The Primetorch 1010 is tiny–measuring in at only 1 inch in diameter and 3 inches long and weighing under 2 ounces, it’s hard to believe that it puts out 130 lumens (thanks to the powerful Cree Q4 diode). That’s A LOT of light, making the Primetorch the brightest flashlight I have ever used. The compact and sturdy aluminum casing is built to last, and has a military-grade feel to it. That can be most likely attributed to what Primus calls the “tactical switch” used to turn the light on and off. Rather than a slider on the side of the light, there is a bright red button on the end of the light, designed for signaling. While you hope you’ll never need it for that, the bright light is sure to be seen if you do happen to get lost and need to signal for help. For everyday use, the tactical switch is easy to use, and harder to accidentally turn off and on.

The Primetorch is powered by one Lithium CR-123 battery, which comes with the flashlight (as well as a belt holster). Battery life runs about 3 hours, so if you plan on taking it with you for an extended time, you’ll want to bring a few extra batteries, which aren’t cheap (about $5 each). For the peace of mind, I think it’s worth it, though.

The Primetorch 1010 may look like a great stocking stuffer on the outside, but it will cost you. With an MSRP of $66, it’s not cheap. A quick internet search yielded a few sites listing it for around $50, so you can pick it up for a bit less. With that being said, the Primetorch is tough enough that it should last you a long time–there are reports of people running it over accidentally with their car and it continues to work, though we didn’t take our testing that far so I can’t confirm the validity of that statement!

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The Belyn boot takes it’s styling and construction from your standard snowboarding boot. The wide lacing system allows you to lace the boots up exactly as you want, for the perfect fit. The entire boot is built on the Chaco footbed, with a grippy Vibram sole for great traction in winter conditions. The full shearling liner folds down so getting your feet in and out of the boots is easy, even with thick socks. This also makes it easy to tuck the ends of your pant legs into the boots to keep them out of the snow, or just for style (if that’s your thing).

If you haven’t worn Chaco sandals before, they might take some getting used to, but the footbed makes them feel solid, and traction on slippery surfaces wasn’t an issue. The shearling liner keeps your feet nice and toasty. Combined with a pair of wool socks (or your ski socks), you’ll stay warm after a long day of skiing. While I might not go tromping through knee-deep snow since the boots aren’t completely sealed, slushy parking lots and sidewalks won’t be a problem. The Belyn boots ran true to size, but if you plan on wearing extra-thick socks with them, you might want to consider going up a half size for a more comfortable fit.

Overall, I thought the Belyn boots were a very comfortable, high quality winter boot, and I expect them to last as well as their sandals. And while the patterned style of the Belyn that we tested (shown) might not be for everyone, but there are more neutral color options (black, brown and tan) available as well.

The only downside to the Belyn’s would have to be the cost. At $220, they are definitely not the cheapest boots on the market, but if you are a huge fan of Chaco’s sandals, they might be worth trying out. I know my pair will be getting a lot more use with ski season just around the corner.

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On the surface, the new Revel hiking boot looks like a high-quality hiking boot–it has lots of ankle support, good traction, leather upper and a strong lacing system. But what sets the Revel apart from other boots is what’s inside. The Revel is outfitted with KEEN’s KEEN.WARM insulation as well as putting their Heat Trapolator technology underfoot. KEEN.WARM is a lightweight insulation that is strategically located (around the ankle and at the toes) to keep your whole foot warm. Combined with the Heat Trapolator technology, a 3-layer footbed made of wool felt (too insulate), a lightweight honeycomb mid-layer, and a reflective thermal shield bottom layer, the Revel keeps your feet warm on cold days. Of course, you don’t want your feet to be sweating, so they also included a waterproof breathable membrane to regulate temperature and keep your feet dry.

I haven’t had much success with boots keeping my feet warm in cold weather/snow, with the exception of my plastic mountaineering boots, and those aren’t exactly the type of footwear you grab for a casual cold-weather hike through the woods. In the few hikes I have worn the Revel’s though, my feet has stayed comfortable, making for a much more enjoyable hike. KEEN also outfitted the Revels with a dual climate and ice traction rubber sole, so you can grip just about any surface when you’re out hiking in the cold. I wasn’t walking on ice but on the damp forest trail, traction was not a problem. If I’m hiking in packed snow, I’ll probably pair these with some Microspikes for additional traction.

Straight out of the box, the Revels were comfortable, with just enough added room to be able to wear a thicker pair of socks. Arch support is neutral and comfortable, though if you have extremely high arches you might find them lacking in support. My experience that KEEN shoes run about a half size smaller held true with the Revels as well (usually a size 7, I’m always a 7.5 in KEENs). If you haven’t worn KEENs before, I suggest trying them on in a store to make sure you get the right fit. The larger toebox can take some getting used to, but is quite comfortable and I feel like I have great traction as my feet are not cramped in a small space.

While we don’t have enough snow on the ground yet to test the Revel’s in deep snow, when we do, these will be the first boots I grab out of the closet. Paired with some gaiters, I expect the Revels would be great for snowshoeing when the snow gets too deep for hiking.

At $140, the Revels are fairly priced for the quality and features they deliver. If you hike or snowshoe frequently in the winter, they are definitely worth the investment to keep your feet warm and dry. The Revel is also available for both men and women, though we only tested the women’s style.

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The Zephyr GTX LO is a lightweight, waterproof hiking shoe that looks like a hybrid of a hiking shoe and a trail runner. To give the entire shoe stability, it features LOWA’s PU Monowrap technology–a sort of exo-skeleton for shoes. It’s built on a women’s last for the best fit and comfort straight out of the box.

Testing a new pair of shoes on a hike can be nerve-wracking (the last thing you want is a hot spot or blister ruining an otherwise great hike), but the Zephyrs were comfortable straight out of the box to the trail. LOWA says that the Zephyr is suited for loads up to 25 pounds, and though I was carrying a bit less than that on the casual test hikes, footing felt solid and I’m confident that carrying 25 pounds would not be a problem with these hiking shoes.

The combination of leather and super durable Cordura makes the Zephyrs a pretty durable shoe–it handled a few rocky sections with ease, and they have held up quite well so far, still looking quite new. The lug sole provides lots of traction over varied terrain, and decent grip even on damp surfaces. Now that summer is long gone in the Pacific Northwest, we’re settling into wet season until June/July, so this is an important feature! An extra bonus: the brown/tan color scheme of the pair I tested doesn’t scream “brand new shoes” on the trail like a pair of white sneakers would–something I have never liked. I have a few other pairs of LOWA hiking shoes that are still in quite good condition after more than a hundred miles of hiking, and I expect the Zephyrs to age the same way.

Of course, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. These are definitely one of the more comfortable light hikers I have tested in recent months, but they come at a pretty steep price. LOWA is known for their very high quality footwear, and the pricing reflects that. A pair of the Zephyrs will run you $170 at full price, though a quick search online yielded a few results on sale between $115-$140.

While the price may be somewhat justified, knowing the quality of LOWA footwear and previous experience with the brand, it certainly isn’t a drop in the hat. That being said, even after testing was completed, these are still one of the main pairs I grab out of closet if I am going for a short hike.

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Well, it looks like Kelty is trying to change a couple of those. The Cosmic Down 20 degree sleeping bag is a 2.5lb (1.12kg) down filled sleeping bag that comes in at the extremely low price of $100. Typically this price point is reserved for light weight summer bags or 6lb monstrosities that take up half your pack.

How did they do it? Well, it’s a down bag, but don’t expect everything you get in one of the $350 down bags. The down used in the Cosmic Down is 550 fill duck down. This means it’s not as high loft as an 800 fill bag and thus weighs more for the same amount of insulation. That said, this is a 2.5lb bag. It’s not going to be breaking anyone’s back. It’s also about half the weight of comparable synthetic bags at this price. The lining is a simple polyester, not the breathable/waterproof fabrics you occasionally see on much more expensive bags.

Additionally, the sack it comes with is pretty basic without any real way to compress the bag down in your pack. I’d highly recommend you spend the $15-20 on a nice compression sack for your outings. No storage sack is included either. So, you might want to invest in one of those too.

In testing, our impressions were over all positive. The fill is a bit lumpy looking compared to the $350 20 degree Mountain Hardwear bag we brought along for comparison. It’s also quite apparent that Kelty saved a lot of weight by cutting back on the thickness of the fabric. The Cosmic Down uses a 50 denier polyester that doesn’t look like it would last for an AT or PCT through hike. That said, for the average camper, it should be more than adequate.

The baffles aren’t high tech like many of the newer bags coming on the market, but they work well to keep the down in place. There were one or two spots I could see that were a bit light on the down, but over all this sleeping bag should keep you pretty warm.

Kelty used a 3/4 length zipper in the Cosmic Down 20. This saves some weight, but may come at the cost of accessibility. In use, we never had a problem though. They brought the zipper down far enough that it was never an issue getting in and out of the bag.

How about the big question, does the bag keep you warm at night? We haven’t had anything near 20 degree nights yet here in the PNW, but we were testing on a 40 degree night. The bag was warm enough to require venting.

So in the end, the Kelty Cosmic Down 20 degree sleeping bag works well at a spectacularly low price point. It certainly doesn’t have the features of the $350 sleeping bags, but you’ll have an additional $250 in your pocket. It’s about a pound heavier than the $350 bag. So, if you’re looking to go ultralight, this may not be the bag for you. You’ll also need to get yourself a storage sack and a decent stuff sack. So, be sure to budget for those.

When it comes down to it though, this bag is a steal at $100. If you’re the average camper, you could do far worse than the Cosmic Down. It works well, will keep you warm, and does the job well.

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The Axio Mini watch is a lightweight and small-scale watch designed specifically for women, based on High Gear’s popular Axio watch for men. As part of the Summit line of watches, it boasts the same features as the men’s Axio: a Swiss-made altimeter sensor, barometer, thermometer, chronograph and multiple alarms and date/time zone features, just in a smaller, more compact case.

On first glance, I was a little concerned that the display would be far too small to read quickly while running, after all, it was considerably smaller than the display on the Origo watch I had been wearing for over a year which has a huge display. But after the inaugural run, I was sold. The display is clear and easy to read, and switching between modes is easy, even on the move. The best part? The Axio Mini stayed in place and didn’t rattle around on my wrist like most watches during my test runs. The small size is surely a factor, but I attribute this to the super-customizable watch strap. Designed with holes that run the entire length of the strap, it’s easy to find the exact placement for your wrist. An extra bonus? Even though it’s specifically designed for women, you won’t find any pink or baby blue styles–just a straight black or white and grey style. I also took this on a few test hikes, to see how the altimeter and barometer features performed. The altimeter was accurate (when compared to both a GPS and another calibrated altimeter watch) and once the barometer is set properly, the “weather predicition” setting is fairly accurate as well.

Bottom line, the Axio Mini is a versatile, full-featured watch designed for smaller wrists. Plus, it’s priced quite competitively at around $100, though a quick online search yields a few results of it on sale for even less.

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The Fulcrum boots are a bit of a hybrid between retro and current styles. They have the classic brown leather look to them, but with many of the recent niceties of modern gear. A full Vibram sole with the latest compound rubber is included, Gore-Tex to keep you dry, and even Wolverine’s individual comfort system (ICS) to keep your heels happy on long hikes.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about these boots is how soft the leather is. I was expecting the typical hard leather that you find in boots today, but these are made out of a rather supple leather. This obviously isn’t a huge feature, but it was a nice touch. This hasn’t resulted in any difference in durability as far as I can tell either.

Thankfully, the Fulcrum runs true to size. I didn’t have any fit issues with these boots aside from a bit of heel lift until I got the lacing set correctly.  Also, the arch support is what I would call middle of the road. If you have high arches, you might need insoles, but I didn’t have any problems.

This boot’s claim to fame is Wolverine’s individual comfort system. ICS consists of a gel filled disc that can be adjusted to whatever firmness you want at the heel. Need more cushion in your step? Turn the disc to the low setting and off you go. In practice it’s slightly different than that though. The disc is under the insole and can be a bit cumbersome to change. So, it’s not something you’ll want to do on the trail. That said, chances are you have a setting you like and it will stay at that setting for the life of the boot.

In practice, ICS worked pretty well. There’s a definite difference in cushioning between the firm and soft setting, with a good number of intermediate choices. The only downside is that you can feel a slight ridge where the ICS system ends. This never became a problem when I tried the boots, but you can feel it.

On the trail, the Fulcrums performed admirably. As expected, the Vibram soles kept me on solid footing. Gore-Tex made sure my feet stayed nice and dry in the typical drizzling Pacific Northwest fall this year. I also have yet to get a single blister in these boots, which is a very good thing considering I hadn’t broken them in before I hit the trail.

Over all, I really liked the Fulcrum. The ICS took a bit to get used to, but it’s a well made boot with features that justify the $200 price tag. If you’re in the market for a boot that’s a bit of a throwback, but want all the latest features, the Fulcrum is a good place to start.

Product sample provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.

The marketing-speak on these shoes sounds like the standard low hiker. Performance rubber soles, pretty decent sized lugs, designed for traction on a variety of surfaces. The uppers are made from Yak leather, which the company says is significantly more durable than normal leather. The perfect material for shoes that get scraped on rocks and trees. That’s great and all, but how do these hold up in the real world?

Well, I’ve had these shoes for a little over a month now and they’ve been through 4 states, multiple airports, and a good amount of mud and rock. I’d like to think I have a pretty decent feel for how these shoes will perform.

At first I was a bit skeptical about the durability claims of yak leather. When you meet with the PR person for a shoe company, they’re always quick to point out how great their products are compared to the competition, no matter the quality of the product. So, I try to keep an open mind until I try something out. Much to my surprise, Ecco was right about the leather. I’ve put these shoes through some rather horrendous conditions, and they still look brand new.

The fit is quite comfortable out of the box. I had been using a pair of Masterfit inserts with my last pair of shoes, but found I don’t really need them with these. Arch support is good and they fit true to size. I wore them for a work week before I actually went hiking in them, but haven’t gotten a blister yet.

Perhaps the best praise I can give these shoes is that they’re now the usual pair I pick out of the closet. Given how much footwear we test, that’s pretty high praise.

Nothing is ever perfect though, right? With the Tahoe I can’t really find any faults with their construction or design. If I had to find something bad about these shoes, it’d be the price. At $150, these aren’t cheap shoes. At that price range I might like to see a Vibram sole to justify the cost a bit more, but there’s nothing wrong with the one Ecco uses. It grips just as well as the standard Vibram sole.

So, bottom line the Ecco Tahoe shoes are well designed but come at a fairly steep price. This may be somewhat justified by the fact that they’re quite durable, but the initial cost is pretty steep.

Product provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.

The Expedition Trail Mate has all the basic watch functions: time, chronograph, alarm, day/month/day-of-week displays, and water resistance (to 100 meters), but what makes this stand out from any other digital watch is the ability to track your progress on hikes/trail runs with a built in accelerometer. This allows you to view real-time stats, set goals, and view previous trips, as long as you have calibrated the watch and have the chronograph running during your activity.

Initial set-up and calibration is easy, and Timex has even provided a quick video that walks you through setting up the watch in less than five minutes. Just program your gender, height, weight, pack weight (if you are carrying one), as well as any goals you may want to set. An alarm will chime at when you have reached the halfway point your goal, whether it is distance or time. Calibration is simple as well–just walk a pre-measured distance in calibration mode to set your stride. This will allow the accelerometer to calculate the most accurate readings while hiking or running, though there are separate calibrations for either activity.

The watch is lightweight, with a comfortable, flexible band that stays put and doesn’t flop around. The actual face of the watch is about average for a men’s watch, though I would consider the styling to be more unisex. With the exception of the back plate, the case is durable matte plastic (which contributes to it’s lightweight characteristics). In our testing, it hasn’t scratched, which is a good sign of the durability. My only qualm is that you aren’t able to lock the keys–so it is possible to switch between modes without realizing it.

Overall, the Expedition Trail Mate is an easy-to-use watch that provides a more feedback than just the time. With an MSRP of $65, it’s a great entry-level watch for someone that is just beginning to get into tracking their hikes or trail runs, but not quite ready for the alimeter and compass features of a more feature-rich watch.

The Inspire is a portable power pack so you can charge your electronics on the go. The rechargable lithium polymer battery can be charged up at home via your computers USB port, in the car with an included 12-volt car adapter, or paired with one of Brunton’s portable USB solar panels. It holds just under 12 watt hours and has an output voltage of 5V, and weighs in at 5.5 ounces. It’s small enough to stow in your pack should you need it, and holds enough power to charge the average cell phone 2-3 times before the unit needs to be recharged itself. With both standard USB 2.0 and mini-USB ports, as well as a micro USB adapter, the Inspire should be able to charge most electronics, like a digital camera, GPS, cell phone, or Kindle.

If you’ll be away for an extended period of time, and expect to drain the Inspire’s battery before getting back to the grid, Brunton recommends pairing it with one of their portable solar panels, such as the Solaris 4. This smaller, flexible solar panel is USB compatbile, and folds up neatly for storage. Weighing in at 6.3 ounces and about the size of a small paperback book, it won’t take up much space in your pack. Plus, the rubberized case is tough enough to hold up to bumps along the way and keep on going.

After a quick read of the manual, the Inspire was easy to use. After it was fully charged via USB, I put it to the test, and was able to charge two completely drained iPods in only a few hours…about the same amount of time it would have taken if I had plugged them into my laptop. To recharge the Inspire, I grabbed the Solaris and headed outside…luckily, it was a (rare) sunny day here in Seattle so recharging was a breeze. For optimum performance, you really do need full sun. If sitting around during the day isn’t something you can do while in the backcountry, there are grommets in the corners, so you can easily lash it to the outside of your pack as you hike, connect your Inspire to the panel and recharge on the go.

While I am less likely to bring along a ton of electronic gadgets when I hike, I always carry a GPS and my cell phone, and the backup security that the Inspire provides is welcome on longer trips. It has also proven to be a handy travel accessory. We all know how few and far between power outlets can be at airports (especially when you really need to charge your cell phone!), but if I have the Inspire I don’t have to waste time hunting for the ever elusive outlets.

With an MSRP of $72, the Inspire provides an affordable way to power your gear on the go. The Solaris 4 will run you quite a bit more, but after all, it is a solar panel. The Solaris 4 retails for $252.

Products provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.