Helly Hansen H2Flow Jacket

www.hellyhansen.com, 15.6 ounces
This unique variation on the venerable shelled fleece jacket design truly impressed us during recent tests, with its excellent insulation-to-weight ratio, easy venting, and fast moisture transfer in sweaty situations. At first glance the H2Flow looks like a standard hoodless zip-front jacket with a taffeta outer shell, fleece inner, and twin zip pockets. However, the shell fabric isn’t nylon, it’s tougher polyester, which resists UV degradation and doesn’t stretch or absorb water when wet. Beneath that is a 200g Polartec brushed fleece with yet another difference, a Swiss cheese pattern of circular cut-outs that trap air to increase insulation, while also helping to disperse sweat vapor. The cut-outs are body-mapped, with larger holes and closer spacing in high-sweat areas like the central back, while smaller, widely spaced holes cover the chest and midriff.

The side panels and sleeves are lined only with a lightweight brushed nylon, while the fleece torso is further lined with a loose open mesh for slippery layering and free air flow. As if that weren’t enough, two foot-long zippered vents run down the chest, and the pockets are all mesh, forming de facto vents as well.

The overall effect is a jacket that’s nearly as warm as a puffy when zipped up, but resists rain showers, transfers sweat better, and vents far more than either puffies or standard shelled fleece. The weather resistance and wide temperature range made it perfect for humid, chilly camp evenings and soggy autumn trail runs on damp, cold, 11,000-foot Boulder Mountain. It’s already become one of our key layering staples, as fall progresses into winter.
- Steve Howe

$200

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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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Evolv Cruzer Approach Shoe

www.evolvsports.com,7.7 ounces
People outside of the climbing scene may not know what an approach shoe is, exactly. But, like that horrible cliché about art, almost everyone knows when they like a pair of shoes. Our testers got loads of compliments while wearing the Cruzer, from both the gear-obsessed and the casually outdoor-oriented. Evolv rightly categorizes these kicks as approach shoes (read: shoes you wear up to the crag); they boast a nice cache of climbing-specific features like high-friction “TRAX” rubber for solid grip on slick surfaces, a barefoot-friendly dual overlap tongue, a minimal-drop EVA midsole, and a heel pull tab that lets you clip ‘em to your pack or harness. The heel folds down for easy on/off (nice for when you wanna get out of our climbing shoes and migrate from one spot to the next). But we also love the fashion-forward styling, including the small burst of color along the sole and the brave use of bright textiles in the toffee and red models. The textured, all-cotton exterior and moisture-wicking insole also makes them killer travel shoes in environments where you want to pound the pavement and stop to impress your friends by confidently scrambling up a convenient rock, tree, or lamp post. As with most climbing and approach shoes, they fit a bit tight; you may want to order up a half-size.

$75

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Snow Peak SnowMiner Headlamp and Lantern

www.snowpeak.com, 2.3 ounces (without batteries)
Hand’s-free lighting is a no-brainer industry standard, and the headlamp tech race is mostly focused on brighter lights and intuitive innovations that adjusts a headlamp’s brightness as you look at different things. But we like how Snow Peak has taken a different approach and addressed the collective desire for some ambient light when you no longer need to light at the point at which you’re specifically look. When you’re done with your targeted lighting needs, just pop open the rubber mounting on the 2.2-inch-diameter light and you get 180-degree glow, perfect for mellow light in a tent or at base camp. Four light modes—high, low, strobe, and variable, which dims as you hold the power button—offers a variety of moods, and a hook on the back of the strap lets the lantern dangle off a tree branch or the inside of a tent. Then, when you need to shift back to headlamp mode, push in the rubber ball and you’ve got directional lighting. It runs on three AAA batteries, with 140 hours on low (eight lumens). It won’t win any svelte design awards, and when testing the head lamp, it would occasional pop into lantern mode. We could still see, of course. But those who plan on using it mostly as a headlamp would likely prefer a more fail-safe option.

$56

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Petzl Meteor III + Helmet

www.petzl.com, eight ounces
Light is right when it comes to most backcountry gear, and light is even righter if it’s an item you carry as often as you use, like helmets. Petzl’s Meteor has long been a standard for climbers and alpinists seeking an ultralight bucket, and like most collapsible foam and shell climbing helmets (think beefed up bike helmet design) it’s rated as a CE-certified helmet for cycling, inline skating, light kayaking, canyoneering, and adventure racing.

The Meteor III+, a modest upgrade, tipped our digital scale at exactly 8 ounces. That makes it lighter than every climbing helmet aside from the equal-weight, but less comfortable, Camp Speed. Black Diamond’s (cheaper) Tracer and the (pricier, less ventilated) Kong Scarab are a bit heavier. The weight differences aren’t much, but we found them obvious during wear – and glaring in relation to hard shell helmets.

“The Meteor III+ also felt cooler during bike rides and hot weather canyoneering than my other helmets,” our tester reported. “It’s a tad hotter than most bike helmets weighing two to three ounces more, but I really like the best-in-show upward vision, which is critical for route-finding and rock-fall avoidance.” Four outside clips hold headlamps very securely, better than any other climbing helmet we’ve tried.

Size range is another strong point. The Meteor III+ adjusts from 20- to 25-inch head circumferences—a huge range. Our 23-inch melon-headed tester was at the limit of his Kong, but easily had room for sweatbands or balaclavas under the Meteor III+. The only drawback was that the ultralight rachet sizing mechanism made back-and-forth layering adjustments fussy. Forward-backward, and lower-higher chin harness adjustments were easy.

The main downside to using a helmet like the Meteor? It’s fragile, so you need to baby it a bit during knock-around use. This isn’t some hard shell bucket you can sit on around camp. Like all helmets, it should be retired after taking a significant hit. Fittings like the head circumference adjustment could be broken if you get impatient, but spare parts are available.
-Steve Howe

$110

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