An ice axe is the one piece of gear standing between you and a long, uncontrolled slide down a frozen mountain. Whether you are glacier trekking in the Cascades, ski mountaineering in the Alps, or pushing up vertical water ice in the Northeast, picking from the best ice axes for your specific objective can make … Read more
Finding the best ski touring bindings in can feel overwhelming with so many tech, frame, and hybrid options on the market. Our team spent three seasons skinning up ridgelines from the Wasatch to the Alps, testing 12 of the most popular alpine touring bindings across deep powder, boilerplate ice, and everything in between. We tracked … Read more
When you’re heading into the backcountry, carrying the right safety gear isn’t optional — it’s essential. An avalanche probe is one of the three pillars of backcountry rescue, alongside a beacon and a shovel. If someone is buried in an avalanche, time is the single most critical factor, and a probe lets you pinpoint a … Read more
I have spent the last three winters testing avalanche beacons in the Wasatch, Cascades, and Canadian Rockies, and the one thing I can tell you for certain is that the best avalanche beacons are not all created equal. The device strapped to your chest is the single most important piece of safety gear you will … Read more
When I first started venturing into winter backcountry territory, I quickly learned that regular trail snowshoes simply do not cut it when the terrain gets serious. After years of testing gear in the White Mountains and Colorado backcountry, I have seen how the difference between a good and great backcountry snowshoe can make or break … Read more
Winter hiking used to mean cold, post-holing misery every time I stepped off a packed trail. Then I bought my first real pair of snowshoes and a whole season of terrain opened up that I had been ignoring for years. The best snowshoes do not just keep you on top of the snow — they … Read more
Finding the best rappelling kits in means sorting through a mix of dedicated climbing brands, hunting-specific saddle kits, and budget rescue devices. I spent weeks comparing 12 of the most talked-about rappel setups across forums like r/climbing, r/bowhunting, and SaddleHunter.com to see which kits actually deliver on safety, comfort, and value. Whether you are rappelling … Read more
I have spent the better part of three seasons testing climbing ascenders on everything from wet big-wall fixed lines in Yosemite to dusty arborist ropes in my backyard oak tree. After thousands of vertical feet and a lot of trial and error, I am confident about which devices actually hold up in the real world. … Read more
Every boulderer knows that sinking feeling — you’re three moves from the top, your foot skates, and the ground comes up fast. That moment is exactly why finding the best bouldering crash pads is one of the most important gear decisions you will ever make. A good pad is the difference between walking away laughing … Read more
Finding the best belay devices for your climbing style is one of the most consequential gear decisions you will ever make. I have spent the past three seasons testing 10 of the most popular belay devices across gym sessions, single-pitch sport crags, and multi-pitch trad routes to figure out which ones actually deliver when a … Read more