SierraDescents | Category | Gear
September 10, 2012
Black Diamond Twilight
The water-resistant/breathable Twilight replaces Black Diamond's Winter Bivy as the lightest bivy sack in the Black Diamond collection. The major difference, aside from a color (more)
September 3, 2012
Mountain Hardwear Direkt 2
Mountain Hardwear's new Direkt 2 is a single-wall tent built in the style of Black Diamond's Firstlight, but updated in a way that makes it both more and less useful. The twin (more)
August 22, 2012
AKU SL Trek GTX
Aku's SL Trek GTX is not the boot I was expecting. At two pounds, 15.5 ounces per pair (US 9.5), the SL Trek is light but certainly not ultralight. In fact, if you're looking for (more)
August 9, 2012
Sony RX100
Yes, Sony's RX100 is a revolutionary digital camera—but is it really the best compact in the world, as many reviewers are now proclaiming? If you're only interested in (more)
July 11, 2012
North Face Verto S4K
The North Face was tired of seeing their elite athletes in other makers' boots, so they decided to make a boot of their own. The result of that effort is the Verto S4K GTX. The (more)
July 6, 2012
The Contour+
The Contour Plus (or Contour+) is Contour's flagship helmet camcorder, offering a wider 170° angle of view, wireless streaming capability, and a sharper lens. Think of the Plus (more)
June 7, 2012
Thermarest XLite
Thermarest's Neoair XLite replaces the original Neoair pad, offering upgraded warmth (from a spec value of R2.4 to R3.2) at a slightly lower weight—one ounce less overall. The (more)
June 1, 2012
Ortovox 3+
I say Ortovox's 3+ is one of the best choices in today's crop of avalanche transceivers. The class of 2012 offers us a lot of innovation, but it also offers a lot of complexity. (more)
May 26, 2012
Black Diamond Mission
The big news with the climbing-oriented Mission 50 pack is that it employs Black Diamond's patent-pending 'reACTIV' suspension system. ReACTIV suspensions, and the more (more)
May 25, 2012
Salomon Speedcross 3
Salomon inarguably makes some of the most popular trail running shoes on the planet, but for my taste their lasts have tended to offer too much rigidity and/or support. Happily, (more)
May 3, 2012
Smith Parallel
Smith's Parallel replaces the discontinued Factor as their go-to performance multisport sunglasses. Smith says the Parallel's styling is a little more contemporary, which is true. (more)
April 25, 2012
Smartwool PhD Ski Ultra Light
Believe it or not, I was a dedicated cotton socks hiker for a long time. I liked the extra texture of cotton, which kept my foot from slipping and sliding inside my shoes. Of (more)
March 31, 2012
Voile XLM
Voile has updated its smallest shovel, the XLM. The original XLM was arguably the lightest functional aluminum avalanche shovel on the market. The new XLM is...arguably the (more)
March 4, 2012
GoPro Hero2
Despite the inarguably compelling dimension that helmet-cam video has added to my photography, I admit I'd begun to give up on it. I was tired of endlessly battling mount systems (more)
March 1, 2012
Black Diamond Justice
Black Diamond's revised Justice is a highly-specialized ski. The fat-waisted eight-pound Justice is built specifically for powder-bomb touring—and not much else. New as of 2012 (more)
