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.

Products 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.

Weighing in at 10 ounces and with 700 cubic inches of volume, the Daylight is a simple, lightweight lumbar pack that is easily stashed for smaller day hikes on longer journeys. The large main pocket is accessible by a double zipper, and houses a (bright yellow) interior pocket, perfect for storing a wallet, cell phone, or other small objects when used as a pack. When stowed away, the yellow internal pocket serves as the stuff sack for the entire pack. A smaller outside pocket has a key ring clip, and a 3M reflective strip for visibility at night. Two side mesh pockets hold small (think 20 ounce water bottle-sized) bottles. The back is lightly padded, and the hip belts are a wide, breathable mesh. When not in use, they can tuck into the sleeve on the back panel and the pack can be carried by either the two small carrying handles or a padded strap.

At first glance, I thought the Daylight seemed a bit large to take along on a backpacking trip, but on past trips I always cursed having to carry my full pack (albeit not completely loaded up) on shorter day-hike trips from a central “base camp.” The added weight and space that the Daylight would initially add to my pack’s load would make the short side trips much more enjoyable; there is plenty of room for a few bottles of water, a rain jacket, lunch/snacks and GPS or map.

It took some time getting used to wearing a lumbar pack, but after the initial newness faded, it was comfortable on short hikes. While I wouldn’t load it up with anything heavy, for short jaunts from camp it was nice to have a bit of storage space while having both hands free and weight off my shoulders.

The Mountainsmith Daylight pack retails for $60.

Product sample provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.

I say this is a shell version of the Ranger LT because the design is very similar. Pocket placement is identical to the Ranger. This isn’t a bad thing. As I said in my Ranger LT review, It’s simply unreal how much stuff you can stash in this jacket. Both arms have fairly large pockets and there are two chest pockets. Behind you, there’s even a large pocket for stashing your gloves. The main difference between the fleece and shell version is that there are no thumb holes on the Stealth LT.

As with the Ranger LT, the jacket is well constructed and should provide many years of use. While the seams aren’t taped, the stitching is well done. The fabric appears to be very durable, easily standing up to the occasional rock scrape. The velcro adjustment on the cuffs works well and can be adjusted pretty easily while wearing gloves. There’s also enough room under the jacket for a mid-layer fleece without being too baggy by itself.

The Stealth LT is made from a stretchy fabric from Schoeller Textiles called “c_change“. According to Schoeller, the fabric reacts to rising body temperature by opening pores in the fabric to let out moisture. I’ve had the Stealth LT for a couple months now and had the chance to try it out on local hikes and a short trip to Crater Lake National Park. In the wind on the edge of Crater Lake, the jacket was as wind proof as any Gore-Tex jacket I’ve worn. On the trail, the Stealth LT also provided a good amount of breathability.

If I had to pick any fault with the Stealth LT, it would be the zipper. It’s a bit hard to operate and usually requires two hands. This can be a bit problematic if you’re wearing gloves, but over all it’s not a gigantic problem. I appreciate the use of a double zipper though. This way it’s easy to wear the jacket while also wearing a climbing harness and still have access to the belay loop.

Unlike the Ranger LT, this jacket is made in China instead of the US. That’s not exactly unique these days, but does effect buying decisions. The Stealth LT retails for $330, which certainly isn’t on the low end of the scale for a shell jacket. It is however, quite a nice jacket from a smaller Bay Area company. So, if you’re in the market for a well made military inspired shell jacket, give the Stealth LT a look.

Product sample provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.

It’s the eternal question when it comes to early season hiking up here in the Pacific Northwest. With record snow at all the resorts, this would not be a snow free hike. So, I decided to take the plastic mountaineering boots. That left one problem — a 2.5 mile slog from the trailhead to the snow line.

That brought up another question. “Should I bring a pair of approach shoes too? It certainly would be more comfortable.”

Plastic boots take up a ton of space, which meant a much larger pack would be needed. Well, I did have that gigantic Sierra Designs pack to test… So much for fast and light.

What started out as a relatively easy day hike ended up being a pretty big pack worth of gear once avalanche gear and the boots were packed away in the Revival 65. It’s pretty rare that I need a 65 liter pack, but it certainly came in handy.

My first impressions of the pack were pretty positive. The Revival 65 is a bit of a hybrid pack in that it’s a top loader that has a giant access panel on the back. This way you can cram as much as you want in from the top but don’t have to unload the entire pack to get to a fleece at the bottom.

I really liked the draw strings on the Revival. One hand close and open comes in quite handy when trying to access supplies on the trail. The giant stuff pocket on the back works quite well for miscellaneous items that you need regular access to like sunblock or a paper map.

The ice axe loops were functional and used the same one handed draw strings as the rest of the pack. I didn’t have any issues accessing or storing my ice axe while hiking. The side pockets worked well for storing trekking poles too.

On the way back down, my perception of this bag began to change. Yes, there’s a fancy suspension system. Yes, the organization in the pack is great. None of this really matters if it kills your back though.

The foam Sierra Designs picked for the shoulder straps and hip belt is very firm. It’s also segmented into a few sections as you can see from the pictures. This results in significant pressure points on your hips. Five miles with this pack on and my hips were killing me.

It was bad enough that my hips were still a bit sore 2 days after the hike. I’ve carried a 55 pound pack for multiple days over 50 miles and haven’t had problems like that. Not everyone is the same though. So, if you’re in the market for a Revival 65, be sure to go to a store and try it in person loaded with some weight before you decide to buy it.

MSRP on the Sierra Designs Revival 65 is $240, but a quick search online shows prices as low as $145. At $145, this is an extremely well priced pack. As long as the suspension system doesn’t bother you, it’s an excellent backpack that should last for years to come.

Note: I got an email from the people over at Sierra Designs. They told me the hip belt has been redesigned and the comfort issues have been addressed for the production model. I haven’t tested the apparently redesigned version, but other than the suspension issues I saw, this is an excellent pack.

Product provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.

Most of the competition (like the Sierra Designs Gnar jacket) use 800 fill down for insulation. This provides two advantages. Down is very light, and extremely compressible. However, there’s a fairly large drawback to down. When down gets wet, it starts to lose its insulating properties. For an insulating layer that you’re going to be sweating in, this can be an issue.

So, Brooks Range decided to use a synthetic insulation (Primaloft One). It’s still lightweight, but doesn’t lose insulating properties when wet. Since Primaloft One is a sheet of material, you don’t have to worry about cold spots like down either.

Primaloft One is a bit heavier than down as far as I can tell, and Brooks Range combated this by using 15 denier Pertex fabric. Pertex is simply amazing. I can’t believe how thin the fabric is, yet it’s still quite strong.

I’ve used the Cirro jacket quite a bit for the past couple months and I think I’ve gotten to know the ups and downs of it pretty well. First off, the fit of the jacket is spot on for my body type. When I tested the Gnar jacket from Sierra Designs, the shoulders were way too big for me. This isn’t a problem with the Cirro.

Insulation is roughly the same as the Gnar jacket too. It’s a pretty good replacement for the standard fleece, and at 12.4 ounces it isn’t going to break your back lugging it around in your pack either. The jacket doesn’t come with a stuff sack, but you can stuff it pretty much anywhere in your pack without worrying about ripping it.

Water resistance is pretty decent too. I’ve ended up wearing the Cirro in the rain more than once and didn’t have any issues. It’s certainly not a replacement for a hard shell, but a light rain isn’t a problem.

Negatives? If I had to pick something, the zipper pulls are a bit smaller than I like and they’re hard to use with gloves on. That said, this keeps the jacket lighter and it’s a minor problem in the grand scheme of things. Over all, the Cirro is an excellent jacket and I’d be hard pressed to complain about it.

At $169 for the jacket and $189 for the hoody, the Cirro isn’t exactly cheap when compared to the standard fleece. That said, the Cirro is a bit cheaper than the down alternatives. So, if you’ve recently noticed how much space a fleece takes up in your pack and you’re looking for an alternative, take a look at the Cirro jacket from Brooks Range Mountaineering. When it’s all said and done, the Cirro is well made, warm, and fairly water resistant.

Product provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.

At just shy of 16 ounces, the Lumapivot trades lightness for brightness. With 2 15 LED panels producing 110 lumens of light, this lantern will light up just about any tent on the market and will give you ample warning of a branch at ankle level when going out for a midnight bathroom break.

While the Lumapivot is heavier than the standard headlamp, it’s actually quite light for a lantern. Kelty has kept the materials to a minimum by using extruded aluminum rods for the body of the lantern and fairly lightweight plastics for the remainder. At 15.9 ounces without batteries, it’s not going to kill you to carry around. It’s certainly much larger than I’d want to take on a backpacking trip, but for basic camping it’s quite manageable.

The lantern has 2 modes. One where both panels are on, and another with a single panel on. Using both panels works great for lighting up tents for night time card games. A single panel is just what you need for walking around outside the tent at night.

Unfortunately, there is a tradeoff with this much light in a battery powered device. The run time isn’t fantastic. Using a single panel, you can expect a full set of 6 AA batteries to last you 12 hours. Using both panels, that run time drops to 6. That said, no one is going to take this lantern on through hikes of the AT thanks to its size and weight. For car camping, the battery life will be more than acceptable.

While I’m not crazy about the number of batteries this lantern takes, I applaud Kelty for not using a proprietary battery pack. You can pretty much guarantee you’ll be able to find AA batteries just about anywhere in the world for decades to come. That said, I really wish they would have made the Lumapivot take either 4 or 8 AA batteries. Nearly every AA recharger takes sets of 4 batteries, making recharging 6 somewhat of a pain.

The Lumapivot has an MSRP of $49.99, however as of writing this review you can find it online for as low as $35. At that price, it’s a no-brainer. If you’re looking for more light than a headlamp can put out, but still want something that’s not going to break your back, the Lumapivot lantern is a good choice.

Product provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.

This season, Icebreaker debuted their Real Fleece line of heavier merino pieces. Real Fleece is designed to replace your synthetic fleece jackets, providing a insulating, wind-resistant layer made from a natural fiber. The exterior is a smooth knit, but what provides the loft in the Real Fleece is the brushed terry knit that keeps you warm. Designed as a mid-layer, you won’t find tons of pockets and features on the Igloo Zip. Two (rather generous) zippered pockets are all you will find, which is just enough for a piece that can function as a layer or on it’s own.

Like all Icebreaker clothing, the Igloo Zip has a fitted, slim cut, but it doesn’t impact any range of motion in the arms or torso, making the Real Fleece a great layer under my shell jacket when I was skiing. Overall, the Igloo Zip has a slightly longer cut than other fleeces, and covers the back a bit more than the front–great for keeping out drafts. However, if you plan on wearing more than one layer under the jacket, I recommend going up a size (though refer to Icebreaker’s size chart for confirmation). I usually wear a tee and a long sleeve on colder days so going one size up gave me a better fit.

Why wear a merino wool insulating layer? The benefits of merino wool are pretty awesome for things like hiking, mountaineering, skiing, etc. It wicks and breathes well, is soft, and doesn’t retain smells like synthetic fabrics can (which is important for high-intensity activities). Plus, it’s natural, renewable, and sustainable, unlike petroleum-based synthetic fabrics. Personally, I prefer merino over synthetics when possible, but until the Real Fleece came along, it was hard to avoid layering with a regular fleece. After a few days of hard skiing, and a synthetic fleece will start to stink. So far in my testing, the Real Fleece hasn’t had that sort of problem. Though the care of wool can be a little more particular, it’s a trade-off I am willing to make for a material that will hold up over time. Icebreaker makes it easier than most, though–just throw it in the wash and line dry.

While a great layering piece, the Igloo Zip has also been a great stand-alone jacket for dry but cooler days. Whether you’re on an easy winter day-hike, walking the dogs or making a quick trip to the grocery store, this jacket works. For those that want the option, their is also a hooded version of the Igloo jacket.

Currently, Icebreaker has only the 320 weight (or levels of warmth, depending on how you look at it) for the Real Fleece. They’ll be expanding the line this coming Fall/Winter season though, to include a 260 weight Real Fleece, a true “mid-weight” layering piece. The Igloo Zip 320 is available in styles for both men and women and retails for $175.

Product sample provided for review purposes.

Then there are 4-season tents. “4-Season” is a bit of a misnomer though. They should really be called fourth season tents. They’re big, they’re heavy, and they’re made to withstand the worst that mother nature can throw at them. This is where the Mountain Meteor 3 from Sierra Designs comes in.

With a trail weight of 11 pounds 10 ounces, this is not what I would call a lightweight tent. In fact, you might have to split up the weight between two people if you’re looking to use it. Unlike your standard Coleman tent though (that might weigh about the same), this thing is built for the worst weather around.

Unpack the tent and you’ll see exactly why this thing weighs so much. The fly is made of a very thick nylon that can clearly keep the snow off you. The sheer number of poles this tent comes with is amazing in itself.

The poles themselves are made with DAC Green Poles. According to DAC, one of the worst processes in making tent poles is the anodizing. It apparently releases some pretty nasty chemicals in the world. DAC says they’ve been able to eliminate nitric acid and phosphoric acid from the process. So, while it’s still not 100% environmentally friendly, it’s a big step in the right direction. You can read more about the process here.

Unsurprisingly, the tent itself is pretty heavy duty too. The tent floor is made from some very thick nylon, and the body is equally well constructed. So, while you may be cursing yourself on the hike to base camp, you’ll love it once you get there and set up camp.

Setting up the Tent:

In my mind, the real test of a tent is how fast you can set it up. I want to be able to set up a good tent in 50mph winds while it’s dumping snow on you. If you have to spend 20 minutes fooling around with pole locations, you might as well start digging a snow cave.

This is why I like my personal winter camping tent, a Mountain Hardwear Trango 3.1. The Trango is the direct competition for this tent and has an extremely long history of mountain use behind it. If the Mountain Meteor 3 plans to knock the Trango of its throne, it has some serious work to do. Thus, I planned to compare the Mountain Meteor to the Trango for the purposes of the review.

Since this tent has what they call “Jakes Corners”, I figured I’d take a look at the manual. So, I unpacked everything and opened the paperwork to take a look. This was a mistake. The manual consists of 2 double sided pages of folded 8.5×11 paper with extremely poor instructions included. If you want to see them yourself, they’re available here. Compare that to the MHW Trango that comes with an owner’s manual and pitching instructions, and you’ll see the difference. Not really a good start if you ask me. Thankfully though, there’s nothing incredibly revolutionary about the design of the tent. So, I was able to put it together without a manual.

Like most modern tents, the Mountain Meteor 3 eschews the traditional tent pole sleeves for a clip system. So, setting up the tent involves rolling out the tent, assembling the pole structure above the tent, and then clipping everything to the poles. The big clips on the tent are a bit different than others that I’ve seen. As you can see in the picture, there’s a length of bungee cord attached to them. You’re supposed to clip the poles, wrap the cord around the poles a couple times, and then stick the end of the cord in the clip. It works, but it’s not the fastest method of setting up a tent. The remainder of the clips you simply attach to the poles.

Once you have the tent setup, it’s time to attach the Jakes Corners. If you’re in a hurry, it’s not 100% required as far as I can tell, but they will provide extra stability in high wind situations. This reduces the need for interior guy lines in high wind. The process to setup the corners takes a bit to get used to, but it’s mostly painless. You take one of the provided poles, slip the cord between a piece of plastic, and attach it to the tent.

After that’s over, it’s time to attach the rain fly. This is a pretty standard affair of clips and tie outs, although there are a couple added poles to deal with. All in all, it’s a pretty standard process.

Using the tent:

Once you’re done setting up the Mountain Meteor 3, it’s time to move in. The first thing you’ll notice is the size of the tent; it’s simply massive. Most 3 person tents can really comfortably fit 2 people. Not so with the Mountain Meteor 3. As you can tell from the header image to this article, this 3 person tent can actually fit 3 people. As long as you keep your packs in the equally massive vestibule, you should have plenty of room inside.

Also included are ample pockets for gear storage. Each side of the tent has 3 pockets that allow storage of smaller items. If you need more space, there are spots to attach a gear loft too.

The top of the tent includes two vents that you can open to reduce condensation on warmer nights. I actually liked these much better than the vents on the Trango, as they seemed to work quite a bit better.

Overnight, the Mountain Meteor 3 kept me warm enough that I ended up opening the vents a bit on a 20 degree night. There weren’t any huge winds that night though. So, I couldn’t test how the tent is under extreme wind load.

Conclusions:

While I haven’t had the chance to do a ton of camping in the Mountain Meteor 3, I’m pretty happy with what I see. In some areas I like the Trango better, in others I like the Mountain Meteor better. Once you get to know the Mountain Meteor, it’s actually pretty easy to setup. I’d like to see a much better manual, but that’s not really an issue in the field if you know the tent.

The Mountain Meteor 3 is certainly well made, and appears that it will stand up to some serious abuse. Whether you’re going high altitude mountaineering, or just taking the family out for some winter camping, the Mountain Meteor 3 will serve you well.

At $650, this isn’t a cheap tent. If you’re looking for something to use once, you might want to look at cheaper models. If you’re looking for something that will stand up to whatever you can throw at it and last you through years of winter camping, the Mountain Meteor 3 is a pretty good choice. If you look at the competition for high quality 4 season tents, the Mountain Meteor 3 is priced right in line. Give it a look, you’ll like what you see.

The Sundance Peak Parka’s 550-fill down and featherweight ripstop shell provide lots of warmth while staying lightweight. The jacket has two exterior zippered pockets and two interior pockets and a drawcord hem to keep warm air inside the jacket. Though the 550-fill down has quite a bit of loft, Hi-Tec prevents you from looking like the Michelin Man with a baffle box style construction. The cut is as flattering as a puffy down jacket can be, but leaves room for movement and a few lighter layers underneath. A big plus is that the zipper pull is easy to grab, even with gloves on (not something you find on all down jackets).

For colder ski days where I don’t want to wear layer upon layer upon layer, I throw a hardshell parka over the Sundance and hit the slopes. The down insulates better than multiple layers of fleece and gives me a wider range of movement than if I had two fleeces under my shell. However, for days when I don’t need to worry about the elements, on it’s own the Sundance jacket’s ripstop shell shields wind better than a fleece and provides significantly more insulation than a softshell jacket.

For under $100, it’s hard to find a down jacket with the same level of quality that Hi-Tec has made with this jacket. Available for women in both a red or black, the Sundance Peak Parka keeps you nice and toasty on cold winter days, and you won’t have to spend and arm and a leg to get it.

Product sample provided by the manufacturer for review purposes.