Introducing Gearzilla’s The Future of Gear, a new column that will highlight some of the coolest trends in the outdoor and travel gear industry, profile industry leaders and their ground-breaking ideas, and preview some of the best new product slated to hit the market in the coming months.

Apparel and gear manufacturer Patagonia recently introduced the sale of used product on their web store.  Part of the company’s Community Threads Initiative—which encourages consumers to buy only what they need, repair what breaks, share what they no longer need, and recycle everything else—this move continues to promote the company’s robust pro-environment identity.

The new feature displays product that’s on sale on eBay within patagonia.com’s Used Clothing and Gear section, filtered by gender and product type, as well as kid’s gear.  Interacting with the specific products takes you to eBay itself, which handles product fulfillment in its typical fashion (Patagonia also includes instructions on how to sell your used product, aping the step-by-steps that lets you sell stuff on eBay.)

From a business perspective, they could potentially erode the sale of some of their latest and greatest (regularly priced) product by promoting the same stuff at half the cost. But there’s no real overhead for Patagonia, either; eBay’s auctioneers handle all the specifics of each sale while Patagonia product stays in the hands (and on the backs) of happy travelers and lovers of the outdoors, boosting brand loyalty. The play also reinforces the durability story of the brand and serves as a solid platform to promote their pledge to reduce the environmental footprint implicit in gear and apparel manufacturing—a pledge we encourage you all to take.

Got something you want us to cover in The Future of Gear? Let us know by adding a comment!

Prices Vary; Expect Half-Off

www.elnaturalista.com
Traveling is a lifestyle we embrace (even when it means heading to a city surrounded by mountains only to spend a weekend trapped in a fluorescent-lit convention center).  As such, products that echo our love for world travel hit our wander-lustful sweet spot.  El Naturalista’s shoes reflect the company’s passion for travel by letting the love of a place influence the design. The Campos are perfect example. The shoe’s sole have been crafted to look as if you’re flying high above the earth, gazing down on acres of farmland, the rocky topography of mountains, the serpentine twists of rivers—it’s a detail everyone should notice, even though it’s hidden until you kick your feet up and relax. But this shoe has more than excellent topography on its underside. The soft rubber sole is married to the rest of the shoe by jute, an all-natural, fully-waterproof hand-spun vegetable fiber that looks like coils of rope.  The silky-soft uppers also boast the same hand-stitching and attention to detail, with micro-perforations to help breathability without reducing water resistance, and an off-tone patch of leather at the heel.  The insole and microfiber lining sport silver microparticals—said to create a magnetic field that improves blood circulation and reduces inflammation. We’ll get back to you on that claim. But we do know that the silver ions enhance the evaporation process, improving moisture management inside the shoe. The microfiber absorbs up to eight times its weight in moisture, which eliminates odors and prevents bacteria.  The price is dear for your standard casual shoe—but the subdued-yet-stylish profile, and the Spanish company’s unabashed affection for all kinds of travel—have made these comfortable shoes one of our personal favorites.

www.sierradesigns.com, two lbs, 12 oz
This is a great pack for an overnight or long weekend. Its 30 liters of storage proved roomy enough to hold a tent, small sleeping bag, and food. The pack fits quite well on a medium-length torso, with seemingly endless adjustment possibilities. Due to a perforated 3-D framesheet that keeps the pack off your back, there’s little to no sweat build-up, even on sweltering summer days and uphill slogs. Our testers carried a 25- to 35-pound loads through scrub oak thickets and fallen deadwood without issue, attesting that the pack’s durable, nylon-coated pack-bag won’t rip or shred. A thermo molded hipbelt and lightly cushioned shoulder straps are easy to adjust, providing a hot spot-free carry over rough terrain. One tester wished for lash straps on the bottom of the pack for additional room for a bag or sleeping pad on longer trips, but after packing light for long weekends, was glad he didn’t have bulky items swinging around and compromising the pack’s sleek design. The pack comes with a removable rain cover, although our tester had a tough time fitting it back in the mini pocket on the bottom of the pack.
-Adam Devitt

cascadedesigns.com/en/msr, 7.8 ounces
Nothing aggravates an aching back—or drives you quite as insane—as trying to filter water when the narrow tube that’s supposed to be in the water source keeps hopping out every time you push the pump.  The Hyperflow Microfilter remedies this backcountry torture by anchoring the feed tube to a wide sleeve that floats on the surface of the stream, lake, spring, or puddle, greatly reducing the game of grasshopper that’s nearly a prerequisite with other models. It also helps keep down the silt that gets kicked up with the filters that require greater submersion.  The actual filtering of the water is also handled with equally innovative ease. After positioning the red flap in the water, you pull back on the handle and the tube fills with water. Depress the pump, and filtered water flows from the mouth at the rate of three liters per minute. You can also clean the filter, repeatedly and without tools, in the field. The purifier is effective against protozoa, bacteria, and particulate, but not against viruses. We did find that the proprietary bottle adapter didn’t fit some of our water bottles, but the tubes of most hydration reservoirs did fit snugly onto the filter’s nozzle; otherwise, you just have to position the water bottle or bladder under the pump, which can result in some spillage. Added benefit: it’s diminutive seven-inch height means you can stash it in a day pack without sacrificing too much space.

www.columbia.com, two pounds
‘Tis the season for warm-weather camping. But as we all know, the warmth doesn’t always carry deep into the darkest, coolest parts of the night, which is why the Reactor 35 is such a find.  Rated to 35 degrees, it’s ideal for conditions when the temps are guaranteed to not drop below freezing. That said, the bag is plenty warm; the mummy shape fits snugly; the trapezoidal footbox tapers in from the hip width to reduce the internal dead space that would otherwise take energy to keep warm, but the fit allows for room in the shoulders, so it doesn’t feel claustrophobic, even when zipped up for maximum warmth. The two-way zipper provides plenty of venting, and you can also stick your feet through the bottom vent for when your dogs need some air but you still want heat on your torso. And on nights when the cold surprises you, the hood drawstring cinches down for additional warmth The bag also has a small stash pocket for glasses, iPod, or chap stick and a small flashlight—nice if you’re sleeping under the stars rather than in a tent. The bag weighs in far less than similarly rated synthetic sacks thanks to Columbia’s Omni-Heat reflective technology; small silver dots made reflect body heat back to your core like the iconic space blankets, while the spaces between the dot-matrix pattern lets the bag breathe and keeps things from getting clammy. The zippers have also been configured to let you “mate” two sleeping bags to create a really big bag for families with small tykes, couples, or simply campers who like a bit extra room. The soft, fluffy Thermix insulation kept its loft after a year of solid testing, and stuffs down to the size of a football, making it ideal for late spring and summer backpacking trips.
Comes in regular and long lengths