Outdoor plans are getting ambitious. With airfares on the rise, it’s time to explore the unknown in your own backyard and further afield. But as we’re generally carrying more kit, and staying away longer, your gear has to keep pace—after all, if anything fails in the great wide open, it’s unlikely you’ll have a spare to fall back on.
The adventure market is full of noise: “Military-grade,” “expedition-proven,” “built for the harshest environments.” Many of these claims mean very little. After all, a cooler that keeps ice for five days sounds great until you realize you’re carrying an extra 15 pounds to achieve this goal. This guide not only cuts through the hype and focuses on the gear that will serve you well in a pinch, it also makes sure you have as much fun as possible while enjoying the open skies, tree-lined trails, and sandy beaches.
Here’s our selection of flashlights, tents, kites, and cookers, not to mention a few surprises (a wheelchair-friendly shelter and a frisbee game from a camping chair brand). Good gear doesn’t make you a better outdoorsperson. It just gets out of your way. These picks do exactly that.
A 3-Person Tent
Courtesy of THE NORTH FACE
The North Face
Universal Collection Wawona 3 Tent
Consisting of an innovative magnetic-closure sleeping bag, a self-standing, easy-open daypack, and a stylish three-person tent, this laudable, inclusivity-focused collection from The North Face is designed to remove friction points that can prevent people with disabilities from enjoying life outdoors. The freestanding tent is a generous size for a three-person design and comes with equal-length poles for fast, mistake-free pitching. The zippers also have extremely sensible oversized pull tabs, while the low threshold and huge 68.2-square-foot vestibule is big enough to keep two mobility devices safe, dry, and close by.
A Lightweight Stove
Courtesy of Katadyn Products
Traditional compact camping stoves heat water with ease, but when you want to do more than survive on rehydrated meals and instant noodles, this twin 4,600-watt burner setup gives you the freedom to get creative in your camp kitchen. Weighing just 1 pound, 10 ounces, and measuring 12 x 2.76 x 4.14 inches when folded, it’s easy to carry, the Piezo ignition is highly adjustable, and thanks to the serious power, you can boil a liter of water in just four minutes, or get your gnocchi simmering and parmigiano reggiano and sage cream sauce reducing in seconds.
A 3D-Knit Windbreaker
In a sea of Arc’teryx shells and Salomon hiking shoes, Vancouver-based Uppervoid offers a timely new take on the gorpcore aesthetic. For something impressively original, check out the color grading on its new hardshell jackets, but for the warmer months, this ultra-lightweight windbreaker ticks our trail running boxes. Made from 3D-knitted Toray Airtastic 7D fabric, it is impossibly soft and thin, weighs just 2.8 ounces, yet feels reassuringly durable on the trails. Underarm venting helps heat escape when you start working hard, and it stuffs down so small you’ll forget it’s even in your pack.
A Hard-Sided Cooler
Courtesy of Newell Brands
Coleman
Snap ‘N Go Collapsible Hard Cooler
Available in 35-, 45-, and 55-quart versions, Coleman’s ingenious collapsible hard-sided cooler expands or folds in seconds and brilliantly shrinks to one third its size for easy storage. Unlike most soft coolers, it still works properly, promising ice retention for up to 64 hours. Coleman also includes an antibacterial removable liner to keep your cooler stink-free, although be warned, without any wheels on the bottom, once the larger size is full of ice and drinks, it’s just as heavy as the competition to maneuver.
A Mini Truck
Telo
MT1 Electric Mini Truck
Billed as having Toyota Tacoma capability, Tesla range, and a Mini Cooper footprint, this 5-seat EV truck designed by Yves Béhar goes from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds and carries a 2,000-pound payload. It has a towing capacity of up to 6,600 pounds, too, while the configurable mid-partition can increase the bed size to accommodate 4 x 8-foot plywood sheets (or, indeed, 8-foot surfboards when the swell calls). Dual-motor versions target 0 to 60 mph in around 4 seconds, while the largest battery option teases up to 350 miles of range.
If you’re concerned about performance off the asphalt, the MT1 has 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) of ground clearance and independent suspension, which means this compact EV carrier should have genuine off-road capability.
A Field Watch
Vaer
C3 Korean Field Watch
With origins as rugged, “no-frills” military timepieces, field watches are ideal for the outdoors. This US-made 36-mm Vaer is rated for 100-meter water resistance, and with a durable single-dome sapphire crystal and 316L stainless steel casing, it’s properly durable, rather than being just military-inspired. It’s also available in 40 mm, and if you don’t like this khaki NATO, there’s a solid collection of straps, including rubber, stainless steel, and leather, that can transition it easily from backcountry to boardroom. Its outdoor credentials are sealed by the fact that this watch is solar: Just six hours of sunlight will provide six months of power reserve, and it draws power from any light source (even candlelight).
Outdoor Games
Helinox has taken the same lightweight aluminum engineering that made its camping chairs famous and applied it to a series of fun and portable outdoor games. Packed into a small, transportable case, you’ll find two upright poles with stable, fold-out bases, two targets, and a flying disc. It’s simple, addictive campground fun built using premium materials. Other games in the Play collection include beanbag target game HeliDrop and StringTrees—Helinox’s backcountry twist on shuffleboard that gets suspended between tree trunks.
A Pocket Knife
In a limited-edition color said to evoke the “serene power of an Alpine glacier,” this 6.3-ounce, classically styled but pared-back Swiss-made knife does away with dozens of tools, including the thingamajig for getting stuff out of a horse’s hooves. Instead, it focuses on a single, lockable 3.9-inch martensitic (highly magnetic and ultra-hard) stainless steel blade. You can open the blade easily with one hand, and the handle is made from ribbed aluminum for better grip, while a practical belt clip adds to the simple functionality.
The paracord pendant is a real outdoor boon: It can be taken off and used to rig up anything from animal snares to shelters, lash rafts, or, in a pinch, a tourniquet. When further unwound, the thin nylon strands also make good fishing line, sewing thread—even dental floss.
A Powerful Flashlight
When you’ve eaten all the carrots but still want to see better at night, you need this absurdly powerful flashlight with a staggering 23,000-lumen output from 16 LED emitters. With a range of almost one mile (1,553 meters), it’s a flashlight better suited for search-and-rescue teams than casual dog walks, but we’d be lying if we didn’t say we want one just for the outdoor fun of it all. An OLED display offers detailed battery and output information, while USB-C charging and IP68 water resistance make it more practical than many.
A Fun Kite
Courtesy of PRISM DESIGNS
Imagine the look on Peggy Jean’s face if Charlie Brown had rocked up at the park with this high-performance, dual-line stunt kite. Designed for precision and speed rather than simple flying, it has a lightweight carbon-fiber frame and highly responsive sail geometry, capable of fast turns, controlled tricks, and impressive stability in winds ranging from 3 to 25 mph. At 93 inches wide, it’s a statement in the sky, but rest assured, no matter the quality of Charlie’s aerial showboating, Snoopy will remain wholly indifferent.
The Right Shoes
Courtesy of KEEN FOOTWEAR
Positioned somewhere between an approach shoe, a lightweight hiker, and a lifestyle sneaker, the Jasper Zionic is having a moment. Cool collaborations with Gramicci, Snow Peak, and most recently, Pilgrim Surf + Supply have given it a fashion boost. But in truth, it’s just a hugely dependable, extremely comfortable design, whether you’re in the wilderness or popping out to Whole Foods. Sustainable credentials are also on point, with PFAS-free water repellency, ethically sourced suede uppers, and an outsole made from post-consumer plastic and agricultural waste.
A Hiking Pack
Courtesy of Mountain Hardware
Mountain Hardwear
Alakazam 45 Litre Backpack
This is one of the first mainstream hiking packs to use Aluula, an ultralight waterproof material better known in niche thru-hiking circles than major outdoor brands. Weighing under 2 pounds, it’s a superb roll-top bag for those who want to travel light, and thanks to the V-shaped aluminum frame and padded hip straps, weight is distributed evenly for comfort. The waterproof bonded construction eliminates the need for a rain cover, while the GiddyUp compression system lets you cinch different sections down when not needed, even while wearing it.
An Electric Wagon
Courtesy of EllavateWagon
Don’t let young kids or a mountain of gear stop you from exploring further down the beach. This 110-pound capacity twin-motor electric buggy has a range of up to 8 miles, a top speed of a more-than-sprightly 4 mph, plus the reassurance of downhill braking to avoid potential dune-related disasters. Controls are all handlebar-mounted, and thankfully, given its bulk, the front wheels are removable, and it folds down to 37 x 27 x 17 inches for easier transportation.
A Water Bottle
This is a clever hybrid bottle designed for people who want hydration-pack convenience without committing to a full hydration vest every time they leave the house. This clip-on sleeve holds a soft 17-fluid-ounce flask but has been engineered to attach easily to your backpack straps for hands-free drinking on the move. At 2.8 ounces when empty, it adds barely any weight, while the neat compressible design shrinks as you drink to reduce liquids from sloshing.
