YETI sent us a duffle, gear case, water bottle and cooler to see what we thought. IFMGA Mountain Guide Mike Lewis tested these items through the winter and early spring including a six-week ski trip to Canada, mountain bike day trips, Flatirons scrambles, day hikes, and cragging days. He can summarize his experience with the items in a few elegant words: “Bomber as F$&K.”
Wild Country has made some useful adjustments to their Friends including extendable slings and extra grooves on the lobes. Katie Griffith tested these new Friends over the winter in Joshua Tree and Red Rocks and found the extendable slings using Flow Cord to be noticeably more durable than the previously equipped Dyneema slings.
PrimaLoft’s Gold, Silver and Black insulations are made with sustainability in mind and are durable, have high warmth-to-weight ratios and remain warm when wet. IFMGA Mountain Guide Mike Lewis tested four items using PrimaLoft insulation made by Helly Hansen, Millet, Fjällräven and Flylow.
IFMGA Mountain Guide Dylan Reed tested Black Diamond’s Solution Guide Harness on granite, sandstone and ice. Dylan found the padded harness to be welcomingly comfortable on multipitch climbs and the gear loops to provide ample space for a large rack. Dylan found some features to be less than ideal for his preferences, but overall the harness to be well-built for durability, comfort, and to handle heavy loads.
Mammut’s Eiger Nordwand Pro SO Hooded Jacket and Pants are very well-made with intention toward functionality, durability, mobility and multitasking, and even a little, or maybe a lot, bling. IFMGA Mountain Guide Mike Lewis tested these mountain crushers throughout the Rockies of Canada, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
Gregory’s Targhee 32 liter ski-mountaineering pack is well-designed, multi-functional, and large enough for full-day tours and alpine days with all the features you need and none that you don’t. IFMGA mountain guide Ian Fowler shares his experience of the pack from a 2-week ski-mountaineering trip to Japan.
IFMGA Mountain Guide Jake Skeen tested the Scarpa Generator Mid climbing shoes in the Red Rock Canyon of Nevada and in the Wind River and Teton ranges of Wyoming. Jake found the shoes to excel in durability, edging, crack climbing, protecting ankles, and for all day use if sized correctly. With strengths in one area, sacrifices are made in others.
Oakes on ice and mixed terrain in multiple venues across Montana. Of the ice tools, Nadav says, “The 2025 X-Dream feels like the continuation of a long evolution rather than a reinvention. It is instantly familiar yet packed with updates that make it more versatile, more customizable, and more refined than previous generations.”
The DMM Cortex high-performance ice and mixed climbing tools were tested over twelve early season days in Montana and came out with high accolades. Read IFMGA Mountain Guide Akio Joy’s review of these innovative and uniquely crafted mountain tools, to which he says will be his go-tos throughout the rest of the winter.
IFMGA Mountain Guide Ian Fowler tested the La Sportiva Big Wall Pullover Hoody and the Wall Breeze Stretch Jacket while climbing in the Italian Dolomites and the Colorado Rockies. Ian loves a good hood, and both garments pleasantly satisfied his fetish. Read more about the specialized designs of these two tops and how they may or may not be a perfect fit for your outdoor quiver.
![Black Diamond's Rock Blitz 15 leans back and takes a break with the Wind River Range and Continental Divide of Wyoming in the background. [Photo] Paul Rachele.](https://alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/rock-blitz-wyoming-1-930x620.jpg)
IFMGA/AMGA Mountain Guide Paul Rachele tested Black Diamond’s Rock Blitz 15 climbing pack this summer and autumn in the Tetons of Wyoming and on the granite and quartzite of the East Coast. Of the pack, Rachele says, “This little pack has earned a place in my kit, not because it’s flawless, but because it allows me to climb without thinking about my pack—and in the end, that might be the best standard of all.”
AMGA certified rock guide Ben Lim tested toprope solo gear made by Avant Climbing Innovations on a recent climbing trip that included Squamish, Smith Rock, Red Rocks, Portland, and the Easter Sierra. Says Ben about the three items tested: “Each Avant product I tested solved a problem with simple, thoughtful design.”
