a necessity to...

May 12, 2025

‘Perfectly Mixed’: Japanese-American Skier Searches for Identity on the Slopes in ‘NISEI’

　　In Japanese, the word Nisei describes someone born in North America whose parent(s) were immigrants from Japan.Its one of several terms Sierra Schlag hears people use to describe her heritage when she visits Japan. For a long time, the disconnect between her and her ancestral culturewas hard to reconcile. But through skiing, Schlag found her full self. 　　In her film...

May 12, 2025

What the TikTok Ban Means for Outdoor Communities and Creators

　　In 2023, Tatiana O’Hara, a content creator in Atlanta, Georgia, began to document her running journey on TikTok. She posted videos as a newbie runner, and soon attracted a dedicated following of other beginner runners. By the end of 2024, she had launched her own local run club. When people are looking for a run club for slower runners, they find...

May 12, 2025

This Idaho Forester Relies on His Skis to Work Through the Winter

　　The Idaho Panhandle is tucked away so snugly between Washington, Montana, and British Columbia that people often forget it’s there. The landscape is characterized by dense fir, hemlock, pine, cedar, larch, and spruce forests. Deep greens and wooly, gray skies tightly hug the Purcell Trench, rimmed by the Selkirk Mountains to the Northwest and the Cabinet Mountains to the Northeast....

May 12, 2025

Softshell Where You Want It, Hardshell Where You Need It: Raide Research TourTech Ski Bibs Review

　　Fresh, pillowy snow was piling up on Vail Pass. Determined to get my fill of it, I charged up for my second lap, beads of sweat rolling down my face, neck, and back, wicking through my base layers and — to my relief — the Raide TourTech Ski Bibs as well. I stretched the softshell material, taking the longest strides...

May 12, 2025

Discover Michigan’s Year-Round Adventure Hub

　　Whatever adventure fuels your travel spirit, Marquette, Michigan, delivers it in Lake Superior–sized proportions. Located in the forested Upper Peninsula along the shores of this iconic lake, Marquette seems to just get better with every changing season. Whether you’re ice climbing in winter or chasing waterfalls in spring, this place is an outdoor paradise. Make the most of a visit...

May 12, 2025

The Year’s Best Planet Parade Will Be Visible Starting January 18

　　It’s a great year for planet-watching. In addition to this week’s stellar views of Mars, stargazers can admire multiple “planet parades”—the simultaneous appearance of several planets in the night sky—in 2025. Arguably the best parade of the year commences on January 18, with Venus and Saturn appearing within 2.2 degrees, or roughly two pinky-widths, of each other. The parade will...

May 12, 2025

Comfort and Safety Collide at $900: Bell Moto-10 Spherical Helmet Review

　　My 95-year-old grandpa is often the toughest, smartest guy in the room. He raced motorcycles across the Mojave Desert and flat-bottomed boats across the Missouri River, survived Rocky Mountain snowstorms on horseback, and even built a house at age 60. The man valued reliable gear and taught me the adage, You get what you pay for. 　　But even with that...

May 12, 2025

More Room for Activities: Introducing the Storyteller Overland 170 CREW MODE Camper Van

　　Storyteller Overland is breaking into the Mercedes Sprinter 170 market with its latest creation, the CREW MODE. It already offers a full line of Sprinter 144 production camper van models, but this new bigger van offering should expand the brands appeal among a wider swath of buyers. 　　Based on the AWD 170 3500 dually Sprinter chassis, the Storyteller CREW MODE...

May 12, 2025

The Best Sports Watch for Everyday, Do-Everything Athletes

　　When we put together a pool of reviewers, we want people who adventure big but also live normal lives—because that’s our true audience (very few readers are running 100-mile races or summiting Everest). Enter lead watch tester Meg Healy. There’s no one better suited to deliver real-world reviews of a watch that can track all of your workouts while integrating...