Make no mistake, these pieces are all business when it comes to performance: They wick sweat, banish chafing, and survive skirmishes with rocks and scrub. But each one also has a softer side that won the hearts of our trail-loving tester team. Beyond wowing us with their fit and comfort, this season’s top performers inspired affection and sometimes, true love. Here’s what made us swoon. At a Glance The North Face Women’s Summer Sun Shirt ($65) Ridge Merino Pursuit Merino Hoodie ($90) Pressio Women’s Recon Tank Top ($45) Outdoor Research Shadow Wind Hoodie ($129) How to Find the Right Fit How ..read more

Diehard hikers often rank their bottoms—be they pants, shorts, or skorts—as their single most important piece of performance apparel. That’s because they serve several functions, all of them critically important: They shield against chafing, manage sweat, and fend off assaults from trailside brush and branches. These pants, shorts, and skorts do all that—and more. At a Glance Norrøna Femund Flex1 Lightweight Shorts ($109) Chill Angel Merino Legging ($105) Dovetail Workwear Anna Ultra Light Trail Pant ($79) Black Diamond Alpine Hybrid Pant ($160) Paradis Sport Natural Fiber Bikini ($35) Find ..read more

The Radix 57 backpack doesn’t just look sexy with its sleek monochrome fabric and tantalizing, full-length side zipper. It also delivers best-in-class comfort, load carry, and gear access, all in a sub-four-pound package—about a pound less than many other packs capable of carrying similar loads. This made it our Editors’ Choice pick in our guide to the best backpacking packs this year. Editors’ Choice Mystery Ranch Radix 57 Weight: 3.8 lbs Size: M’s S-XL and W’s XS-L Pros and Cons⊕ Superior load carry ⊕ carrying comfort ⊗ Tiny hydration sleeve $299 at Backcountry (Men’s)  ..read more

To be an ultralighter is to covet new gear. If that sounds like you, chances are a backpack made of Ultra is at the top of your wish list. The space-age fabric from Challenge Outdoors is the hottest new material in the ultralight world, with a super strong UHMWPE weave that promises next-level durability at a low weight. What’s not to love? Aside from its hefty price tag, not a lot. I’ll be the first to admit that Ultra is an incredible fabric. I’ve been testing it for the past year and it’s performed exceptionally. That said, your average ultralighter—myself included—doesn’t need the level o ..read more

Hikers rely on few pieces of gear as intimately as their hiking boots. A well-fitting pair can help the miles fly by, while the wrong boots make every step a pain. We tested more than 30 women’s hiking boots over a variety of terrain to find the best options for every hike, from day trips to mountain expeditions. These nine rose to the top of the pile after impressing our testers the most with their fit, comfort, weatherproofing, and durability. At a Glance Best All-Around: La Sportiva Aequilibrium Hike GTX (Coming Soon) Best Daily Driver: Vasque Re: Connect Here Mid ($150) For Backpacking ..read more

Combining the comfort of a pair of sneakers, the rebound of a high-tech running shoe, and the grip of a technical hiker, the Katabatic Wind Low is made for going fast over rough terrain. It’s also one of our favorites this year. After sending 17 testers out on the trails wearing 41 different pairs of hiking footwear for our Best Hiking Boots and Shoes guide, we named the Katabatic Wind Low the Best Shoe for Speed Hiking. The comfort and lively ride of these hikers are linked to a construction that pulls from the fastest running shoes. First, Oboz uses a dual layer of nitrogen-infused foam, wh ..read more

Every year, tents get lighter, stronger, and more sustainable. 2024’s batch of three-season shelters was no exception, with ultralight trekking pole designs, purpose-built bikepacking bivvys, and cleverly guyed-out basecamps. The eight winners of this year’s exhaustive testing process proved themselves over and over in wind, rain, and even snow. At a Glance Editors’ Choice: Durston X-Mid Pro 1 ($549-639) Best Bikepacking Tent: MSR Hubba Hubba Bikepack 2-Person ($580) Best Budget Tent: Mountain Hardwear Meridian 2 ($275) Best Basecamp: Seek Outside Twilight 3P ($480) Best Strength-to-Weight ..read more

The Durston X-Mid Pro 1 is the most comfortable, storm-worthy one-pound shelter we’ve ever tested at Backpacker, thanks to its signature asymmetrical trekking pole tent design. “It felt positively palatial for a one-person tent,” said one tester after backpacking on the Art Loeb Trail in the Pisgah National Forest. “It weighed less than my sleeping pad, and was small enough to get lost in my pack.” Durston X-Mid Pro 1 Weight: 17.8 oz (DCF floor); 1.2 lbs (sil-nylon floor) Interior Space: 20 square feet Peak Height: 45 inches Pros and Cons ⊕ Incredibly lightweight ⊕ Great headroom ⊕ Weatherpro ..read more

Spring looks different depending on where you live. Where we live, this year’s has been defined by the snow so far. In Vermont, Colorado, and California, we’ve been hiking and skiing it; on an early-spring trip to Florida, we escaped it. The best gear for spring can handle those swings in temperature and precip no, shedding slush and helping you vent heat during hard efforts. These are the five pieces of gear we coveted this month as we navigated the snow-yo. (Photo: Courtesy)Royal Robbins Amp Lite Hoodie—$80 I’m a die-hard proponent of sun hoodies; whether on warm-weather paddles or long hik ..read more

At first glance, choosing a backpacking quilt might seem an easy purchase—in the name of weight-savings, most quilts have simple designs and little in the way of extraneous features. But as choices among ultralight quilts have expanded, making a purchase has gotten more complicated. To shave weight and increase performance, brands large and small have unveiled unique ways to open, close, air-out, and cinch down their quilts, and that’s just the beginning. While that’s great for hikers who want to customize every toggle and fabric type, it can also be overwhelming—especially for first-time buy ..read more