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When portability is paramount, Sony’s Vaio T is the ultimate machine. I’ve road-tripped mine across the United States and Canada. It’s survived a kayaking expedition to Madagascar, where it happily chugged a steady diet of digital photos. On my “recovery” days, it’s a coffee-shop conversation starter: “Is that a real…
The Cimarron might look a little aggro, but it’s virtually indestructible, thanks to its beefy molded-EVA exoskeleton and Keen’s patented toe-stubbing protection. Bonus: A full-length mesh-upper lining keeps feet secure and small pebbles out. keenfootwear.com…
JETBOIL‘s ultra-efficient GROUP COOKING SYSTEM has a 1.5-liter pot for melting snow.
ROOMY PLAYBOAT With a roomy cockpit and extra-large foot bumps—which can accommodate up to size 13 feet—the Agent is the best big-dude boat with agile performance. It’s not as speedy as Dagger’s previous freestyle boats, but thanks to an ultra-loose, yet edgy, double-release chine and a heavily flared stern…
Fitness King Paddling to get a workout? This lightweight performance touring kayak absolutely flies when you put your head down and hammer. “It sprang from stop to go like a racehorse,” reported one tester after zipping across Lake Champlain and back. The Cat 5's deck is arced high to accommodate…
Priced for entry level but tuned for the long haul, the Desperado combines sturdy no-flutter carbon-reinforced nylon blades with Werner’s classic heavy-duty fiberglass oval shaft. www.wernerpaddles.com…
The Willis freestyle vest employs Astral’s split-panel design with two independent foam sections. An inner panel hugs your ribs, while the outer panel moves with your shoulders. astralbuoyancy.com…
To cut about a half-pound out of their widest skins—they’re designed specifically for skis 110 millimeters or wider underfoot—Black Diamond has stitched a tough, waterproof nylon panel between strips of skin material. Other benefits we liked: It makes them easier to peel off and reduces a bit of drag…
Yowza, this one’s thinner than Mary-Kate Olsen! To achieve a sub-one-inch cross section, Toshiba stripped the Portégé R100 down to the basics and offers a separate docking station and a readable DVD and read/write CD drive. While its competitors obsess over silvery Mac-style aluminum, Toshiba—en route to an impressive three-pound-two-ounce…
Good for Backcountry Along with the system of beeps, arrows, and measurements that traditional avalanche beacons produce to help you find your buried friends, the S1 also draws you an easy-to-read picture, with precise distances and locations. It’s quick on the draw, too: When you open it,…
PERFECT FOR PLAYING, SUITABLE FOR DOWNRIVER If your town has a play park, put this boat in it. Here’s why: On a steep breaking wave, a slow, bouncy boat will get you airborne. But on down-tempo man-made waves, the boat has to make up the difference. The Ronin does: It’s…
Best for Beginners One of the hardest things to learn in a kayak is how to go in a straight line. That's why kayaking newbies especially loved this ten-and-a-half-foot plastic boat. It stays on course and maintains speed almost in spite of what its paddler is doing. In rough seas…
This 4mm skirt features an extra flap of neoprene around the cockpit to keep you drier than the competition. www.snapdragondesign.com…
Improving on its top-of-the-line bent-shaft freestyle paddle, Adventure Technology shaved an ounce off its standard (30-degree offset) AT2 by switching to full-carbon construction. atpaddle.com…
Depress a button and the Griz’s handle folds open. Push another and the handle lengthens to twice the length. Now you’re digging. We like how quick and easy it is. And the solid D-shaped handle. And how the big, gently serrated blade bites into rock-hard snow. 28 oz;…
The God Bless America entry in this group, HP plays to our bigger-is-better leanings with this tote-bag equivalent of Imax. Multiple headphone jacks, Harmon Kardon speakers, BrightView widescreen, and a handheld remote (obviating the long reach from your first-class seat to the tray table) re-create the cinema experience. And because…
Good for Backcountry It’s the tips and tails that most often give you trouble, which is why we’re loving BD’s new nylon-and-mohair skins. In addition to being a bit lighter, faster, and more packable than previous generations, this model has riveted top loops to latch cleanly onto…
TWICE AS FUN, TWICE AS HARD How much do you really trust your paddling partner? How solid is your marriage? The Topo Duo may have the answers. It’s the only two-person whitewater boat in production. A strong paddler can right both the boat and an accompanying novice, but beware: There…
Packable Sailboat “I can hardly believe it,” remarked one tester, “but it really does sail like a legit boat.” That pretty much sums up our take on the inflatable Smartkat. It took testers about an hour to assemble, but once on the water this 15'7″ masted catamaran, which is capable…
With a gusseted crotch, articulated knees, and neoprene-lined closures, these waterproof pants are as comfortable as your old pair of Levi’s. www.lotusdesigns.com…
It’s not a gimmick. You really can toss WRSI’s football-themed throw bag farther and more accurately. When your buddy’s trapped in a recirculating eddy, drill him in the head. Trust us, he’ll thank you. whitewaterhelmet.com…
When the slope rips out beneath you, your beacon will help friends find you, but how deep you’re buried will likely determine whether you survive. The BCA Float 30 (with an insulated hydration sleeve; shovel and probe pockets; and, new for this year, a diagonal-ski-carry system) deploys a 150-liter…
You can’t really consider a Dell a single piece of equipment. Each made-to-order notebook is like a rack of climbing protection you’ve customized for a specific big-wall route. The basic vanilla version—40GB hard drive, 1.6GHz processor, and 256MB of RAM—will get you safely up your backyard crag. When you’re ready…
Good for Backcountry We’ve never really liked previous integrated probe-shovel combos—they’ve been either short (the probe), cumbersome (getting it out of the shaft of the shovel), or both. The Arsenal is different. The ten-inch-wide blade and sturdy aluminum construction can move serious snow. And the seven-foot-ten-inch 240…
Face it: You’re too old for the PlayStation. Still, an all-business laptop would be pure drudgery. Lucky for you, Alienware—the Miami-based notebook-gaming powerhouse that custom-manufactures some of its systems with twice the computing oomph of an Xbox—has released a hybrid that can crank through the “Legendary” level of Halo 2…
CREEK SPECIALIST The Habitat incorporates the trademark roominess of Wave Sport’s previous creekboats, but its new hull design is carvier, more forgiving, and not as flat-bottomed (read: you won’t crush your spine boofing). At just over eight feet, it was fast enough to cut across eddy lines on the Colorado,…
Expert Fisherman Using the underwater pedal-powered flippers and knob-controlled rudder, you can propel the Mirage across the lake hands-free so you can fish, shoot pics, sip a drink. Prefer to paddle? The flippers remove in a snap (OK, the press of a button) and you're free to paddle it like…
Last year, Wave Sport’s designers must have taken the same trip through the wind tunnel that Lamborghini techs made recently. Gone are the rococo flourishes and hard angles, replaced by spare, fluid lines. But where the Project’s predecessor, the ZG, allowed comfort and speed to compromise performance, this year’s…
The Golden has the solid flex and feel of wood—it’s available in either ash or padauk—and because its blades are coated with a polymer similar to what’s used for spray-in truck-bed liners, it’s practically indestructible. wavedogpaddles.com…
You can winterize any inflatable sleeping pad with an inexpensive (if bulky) closed-cell foam mat like THERM-A-REST’S Z LITE PAD.
When you finally decide to give up the dirtbag lifestyle and finish that degree, you’ll want an M210X riding shotgun. The Ultrabright widescreen supports ideal viewing of your digital scrapbook from the life nomadic or the latest huck-doll videos from your friends still livin’ it. When homework calls, the dazzlingly…
The two big things to take into consideration when choosing a kayak: the kind of water you will be paddling and for how long. Some boats, like the Emotion Comet (seen here) and the Necky Rip, are great for day trips, while some, like the Current Designs Infinity, are better…
H2O claims its thermoplastic resin blade is as light as a composite but still durable like plastic. The bent carbon-and-glass shaft eases wrist strain, and indexed grips help you keep your bearings, even while getting thrashed in a hole. www.h2opaddles.com…
The micro-brimmed, crash-helmet styling of the Holt—often worn with goggle straps on the inside—is the choice for the park-and-pipe set. Come summer, the winter pads are removable for a warm-weather skate setup. smithoptics.com…
Take It Anywhere The greatest thing about canoes like the Explorer LT is their versatility. There's enough room (1,100 pounds of capacity) to tool around with dogs, lunch, and kids—or pack up camping supplies and head out for a week. And because it has a moderate amount of rocker and…
Headquartered five minutes from Canada’s St. Lawrence River and the mighty surf waves at Lachine Rapids, Riot helped launch big-wave riding as its own kayaking subgenre. The Astro carries on that tradition with a fast-planing hull and delayed rocker to aid aerial moves but maintains a bow profile narrow…
The gold standard of expedition paddling gets a makeover with a more versatile neck closure to fit everyone from a linebacker to an Olsen twin and—thankfully, with all that water rushing by—a “relief” zipper. kokatat.com…
PATAGONIA‘s DOWN SWEATER SPECIAL EDITION will supercharge your winter jacket or sleeping bag.
Aimed squarely at the Gen Xbox crowd, the Sidekick looks and feels like a game controller. If you’re all thumbs, you’ll be all right with the more than 30 downloadable games from T-Mobile.com, e-mail sync, contact manager, and instant messenger. And should you find yourself locked up in a Turkish…
Shots in the Dark It’s no secret that Nikon’s 12.3MP D300s (an HD-video-enabled update on their popular D300) and the Canon 7D go head to head in the prosumer DSLR category, but the two companies took different tacks in their designs. The D300s favors the still photographer, with a zippy…
This high-performance, narrow-hulled speedster tracks like an osprey to a trout: fast and straight. The high-backed seat has a ratcheting backband adjustment that, cranked tight, puts you in an aggressive forward position that will let you race with rowing shells—and win. Extras are few in the stripped-down shell, but…
Building off its success in mountain-bike helmets, Giro incorporates ample, switch-closable vents and a style-conscious but functional visor on this freeskiing lid. For $30 more get speakers built into the ear pads. giro.com…
The Big Easy More than 30 inches wide, with a pontoon-style hull, the open-decked Commander is the perfect stable platform for gear-intensive outings—even if that gear is a good book and a well-stocked cooler in the gaping stern tank well. As a canoe/kayak hybrid, it's not quite stable enough to…
Graham Bowley rehashes August 2008's tragic events on Pakistan's K2.
Because the heat of summer is upon us, we scoured the globe for the greatest sailing, fishing, paddling, diving, floating, surfing—you get the idea—trips out there. And since you can't always pop over to Indonesia, we picked a few close-to-home adventures, too.
These cutting-edge hybrid, tandem, and ultra-portable boats make it easy to hit the water.
A group of hyper-energized twenty-somethings want to form a community of the country's brightest young CEOs by skiing, kayaking, and getting tattoos together. Crazy, right? The CEOs don't think so.
Lottery fever has taken over the adventure world, which suddenly makes us miss waiting in line.
WHERE TO USE IT: Cold water and stiff currents make Washington’s San Juan Islands a serious destination for kayakers. But with good forecasts and maps from Anacortes’s Sea Kayak Shop (seakayakshop.com), they can also be the most rewarding, with frequent orca and humpback sightings. Take a lap…
“Not just different. Better.” That tester’s observation sums up this 15-degree bag from Montbell, whose major tech innovation—spiraled baffles—made it the most comfortable and best-functioning bag we tested this year. Far from a gimmick, the spiral baffles drape more evenly over the body, creating…
It's not enough to be at the forefront. In an era when everything has supposedly been done, these adventure icons ignore convention, court risk, and let their passion lead the way.
This ode to cutting loose could make you quit your job.
Kick Kennedy The dynastic brothers are gone, but up comes the next generation. Kick, 21, a senior at Stanford, has quietly built a résumé fighting for water conservation. In 2006, she joined an Imax crew filming Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk and became…
Julia Mancuso The first time we heard about Julia Mancuso, she was winning gold in the 2006 giant slalom, in Turin, after top U.S. contender Lindsey Vonn was injured in practice. The Lake Tahoe native went on to have a career-best season, but in the years that…
It’s hard to call an Olympic silver medal a defeat, but that’s what Gretchen Bleiler’s 2006 halfpipe loss to Vermont native Hannah Teter seemed like. Bleiler, the 28-year-old from Aspen, Colorado, has been the dominant woman in snowboarding for the past half-decade, but she’s entering this Olympic year as an…
BEST: SEPTEMBEROCTOBER, WHEN THE SAND IS COOL FIRST ENCOUNTER: Sun Spots I can’t tell you if we saw the sun set on the North Rim and rise on the South Rim or if the order was reversed. It doesn’t matter. What I remember is that I was seven…
Whether you’re looking for a compact point-and-shoot or a high-end SLR, we’ve selected a sharp shooter for every photographer and budget. : Sony DSC-HX1 $500 (Photograph by Shana Novak) The cake: Ten frames per second, with a 28560mm optical zoom and HD video. The icing? A sweep modefor automatically spliced,…
Putting off med school to train for the English Channel swimming record? Now that's a gap year. San Francisco-based Laurin Weisenthal, 25, who helped her Harvard swim team win an Ivy League championship and break into the NCAA's top 25, plans to make her attempt at the 25-mile, 58-degree crossing…
Whitewater's brightest stars are launching bigger drops than ever. But it'll take more than sweet photos to right this fading sport.
There's no better place to escape your own success than on a river in Texas Hill Country. Just ask Taylor Kitsch.
What kind of masochist does it take to swim alongside the man who conquered the Arctic in a Speedo? Our kind.
Times are tough, but growing and killing your own food isn't the answer.
No, you haven't met her somewhere before, and neither had we. Fletcher, a 33-year-old triathlete from Red Deer, Alberta, has spent the last five years coming up through the amateur-triathlon ranks, consistently winning her age group, and is poised to go pro in 2009. How does she practice jockeying against other hard-bodied type-A women who occasionally kick
The West’s desperate water shortage may get a year’s reprieve. Last winter’s epic snowpack—in some places the biggest since the 1960s— is fueling the best whitewater season since the invention of self-bailing rafts. The timing couldn’t be better: 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Life in Chile’s Atacama Desert is hot, dry, and tough. That is, unless you’re lying poolside at Tierra Atacama, the latest luxury hotel to open in the unlikely tourist boomtown of San Pedro. Just blocks down the street from Explora’s iconic Hotel de Larache, 32-room Tierra Atacama is run by…
How did Billy Poole, an aspiring big-mountain skier, die during his first Warren Miller shoot?
Chile’s Peel Inlet has a long history of turning back experienced explorers. Maybe what they needed was a golf umbrella, four wheels of Dutch cheese, and a better way to brew coffee.
Classic or skate? Either way you'll go fast with the latest—and best—Nordic gear.
“We wanted to take one of the gnarliest mountains in the world and make it look like your local backcountry ski area,” says Aspen-based freeskier Chris Davenport of his 22-day June expedition to 20,320-foot Mount McKinley. And they did. Along with Clark Fyans, Nick DeVore, Kirsten Kremer, and Adam Clark,…
If you’ve got a pickup, you’ve got the ultimate portable camp. Compared with a tent, it provides a less conspicuous (and more secure) shelter at the put-in, by the trailhead, and near the breakor at the rest area. Some new trucks, like the 2007 Toyota Tacoma, have notches in their…
WORKBENCH Fix a Flat A man doesn’t like to admit he’s never changed a bike tire. But there’s shame, and then there’s hiking ten miles when you could be riding. Let us help you avoid both indignities. Always carry…