The holy grail for pack design? Perfectly balancing weight, comfort, and durability. The new deuter Aircontact Ultra 40+5 nails that elusive sweet spot, thanks to cutting-edge materials and a redesigned suspension system. The 40+5 offers hikers outstanding carrying capacity and a cushy feel—all in a sleek, sub-three-pound package. The Aircontact Ultra’s design story starts with an impeccable pedigree. In 2022, Outside Magazine staff gave the 40+5’s predecessor—the Aircontact Ultra 50+5—an Editor’s Choice Award for its innovative lightweight design. Now, thanks to some major updates, the new 4 ..read more

Winter adventure is complex by nature. As the weather gets rougher and less predictable, your gear list grows longer. Meanwhile, margins for error shrink. A good winter pack can keep up with the extra demand without faltering in treacherous terrain. Of course, that’s easier said than done. We sorted through 15 different packs to find ones that actually handle the strain of winter. Here are our top picks. The Winners at a Glance Lightest: Rab Latok 20 Best All-Around: Exped Impulse 20 Best Women’s Fit: Gregory Women’s Targhee 24 Most Versatile: 5.11 Skyweight 36 Most Durable: Ortovox Peak 42S ..read more

Winter hiking is not our favorite term, to be totally honest. It puts too much emphasis on the winter part, making it feel like you should be building snow caves or crossing a glacier to qualify. For many, however, winter hiking is simply a cold, possibly wet day hike on your usual trail, or an afternoon tromp through some snowy woods. The best winter hiking boots of 2024 work for all of those scenarios, keeping you dry, warm, and planted wherever your cold weather adventures may take you. Winners at a Glance Best All-Around: Merrell MTL Thermo Rogue 4 Best for Easy Day Hikes: Oboz Andesite ..read more

I made my first backpacking stove in my college girlfriend’s backyard with a hole punch and a can of Fancy Feast. After emptying the cat food in the trash (she didn’t have a cat, and I was a dirtbag but not like that) and removing the label, I marked two alternating lines of holes on the can and punched them out. We inaugurated the stove that night at a primitive campsite in California’s Crystal Cove State Park, boiling up hot cocoa while we watched the city lights twinkle on one side of the hills and listened to the waves lap at the shore on the other. Years later, I found that stove in a bo ..read more

At the start of the 21st century, Swedish entrepreneur and Fjällräven founder Åke Nordin had a vision for helping others explore the breathtaking landscapes of Scandinavia that he loved—like the glacier-carved fjords and valleys, sawtoothed granite peaks, and sapphire blue lakes of the Scandes Mountains. Enter the Fjällräven Classic, an organized group trek celebrating community in the outdoors along a long-distance path. It wouldn’t be a competition; in fact it would be the opposite, just a chance to walk with others and connect in the wild.   During the Classic’s inaugural year in 200 ..read more

There’s nothing quite as freeing as taking a naked hike through nature. Unfortunately, nude hiking is forbidden according to many state and local laws. Inconsistent regulations, coupled with cultural biases against nudity, make naked hiking extremely challenging to navigate, leaving this niche community somewhat lost in the woods.  But Bear Naked Granola believes people should be able to enjoy nature in whatever way they please, even if that’s bare naked. That’s why this National Nude Day, Bear Naked Granola is fueling a freehiking mission to help naked hikers navigate au naturel an ..read more

Your hiking boots are there with you on every adventure, big and small. Whether you’re just exploring around town or striking off deep into the wild, every step adds to the story. And as it does to everything, time takes its toll on your boots. After countless miles, outsoles start to wear down and leather needs some love. With the new Mountain 600 Leaf GTX from Danner, these signs of a well worn boot are just the beginning of your next adventure. This new future-focused hiker is eligible for Danner’s recrafting services, which can keep it on the trail for years to come. We spoke with Erin We ..read more

Big news in the ultralight backpacking world: Challenge Sailcloth, the fabric-maker that produces Ultraweave, the superstrong material found on many new ultralight backpacks, is releasing an even lighter-weight fabric designed for shelters. UltraTNT (for tarps and tents), is a high-tech composite fabric designed to rival Dyneema, the pricey, longstanding king of ultralight fabrics. And while UltraTNT tarps are only available from a single brand right now, shelters from other big name ultralight brands will be available by the end of summer.  Let’s be clear: UltraTNT is neither a Dyneema ..read more

Everyone should have access to the outdoors, and be comfortable there. There’s no arguing with the sentiment, but there are still plenty of obstacles out there, which is why Outside’s mission is literally to Get Everyone Outside. And that’s why we love to partner with brands like Osprey, which shares our values and believes gear sizing should include everyone, too, because equipment needs to fit in order to work. To that end, Osprey worked with a diverse group of product testers and DEI consultants to develop its Extended Fit collection, designed to give bigger bodies equal access to quality ..read more

I spent my weekend staring at the ground—or, specifically, the shoes and feet of a few thousand Appalachian Trail thru-hikers in southern Virginia. For the first time since my own 2019 trek of the country’s preeminent footpath, I returned to Trail Days, a legendary gathering of current hikers, AT alumni, gearheads, vendors, and those merely looking for a smelly good time at the edge of the southern summer. I was hoping not only to get in the mood for my own upcoming attempt of the Continental Divide Trail but also to gather some evidence for a question I think about perhaps a bit too much: Wh ..read more