The North Face Phoenix 3 Tent

www.thenorthface.com; four pounds, 13.3 ounces
I took this three-person tent out on a three-day backpacking trip with seventh- and eighth-grade kids in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness in Oregon. We had moderate temperatures and sunny skies with no rain. Temperatures ranged from the mid 60s to the mid 40s. The trail took us through forests and briefly to tree line for two nights of camping on the slopes of Mount Jefferson.

The tent was used by two boys and was pitched quickly with no problems–which was a refresh accomplishment. It has an intuitive single-walled tent design with a symmetrical floor plan. With two identical poles and one short ventilation pole it was very quick to put up. It’s clearly one of the simplest tent designs I’ve used in recent years.The rectangular floor plan puts an all-mesh door at either side, and the rain fly gives you enough room in the vestibule to store a pack and a pair of boots outside of either doorway. Inside, two kids slept comfortably, and the tent’s weight was easily split between the two.

Both the poles and the tent–made of TNF’s durable waterproof/breathable DryWall fabric–felt durable enough to handle harsh conditions, though that three-day outing didn’t afford any foul weather to put the tent to true test. We’ll see how well it ventilates in warmer conditions and colder conditions, such as 30 degrees with rain (editor’s note: no short supply of those conditions in the Pacific Northwest). It’ll be good to see how well it breathes to reduce condensation and of course how well it kept the rain out.
-Greg Bueker

$389

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Petzl NAO Headlamp

www.petzl.com, 6 ounces
“Throw away all your old flashlights and headlamps,” said our tester after taking the NAO on a three-week road trip. “The reactive-lighting NAO is the only headlamp you’ll need, or want to use.” We don’t take the word “revolutionary” lightly, but the new NAO headlamp is worth getting excited about. In contrast to other lamps, the 400-lumen NAO has a beam that automatically adjusts to focus on your target. If you’re pouring over topo maps, the light adjusts to a wide beam with low output. When you look out the tent fly to see if it’s a raccoon or bear rustling by the picnic table, the beam focuses, with greater light intensity for—drum roll please—a distance of 300 feet. Other advantages include fewer manual adjustments and a better burn time than any other headlamp we’ve tested. The NAO comes with a single rechargeable lithium battery that’s guaranteed for 300-plus charges—we didn’t do the math, but that’s a lot of alkaline batteries you won’ t need to buy. Each charge provides nearly five hours of use in high Reactive mode (the auto-adjust) or eight hours in low Reactive. You can set the lamp on a constant function, which disables the sensor, but cuts significantly into the battery life, as the Reactive power setting really does make power use more efficient. The rechargeable battery can be replaced with 2 AAA batteries, but our testers swear that the rechargeable battery ups the lamp’s performance. We were leery of the downloadable battery management program that allows you to adjust the light intensity, burn time, and beam distance on a computer, but are happy to report that even techno-troglodytes found it easy (and fun) to customize the lamp’s performance. The easiest option is using the custom profiles pre-programmed to enhance performance for specific activities like climbing, running, trail running, and hiking. Two features worth noting: a big off-on knob that’s easy to manipulate with gloves or in the dark and a water-resistant shell that never leaked, even during a monster Texas monsoon that one tester encountered while night hiking up a mesa near Lajitas.

$175

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Elemental Herbs All Good Lips Tinted Lip Balm

elementalherbs.com
Cracked, blistered lips are no fun—they feel bad, and look worse. But most of us hesitate to use chemically-laden chap stick or colors that even a lab rat would shun. The alternative? A tinted lip balm made with non-nanoparticle zinc oxide for ultimate sun protection, with all-organic additives like extra virgin olive oil (yes, olive oil!), comfrey, lavender, yarrow, and peppermint oil (which gives it a lip-smacking flavor). And there’s vitamin E to help with skin repair. The color comes from natural minerals, such as Elemental Herb’s Tinted Lip Balm. And did we mention color? No garish oranges or roller-rink reds here; we like the Copper Canyon, a pale bronzy-brown with a shiny hue. Also topping our list is Red Rocks, which hearkens back to the towering sandstone cliffs of Utah and Colorado. There are six mellow, natural-looking shades to choose from, and the small cylindrical containers slip easily into the small pocket on your running shorts, bike jersey, or ski jacket.

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Snow Peak Mini Hozuki Lantern

www.snowpeak.com, 2.4 ounces
We seldom like it when people take something we love and mess with it—but in this instance, we applaud the move. The Hozuki Lantern is an icon in Snow Peak’s camping boutique line, and the Mini is a smaller, perhaps wiser considering the price, alternative. Named after the sacred plant that served as the design for the ancient Chinese paper lantern, this light includes an innovative “candle mode” that lets the LED flicker in response to sound or wind—you get that candle-lit ambience in your tent without, you know…burning down your tent. The light has other settings as well, including high, low, stobe, and variable dim. Fed by 3 AA batteries, it’ll burn for 70 hours (on low). Max lumens come in at 60—sufficient for reading or doing the dishes. Oh, and its only two inches tall.
In stores October 15

$40

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MyChacos Personalized Sport Sandals

www.mychacos.com
If you enjoy the outdoors you have probably heard of Chaco sandals and even if you don’t necessarily call yourself a “Chaconian” MyChacos is still for you. Chaco has launched a one-of-a-kind “Made In America” custom sandal program and it is amazing. Visit into www.mychacos.com and you will find four styles to choose from, and then it is a blank canvas where you can select everything from the sole pattern to the webbing designs, and even stitching color. Your selections immediately change on the sandal on your screen. Warning, you will lose hours playing with this. I created probably at least ten different designs and finally narrowed it down to three that I liked best, and still could not decide (the winner is pictured above, the runners-up down below). So I solicited the opinions of family and finally ended up selecting the more conservative design because I thought I would probably wear it with more things (yes I like to match)… I started out with the double strap with toe loop sandal then I went through every webbing option (the two straps can be different!). After that I selected the color of the heel leash, riser, buckle, buckle strap, footbed…they warn you there is more than tens of millions possibilities. There are two Vibram designs for the sole, one for wet terrain, and the other for loose terrain. Since I usually wear my Chacos at the beach and in water, I went with the wet option. MyChacos are made in Rockford, Michigan, by the ReChaco team and waiting on my creation to arrive in the mail was exciting too. When they arrived they looked just like I had seen online, and it is thrilling to know that no one else will have these! Chacos are great for anything from walking to the store to climbing on rocks through the rushing water of Dunn River Falls in Jamaica and their design and durable materials mean they’ll last a long time, too–but then if you can’t decide, you can always get more than one pair.
-Jennifer Seabolt

$125

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