Outdoor Retailer: Mountain Hardwear Preview

The three pitching options of the Skyledge tent, including the way to keep the tent dry in a downpour.

The Mountain Hardwear innovation that will likely garnish much of the fanfare in spring 2013 will be the cadre of active apparel outfitted with Cool.Q ZERO, which boasts “active cooling technology.”  Pieces like the Way2Cool Short-Sleeve T ($65) will wick the sweat off your skin, then use a proprietary technology to cool your body before the moisture evaporates.  We’ve tested the same tech in Columbia products (the parent company of MH) and so far it works. We’ll continue to test and let you know what we find.

Elsewhere on the apparel side, the Ghost Whisperer Down Jacket ($300) offers 850-fill down insulation in a package that weight a measly seven ounces, but should keep you warm and dry whenever the weather gets rough. As with all down products in Mountain Hardwear’s line, the Ghost Whisperer boasts waterproof Q.Shield DOWN.  The Plasmic Jacket should also be a fast-mover on the retail shelves. The hard shell jacket employs MH’s proprietary Dry.Q Evap for waterproof/breathable protection, with a  sly-looking exposed water-resistant zipper and a wide array of colors. Priced at only  $140, it could become a gateway drug to Mountain Hardwear for the uninitiated.

Finally, on the outdoor shelter front, they’re introducing the Skyledge 2 and 3 ($450, $550). The footprint for both the two- and three-tent is included in the price, which gives you three out-of-the-box pitch options: the tent and fly, just the tent, or just the fly, with the tent frame anchored in place by the footprint (pictured, above). This last option also lets you pitch your tent in the rain; just roll out the footprint, assemble the frame, toss over the fly, and then you can then pitch the tent without worrying about getting the tent interior fully soaked.  And for the ultra-lighter go-getter, there’s the SuperMegaUL 1, a free-standing one-person tent that weighs in at 1 pound, 14 ounces for $350.