Winter laundry is a different kind of struggle. You hang a load of wet clothes on a standard rack and stare at damp fabric for two or three days straight. I have been there, and it is miserable. That is exactly why I spent over three months testing the best heated drying racks for laundry … Read more
Finding the best cross country skis for backcountry touring changes everything about your winter adventures. When you step off the groomed track and into untracked snow, you need skis built wider, tougher, and smarter than your typical track skis. Our team spent the past two winters testing backcountry cross country skis across the Rocky Mountain … Read more
Skate skiing is the fastest growing discipline in Nordic racing, and having the right pair of skis under your feet can shave minutes off your race time. When I first started racing, I had no idea how much difference a well-matched ski made until I switched from a generic recreational pair to a proper race-oriented … Read more
Finding the best nordic skis for touring changed how I experience winter. Instead of fighting crowds at resorts, I now spend my weekends exploring frozen lakes, quiet forest roads, and rolling mountain terrain on my own terms. Over the past three seasons, our team has tested more than a dozen nordic touring setups across packed … Read more
When you are standing at the top of an untouched backcountry line, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your avalanche beacon will work when it matters most. I have spent the better part of five winters testing avalanche transceivers across the Wasatch, Cascades, and Canadian Rockies, and I can tell you … Read more
Every winter, thousands of skiers, snowboarders, and snowmobilers head into the backcountry for the first time, and almost all of them share one question: what are the best avalanche beacons for beginners? I remember being in that exact spot a few seasons ago, standing in a gear shop staring at a wall of transceivers, completely … Read more
Every backcountry skier knows the rule: beacon, probe, shovel. But when you are staring at a debris field with seconds counting, the shovel matters more than anything else in your pack. I have spent multiple seasons testing avalanche shovels across the Wasatch, Cascades, and Sierra Nevada, digging snow pits, running practice rescues, and comparing how … Read more
Finding the best pack rafts for whitewater means sorting through dozens of inflatable boats that all claim to handle rapids. I have spent months paddling everything from mild Class II runs to punchy Class IV drops, and I can tell you that the differences between a great whitewater packraft and a mediocre one come down … Read more
Finding the best cross country skis for women changed how I experience winter. Three seasons ago, I was struggling on borrowed, ill-fitting unisex skis that left my feet numb and my knees aching after 30 minutes on the trail. Then I switched to a properly sized setup designed with women’s physiology in mind, and the … Read more
There is something about a calm lake on a summer morning that makes you want to get out on the water. Over the past three years, our team has tested more than two dozen inflatable rafts across lakes in three states, and we learned what separates a great lake raft from one that ends up … Read more