![The author wearing the Grivel Stealth Hardshell helmet on the second-to-last pitch of Prodigal Sun in Zion, October 2017. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/grivel-stealth-hs-helmet-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The Grivel Stealth Hard Shell helmet offers the protection of a hard shell and a foam helmet in one, making it durable against repeated knocks as well as from side impacts. Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz found it to be a worthy brain bucket for big-wall, ice and alpine climbing, but the strap system and one-size fit left a bit to be desired. Four stars.
![Viewing the sunrise on Mt. Baker with the MSR Advance Pro 2 Ultralight tent. [Photo] Mallorie Estenson](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/msr-advance-pro-2-tent-1-1-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mallorie Estenson, an alpine guide and climber based in the Pacific Northwest, has been using the MSR Advance Pro 2 Ultralight–a single-wall, four-season tent–on some ski-mountaineering trips in Washington this winter. The tent is intended to be simple and compact so that it can fit onto narrow ledges found on the side of a mountain. Estenson reports that it was light, easy to set up, and comfortable enough for her to give it four stars.
![[Photo] Jeremy Joseph](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/la-sportiva-trango-tower-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Photographer Jeremy Joseph used the La Sportiva Trango Tower GTX boots for miles of hiking to access the most scenic locations in Colorado’s fourteeners. He was mostly happy with the boots’ performance, and he awarded them four stars.
![The BASU eAlarm can be used in a variety of ways. Here it is rigged on a food sack so that it will be set off if an animal were to tamper with it. [Photo] Clint Helander](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/basu-ealarm-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Clint Helander lives, works and climbs in Alaska, where the risk of bear encounters is a regular hazard. He tested the BASU eAlarm and found it to be a versatile and helpful device.
![The author and her husband with the Hilleberg Nammatj 2 GT on a backcountry ski trip in Colorado. [Photo] Mary Harlan](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/hilleberg-nammatj-2-gt-3-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mary Harlan, an AMGA-trained rock, ice, snow and ski guide, compares the new Hilleberg Nammatj 2 GT to the Hilleberg design she used on Denali in 2012. She and her husband stayed comfortable in the tent on a spring backcountry ski trip but would have liked to have had more interior pockets. Four stars.
![Whitney Clark wears the Patagonia Nano-Air Light Hoody while leading a pitch on the first ascent of High Fashion (5.10, 1,000') on a peak near Wales Lake in the Sierra Nevada Range. The team found a tiny pill container that contained a summit register and identified the mountain as Wales Lake Peak. The register only had two ascents from teams who walked up the backside, Clark said. [Photo] Tad McCrea](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/patagonia-nano-air-light-hoody-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist contributor Whitney Clark tests the durability, warmth and water-resistance of the Patagonia Nano-Air Light Hoody. It did its job but she longed for a built-in stuff sack that would have allowed her to clip it to her harness. Four stars.
![Beth Goralski takes shelter from sharp points while David Roetzel starts up Saphira in the Rigid Designator Amphitheatre Vail, Colorado. [Photo] Chris Van Leuven](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/grigri-plus-2-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The new GriGri+ is heavier and packed with new features, such as a switch for toprope/lead-belay modes and an anti-panic function. Chris Van Leuven learns why the GriGri+ doesn’t replace the GriGri 2 yet still adds a worthwhile option to the family of Petzl belay devices. Four stars.
![John Easterling makes his way up to Teepee Col on the Grand Teton with the Patagonia Ascensionist backpack. [Photo] John Easterling collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/patagonia-ascensionist-pack-1-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
John Easterling used the Patagonia Ascensionist 40-liter backpack for backcountry ski-mountaineering, desert climbing and a few things in between. He was initially skeptical of the pack’s minimalist internal frame, but he found that the pack had the right balance between burliness and weight for technical day climbs or light overnight trips, and he awarded it four stars.
![Chris Van Leuven leads FM (5.11c) in Boulder Canyon, Colorado, while wearing the Ortovox Merino Fleece Light Hoody. [Photo] Paul Gagner](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ortovox-merino-hoody-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Chris Van Leuven wears hoodies often and has tested his share of them. His latest review awards the Ortovox Merino Fleece Light Hoody four stars. Van Leuven reports that the Ortovox is lighter than many other tops, but in terms of loft and warmth it’s similar to heavier ones.
![Derek Franz stays warm at a breezy belay with NW Alpine's Eyebright jacket atop Pitch 4 of Horse and Pony Show (III 5.11d) on the obscure Grizzly Creek Wall in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado. [Photo] Craig Helm](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/nw-alpine-eyebright-1-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz tested the NW Alpine Eyebright ultralight shell jacket, one of the lightest and most durable in its class because of its Dyneema construction. The jacket was structurally and functionally sound but it left some things to be desired when considering the hefty price tag.
