Out-of-the-box fit isn't the only thing Salomon got right when designing these boots. High-ankle boots don't normally equal lightweight, but these are the lightest backpacking boots I’ve ever had on my feet, at a total of three pounds per pair.

Once I got them in the Grand Canyon they performed superbly. The nylon-and-suede upper's adequate padding kept forward slippage to a minimum while I descended the Bright Angel trail. The real prize on the upper, though, is the lace-locking cleat between the ankle and forefoot which allows you to customize the fit. By letting me lock in the laces at that point, I kept a snug fit down low while opening up the ankle for comfort.They are also waterproof thanks to a Gore-Tex membrane. My feet stayed dry, but also grew a little too hot in the Arizona climate.

The features that makes these boots extra special? The sole and chassis. Salomon designed these boots with one of their proven trailing running shoes, the XA Pro adventure-racing shoe, in mind. The chassis is a thermoplastic-urethane midsole support-plate designed to improve stability by reducing lateral flex. It also protected my feet from sharp rocks commonly found on the trails where I live. The chassis gives a great balance between walking comfort (even with a 45-pound pack) and side-to-side stiffness. The deeply-lugged Contragrip outsole, made with rubbers meant for backpacking, has a flared heel section which also made them very stable.

All in all, I loved these boots and they outperformed my expectations.

--Stephen Hovanec's advice for not getting heat exhaustion while exercising outdoors in, Phoenix, one of America's hottest cities: Run in the evening, the coolest part of the day even if it's 105 degrees. Make sure you're not exposed to direct sunlight like on Piestewa Peak's 3.5-mile Circumference Trail.

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When Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard called him two years ago, wanting to talk gear, Ernest Capbert knew that he and his cohorts at the outdoor clothing startup Finisterre were doing something right. The  company is the dreamchild of Tom Kay, a British surfer who wanted to create a sustainable clothing line for the action sports industry. Like Patagonia, Finisterre places a major emphasis on how and where it sources materials, creating products with a cradle-to-cradle lifecycle in mind, while fostering a sustainable supply chain. The company is also incorporating biomimicry into its designs while going to great efforts to secure its own source for wool (hint: it takes the do-it-yourself trend to new heights).

The Good Route recently had a confab with Capbert, Finisterre's director of marketing, about the company's clothing line and its focus on sustainability.

Herewith, some outtakes.

The Good Route: How do you go about designing Finisterre clothing and selecting materials?

Capbert: It's always been about sustainable design. We are not using [waterproof] membranes because the process of combining two polymers is really energy-intensive and most fabrics with polymer laminates can't be recycled. Another issue is just how long the products are going to last. The membranes degrade over time. A jacket might last three to four years [before losing waterproofness]--that's not long-lasting enough for us.

The Good Route: Finisterre has been recognized for its efforts in using biomimicry--using otter fur as a template. Where is that showing up in your products?

Capbert: A lot of what nature does is awe-inspiring. So we try to use it in the way we make clothing. After lots of research with academics at Bath University, we have been able to manufacture the Napa lining. It mimics the structure of otter fur. The lining has multiple layers that work to keep heat close to the body while wicking away moisture and its used in the latest versions of our Humboldt and Storm Tracker jackets.

The Good Route: And you're starting up a new effort to source the wool used in your base layers?

Capbert: We source our Merino wool in Tasmania, from a group that gives accreditations for ethical Merino sheep farms. But we found out that the group is not just the accreditation organization but also an exporting company. There sheep in Tasmania that are exported when they get old. We are against live export. Plus, interest in Merino is spiking and because of this, companies [farms] are going to try to fill demand and things will fall through the cracks.

There are free trade groups, ISO certifications, etc. Standards are good, but not good enough. This whole thing showed that if you want to go anything you have to do it yourself. We don't have enough visibility into the supply chain. So we started the Natural Advantage program. Merino sheep are not robust enough for the climate in England and Scotland, but about 30 years ago a new breed of sheep was started that is a combination of Shetland and Saxon Merino. The goal was to create sheep with soft, fine wool like Merino but in an animal that could stand the climate here. But soon after this new breed, call Bowmount, was made, the the US wool market fell out and the project was given up. The Bowmont flocks that had been bred were sold and many were slaughtered or crossbred with Shetlands. So we are working with a breeder here and are looking for and breeding more Bowmount. We have 35 so far and we need 95 to start getting enough wool to manufacture with it.

--Mary Catherine O'Connor is a freelance writer, covering the environment, sustainability and outdoor recreation. The Good Route, her new blog for Outside Online, is focused on the places where the active life and sustainability merge.

The funny thing is you spend just as much time in a pair of shorts as you do in your running shoes, so you want to have shorts that feel good, fit and perform well. And I have learned the hard way in the past that the right pair of shorts can make a world of difference (bad shorts = chaffing, the bane of any runner’s existence). I recently tested the Sugoi Verve running short; ($45), a low-rise, lightweight running short with mesh panels and a mesh liner for moisture wicking and breathability, and was quite happy with how well the shorts fit, felt and performed. 

Fit: These shorts fit true to size and are a bit longer than the traditional half-split running short. At first I thought the length would inhibit my stride, but I didn’t have any problems with that while running. The Verve shorts have a drawstring waist and a mesh liner that wasn’t too tight to feel restrictive and wasn’t too loose to make you want to cut the darn thing out of the shorts! 

Comfort: I found these shorts to be very comfortable on both short and long runs. The material is thin but strong, and even after a long, hot and sweaty training session the material stayed dry and didn’t stick to my skin or feel uncomfortable. The mesh liner was excellent at wicking away moisture and I honestly didn’t even think about the liner during the run, which makes it pretty much perfect in my book. Sometimes shorts can ride up during a run and I find myself constantly adjusting them and pulling them down. The Verve never rode up. 

Performance: There are several features of the Verve shorts that set it apart from other running shorts.  There is a small mesh key pocket in front, which is actually large and stretchy enough to fit a classic-sized iPod. On a long run, I was surprised to find that my iPod stayed put and didn’t bounce around at all.  There are also two Velcro “quick draw” pockets on the sides of the shorts that easily fit a gel or two in each, which is especially great for distance runners.  What I didn’t expect was that these pockets are large and stretchy enough to fit a headlamp. Who really wants to carry a headlamp when setting off at dusk or wear one in daylight before it gets dark? I was just able to close the pocket and thus my headlamp was snug as a bug, no annoying bouncing or jumping out of the pocket. Speaking of running in the dark, the Verve short has 3M Scotchlite reflective strips on the sides, which certainly came in handy when running in pre- or post-daylight.   

Overall, I highly recommend these running shorts. The only downside is they are a bit more expensive than other shorts on the market. As with many things, however, you get what you pay for and in the end I think these shorts will last (and obviously perform) a lot better than some of the cheaper running shorts I own.

Bethany Aquilina has been running since she was three years old. She's paced herself across 21 countries and four continents. Her most memorable moment? Being chased by overzealous monkeys on a trail in Hong Kong.

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Climbing isn’t—and shouldn’t—be about the coolest newest gear. It’s about what works well. That’s why we brought whiskey.

Below is some of the essential non-technical gear I used. Whether you’re an ultralight backpacker, big-wall climber, or just happen to like stuff that works, this gear will deliver:

SmartWool Adrenaline Light Crew Socks ($18)

Since I wasn’t planning on bringing a second pair of socks up the wall, I needed something that would keep my feet warm and comfortable in a variety of conditions; from hiking in 80 degree weather down in the valley to subfreezing bivouacs on the wall. And, they would have to handle my notoriously sweaty (read: stinky) feet. This light, half-cushioned merino wool-and-nylon crew sock stayed fitted without bunching up, even after several days of heavy use. My partner also commented on the improvement of my foot odor when we were bivouacking. I’ll pack these again the next time I go play in the mountains, for sure. Tip: turn them inside-out to get an extra day of use out of ‘em. You won’t even notice the difference.

Five Ten Marvel Trail Running Shoes ($115)

No hiking boots? Damn right. They’re heavy, and generally totally unnecessary for everything but carrying a pack that’s probably too heavy for you too far. Stealth Rubber, on the outsole, stuck to the granite slabs like suction cups, and the low-profile upper of the shoe made working with the aiders more bearable—especially in high winds when they would flap around like Buddhist prayer flags. Before the trip, I had been running three to eight miles every day in the mountains near Santa Fe in these shoes. Snow, mud, scree, goatheads—they handled everything, without making me feel like I was wearing too much shoe. Mesh panels and breathable lining helps the shoes dry fast, and the ultra-light compression molded EVA midsoles have a shock absorbing heel wedge that eats up shock, letting you play hard all-day.

Patagonia Simple Guide Pants ($125)

I’ve used these pants for everything; mountaineering, cross-country skiing, hiking, whitewater canoeing, yoga, climbing—the first good date I had, I was wearing these pants. These pants are versatile! After four years and three different continents, I’ve only put one hole in them. And that came from a 20-foot upside-down lead fall while wearing crampons. The double-weave of all-recycled polyester and spandex with DWR-coating offers remarkable durability and weather-resistance while remaining lightweight. Water-resistant zippers close the pockets: two welded-in front, one thigh and one rear hip. And my favorite features: a draw-cord elastic waistband that eliminates the need for a belt, and a two-way zip fly for easy use with a harness.

Mountain Hardwear UltraLamina 15 degree bag ($205)

My hat is off to Mountain Hardwear on this one. I could have sworn I was using a down bag.  With a solid (and accurate) 15-degree rating, this surprisingly light (2 lb 14oz ) synthetic bag somehow compressed down to the size of a loaf of bread. My partner’s synthetic bag took up twice the space. How is this bag so miraculous? Mountain Hardwear took their old synthetic insulation and cut it into a million pieces. Poof! Down-like synthetic insulation. Why didn’t anyone think of this sooner? And you can’t beat synthetic insulation for reliability. Even when my bow-hatch flooded during a multi-day kayaking trip through the Apostle Islands in late September, this bag kept me warm, despite being soaked through.  The dual side zips allowed me to stay in the bag while cooking supper, and the rip-stop nylon shell repelled even the heaviest dew. This is the bag you want if you need to go light, fast, and warm—no matter what.

Black Diamond Big Wall Hooped Bivy ($230)

Bivy sacks are simple; think of them as waterproof, breathable shells for your sleeping bag. Staying in the shell is surprisingly hard to achieve without poles, though. Honestly, a tent is best. But sometimes, like on the northwest face of Half Dome, you can’t have one. I found that BD’s Big Wall Hooped Bivy was the closest thing to a tent that I could hope for. It's a good option if you’re going ultra-light and plan on encountering some weather. A sewn-in flexible wire creates much appreciated air space around your head (enough to read a book in!), and the single-wall fabric, with its taped seams, can handle a serious beating—even a hailstorm— and worked just as well as Gore-Tex. If you need a bivy sack to save your ass, this one will.

Mountain Hardwear Direttissima ($200)

This 50-liter pack proves that it’s not about what a piece of gear is designed to do, it’s about what it can do. Turns out, this thing can get dragged up 2,000 feet of granite. Not bad for an alpine-style pack that’s not necessarily designed to be used as a haul bag. With an approach that could kill me (literally) if I didn’t keep my feet, I didn’t want to be mucking around with a boxy haul bag. So, I found the best of both worlds with the Direttissima; a solid alpine pack that could—in a pinch— handle getting hauled up a massive rock face. The hipbelt, framesheet and lid are removable, and the compression straps tuck away allowing it to glide over rocks and shard edges. With 3,200 cubic inches of storage available, this pack is good for everything but only the longest, most drawn-out expeditions, yet it compresses down comfortably for day-trips. Only complaint: the white color shows the dirt as one might expect. --Dave Costello

Check out a photo gallery of editorial intern Dave Costello's trip up Half Dome, here.

By Stephen Regenold

It ain't a technical top. Some people think its prairie-dog-with-wings motif is silly or childish. But the Topo T-Shirt, an organic-cotton, casual short-sleeve, has been an unlikely wear-everywhere jersey for me over the past few years.

I am on my second one. The $36 shirt just fits right, and its 100-percent organic cotton fabric stays soft and supple after many washings.

About the graphic: It gets a lot of attention. There's something cute but also melancholy about the hopeful rodent that's seemingly just met his doom and is rising to heaven. Or is he ascending in rebirth like a phoenix? (That's what the sales copy suggests at toporanch.com.)

The singer and pianist Ben Folds was once caught on film crooning with a Topo T-Shirt on. To me, that elevated the quirky design to a cult status of some sort. Or maybe I am simply partial to rodents with wings.

--Stephen Regenold writes about outdoors gear at www.gearjunkie.com.

My first impression was that this drybag-like pack would be a raft guide's nightmare. It's material felt surprisingly lightweight (read: snaggable) and it had a multitude of straps hanging off the pack (read: also snaggable). I was skeptical that the supple material wouldn't hold up to the rigors of a river man's daily life.

From the start, I knew that the bag had very good features such as ultra-convenient and nicely-sized side pockets, hydration-bladder compatibility and a "wet bag" section inside to keep wet and dry gear separate. That said, I needed convincing that the bag would stay in one piece through the violent surf season on West Virginia's New River.

Bottom line: my durability skepticism was for naught. The bag held up to the demands of the daily grind with ease.

The bag is as waterproof as it is durable. Not meant for repeated and prolonged submersion, the TPU-coated nylon fabric and taped seams never failed to keep contents dry. The roll top allowed water in only on rare occasions when the bag was torqued in such a way that the roll top opened up a bit. This could be because the roll top has a design flaw. Three rolls, as recommended by Aquapac, wasn't really adequate. It needs four to keep completely watertight. During big water and notoriously nasty surf holes, the bag’s performance noticeably improved with an extra cinch. You would think you can just give it an extra roll but the bag has small securing loops that only work if the bag is rolled three times. If these loops were moved an inch south to accommodate a fourth roll, torsion in the bag's top wouldn't make for a leak.

In the end, people buy backpacks to put things in and not usually for their waterproofness. Size-wise, this 25-liter (1,525 cubic inch) backpack does fit enough clothing for a change or two and an extra shell or dry top for particularly nasty weather. The interior wet bag, a road-construction yellow, provides ample space to separate the wet from the dry. It can also be used in a survival situation, as its vivid color can be visible from the moon, or at least by a passing airplane.

In a market dominated by entrenched brands, such as Watershed, the bag’s $85 price tag makes it a true competitor--any higher and one might just want to go with the old tried-and-true.

Jason Reott spent the first two years of his professional raft guiding career living out of a tent along the New and Gauley Rivers in West Virginia. He also logs nearly 20 miles a week on nearby hiking trails.

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The Yakima Holdup bike carrier has a built-in bottle opener. Yeah, I know, so do flip-flops these days, but still.

But first, why the hitch-mounted tray-style bike carrier? Hitch-mounted racks make transporting bicycles easier because you don’t have to be Yao Ming or carry a stepladder to get your bike on top of your roof. If you are driving a four-or-all-wheel-drive rig, you are already nodding your head, especially if your ride is a 50-pound downhill mountain bike. Second, hitch-mounted racks save gas over roof-mounted models by reducing your vehicle’s aerodynamic profile. I couldn’t find any studies on it, and I’m not the sort who records my mileage, but I’m pretty sure you’d pay off the cost of the rack ($415, yakima.com) in a season or six in gasoline cost savings.  Some people don’t like dead bugs getting welded onto their bikes when they are transported on the roof. Those people probably won’t care about the Holdup's bottle opener (just saying), but hitch-mounted racks fix that too. Why the tray style, which supports the bike from below rather than dangling them from the frame? Loading bikes onto the Holdup is very fast—like 10 seconds—even with mountain bikes that have strange geometry and don’t easily work on the less-expensive dangler-style models.

The updated-this-year Holdup works beautifully. It loads quickly—simply slot the wheels into the wheel trays and swing the ratcheting arm onto the top of the front wheel and clamp it down. Then you clamp down the rear wheels with the classic Yakima rear-wheel snugging band. Hard to describe, but its pretty obvious in person. It accepts any bike type—from giant downhillers, even 29-inchers, to svelte road bikes. When the Holdup is empty, you can fold the arms and the front wheel trays up and then pivot the whole rack up upward to a vertical storage position against the bumper of the vehicle. Also, when you remove the rack entirely, it doesn’t take up much room in the garage. Some of these tray-style hitch-mounted racks have clearance problems on steep driveways. The Holdup curves up from the receiver and places the bottom of the bikes several inches above the hitch, which should eliminate scraping on all but the steepest transitions. Lastly, the Holdup includes a cable lock that snaps to the rack and allows you to lock your bikes to the rack, your rack to your car, or both, which is nice.

So, what are the improvements? The '09 Holdup replaces the straight pin on the tilt mechanism with a spring-loaded pin. Much better. The old version didn’t tilt away from the vehicle for hatch entry, and lastly, on the '09 version, the ratcheting keeper arms have an internal stop that prevents them from falling off the end of the rack and dragging on the ground, which sometimes happened on older models with careless operators.

—Frederick Reimers
Reimers, the former editor of Canoe and Kayak magazine, is a freelance-writer based in Portland, Oregon.

By Stephen Regenold

Touted to be a "storm fortress" with a pedal-specific cut, the Cyclical Shell offers a solid waterproof/breathable top with a svelte look tailored for commuters and the urban single-speed set. It employs
eVent fabric, which is commonly used in outdoors- and mountain-oriented outerwear, to make a form-fitting, sweat-dispensing jacket that repels rain, sleet, snow, and wind. And it comes in both men's and women's models.

At $299.95, the shell is expensive when compared to other cycling-specific rainwear (you can get it on sale, though, while it lasts for $179.97 at cutterbike.com). The price may be high, but it's performed almost flawlessly on the road and trail in my tests so far.

There's no doubt the Cyclical jacket was designed by cyclists. It has a "pedal-specific cut," as the company puts it, meaning the lines and seams are made to cover and fit a person crouched over handlebars. There are long, hand-covering cuffs, waterproof zippers, and extra long coverage on the "tail" (lower back area) to help block tire spray on clothes.

The men's size large weighed 8.5 ounces on my scale--light for a
bomber waterproof shell. It stuffs into its own back pocket for stowing in a messenger bag when the weather is good. At the sight of rain, unpack the shell and zip it to your chin. There is no hood,  but the eVent fabric is waterproof to the hilt. Drops of rain bead and run off the shoulders and sleeves. The jacket is black and has few reflective details, so be sure to clip a red blinker light on your bike for riding at night. Cutter does include a chest pocket with a headphone-cord port, but I don't recommend employing an iPod in traffic, so listen to music and pedal at your own risk.

Like all Cutter products, the Cyclical Shell Jacket is warranted for life. Cutter will refund or exchange the shell if there is a fabric or manufacturing defect. The official company line is: “All Cutter gear carries a lifetime warranty. If our stuff sucks, send it back.”

On the road--and for crossover use in mountain biking and hiking this fall--the Cyclical Shell Jacket, so far, does not suck. Indeed, the light, streamlined design, plus a breathable shell fabric and a good fit, makes the Cyclical one of my favorite new jackets this year.

--Stephen Regenold writes about outdoors gear at www.gearjunkie.com.

--Aileen Torres

When I trained with the Avi-Stoltz, I noticed how well they performed on inclines and declines. The outsole is serrated, which helps maintain traction on undulating terrain and around spotty corners on the trail. A groove in the middle of the outsole, called the Ess Rocksteady Plate, protects your foot from rocks and roots and anything else that might cause bone bruising.

The elongated heel tab makes for speedy transitions for triathletes, and the tongue is gusseted, which will help keep out sand and grit.

My favorite quality of the Avi-Stoltz is the Dura-Ryd cushioning system in the forefoot and heel. It took about 15-20 miles for the shoes to break in, and the cradle that formed around my heel is downright heavenly.  

 The Avi-Stoltz is also extremely light. A size 8 weighs only 11 ounces.

Three-time Xterra world champion Melanie McQuaid races in the Avi-Stoltz, as well (women's color, right), ensuring the shoe’s high-caliber following.

--Ken Derry can be see at left hiking the Wonderland Trail on Mt. Rainier in 2006. Most of the time, though, he's jogging the track at Yankee Stadium thanks to his job: He's the managing editor of the baseball team's in-house publication.

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