Osprey Variant 37 Pack: Paragon of Versatility
While many packs boast functional versatility, it’s clear that the Osprey Variant 37 was designed with the influences of professional alpinists.
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Mountain Standards Award
Salewa Firetail GTX: A Hiker that Climbs
The Firetail GTX could be the ultimate all-in-one Teton or Rocky Mountain National Park shoe, with enough hiking chops for long approaches and plenty of climbing prowess for moderate routes.
Black Diamond Express Ice Screws: Drill Baby Drill
The Express is to ice climbing what the Camalot is to rock climbing: a well-designed workhorse that sets the industry standard.
Sierra Designs Convert 2: The Do-It-All Tent
I lived in the tent for about thirty days before Applebee’s granite slabs started wearing on the floor and the back corners’ poles punched right through the fabric. Those areas should be beefed up and handled with care. All in all, the tent saw a lot of abuse, but only the floor showed signs of damage.
CiloGear 60L WorkSack: Simple Success
Six months ago I unpacked a new 60-Liter WorkSack made by CiloGear, and it was love at first sight. I marveled at its simplicity and then loaded it up to find a number of basic-but-brilliant features: a removable frame sheet and bivy pad; lightweight, strong techy materials such as SilNylon; removable compression straps; simple suspension; all the right pockets and no extras; a single interior compartment; a dense foam hip belt: PERFECTION!
Gregory Z30 Pack: Superior Suspension
Because of its ability to hold up in the rugged, perform well on peaks and offer superior suspension in all conditions, this little pack gets an Alpinist Mountain Standards medal.
La Sportiva Women’s Miura: There’s No Going Back
If you like a stiff and aggressive shoe that offers supreme advantages for edging and toeing in pockets, then this is the shoe for you.
Black Diamond Apollo: We Have Liftoff!
Having used the Apollo ski touring and climbing in the Canadian Rockies, I am so impressed that I feel the need to give this bright guy some hype.
Scarpa Spectro: Sticks to Steep
I’ve found generally that what bouldering lacks in height, it makes up for in difficulty. Big-Nosed Millie (V9) at Hueco Tanks–a short, powerful, pocketed roof problem–is a classic example: a dirt-burgling lowball that will cramp your abdominals and snap your tendons. Although the aesthetics of this climb are far from world class, it was a perfect venue to test the aggressively downturned Scarpa Spectro climbing shoes.
Petzl Meteor III Helmet: Faithfully Lightweight
At 235 grams the Petzl Meteor III is extremely lightweight, and throughout the day I had to tap my head to make sure the helmet was still on.