On the streets of Chamonix, France it feels like the majority of people are wearing climbing boots and Gore-Tex jackets. That’s because this small town is surrounded by the French Alps and a cable car leaves straight from town and deposits people on a glacier right at the foot Mont Blanc. All those people you see walking around are either heading toward or coming from some of the most spectacular and well known climbing routes in the world.

You see climbers wearing all the major brands, but Millet seems to be a local favorite. That’s probably because Millet is French, but it’s also because the company makes great product. Look around for the most grizzled, sun-worn climber and probably more than half the time he, or she, will be wearing some piece of Millet apparel.

Now, I can’t claim to be a grizzled climber. But I too have come to love Millet products. I’ve used several of their jackets over the years while hiking, backpacking and skiing and I’m currently wearing their Rock Hopper approach shoes.

I’ve been using the Rock Hoppers as my normal every day kicks because approach shoes are versatile. If I’m out reporting or making pictures, I can go almost anywhere. I’ve used them while shooting bike races in the forest, photographing skaters in a local drainage ditch and on my daily walk to the park with my daughter.

Out in the field I’ve abused the shoes and they haven’t blinked. The Vibram sole will likely last for years, the rubber toe guard keeps the front of the shoe from tearing and they fit like a glove. My favorite part, however, is that they’re nicely styled. I still scream “outdoor guy” with them on, but I can wear them to dinner and not look totally obnoxious.

The Elements

• Built to last.
• Ultra comfy.
• Designed for adventure and dinner dates.

The Bumbleride Indie Stroller is a lifesaver for new parents. I’m not kidding.

When things start to fall apart at home—our daughter gets cranky, is teething, just about any derailment—we load her up, go for a walk, and life is instantly better. She loves this stroller and so do we.

We’ve used it for about a year now, and we’ve easily put 100 miles on the wheels, both in the dirt and on the pavement. When our daughter was younger we’d slip her car seat onto the included attachment and take off. Now that she’s bigger, she riding in the normal seat, clipped into a harness.

We mostly walk with the Indie, but you can also lock the front wheel in place and go for a jog. The back brake, which makes sure the stroller doesn’t accidentally go tumbling down the hill, is foot activated and easy to use. There’s an included water bottle holder, plenty of storage for jackets, bottles and other baby items and nice big canopy to keep the sun out. When not in use it folds in half to take up less space.

The Indie isn’t the lightest stroller on the market at 20 lbs, but we haven’t had any problems getting it in and out of the car and it stores nicely in the garage.

The Indie is pricey, at $500 ($300 on sale), but it’s built to last. We’ve abused it plenty—throwing it into the back of my truck, walking down rocky dirt roads, spilling all varieties of food stuffs—and it’s never once showed signs of wear. The only piece of maintenance I’ve had to do is slime the tires because Albuquerque, where we live, is full of nasty goatheads.

At the moment our daughter weighs about 20 pounds and this stroller is rated to 45, so we still have plenty of walks rolling our way. That’s good news, because my daughter assures me we’ll need it.

The Elements

• Easy to use, easy to store.
• Versatile. Great for babies and toddlers.
• Durable. You can abuse it and it doesn’t flinch.

On the surface it might seem kind of silly. Me, sitting here, writing a review about a pair of arm warmers in the middle of the summer. But if there is one thing I have become an expert about in my 15 years in Northern California, it is the art of the layer.

I have me some knowledge about arm warmers, leg warmers, and knee warmers. I am even well-versed in the world of arm and leg coolers, or what Rapha calls arm screens.

You see, leaving the house in sunny weather and finding yourself battling Karl the Fog a short while later tends to make you embrace the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared.

Which brings me to the Specialized Therminal 1.5 Arm Warmers.

I received these arm warmers in grab bag at a Specialized press soiree. There were much better goodies in that sack of swag: a jersey, water bottles, some Equator coffee and packets of energy mix, so at first I looked right past them.

But sometime later, knowing I would need something on a blustery summer ride through San Francisco, I dug them out from the bottom of my kit heap and pulled them on. I never thought I would be so excited about a pair of $35 arm warmers.

The Therminal 1.5 are the not most expensive arm warmers out there, nor are they made from the most technically advanced fabrics. But they offer articulated arms, amazing gripper gripping and plenty of warmth without overdoing it. I now root around in my warmer collection looking specifically for this piece of kit and I look forward to whatever variable weather the city wants to throw my way.

Here’s our second batch of favs from the recent OR show in Salt Lake City.

goTenna

The goTenna ($150 for two) was probably the most innovative device we saw at OR and we suspect lots of people will be using them outdoors very soon.

GoTenna pairs with your iPhone or Android via Bluetooth and allows users to communicate with other goTenna users via text even if there's no cell service or wifi.

To do this, goTenna uses long-range radio waves. The company says the range depends greatly on the surrounding terrain, but in ideal conditions they can work up to 50 miles apart.

To be clear, goTenna does not allow a user to communicate with a regular cell phone. But they're affordable, so the expectation is that if you need to communicate, you make sure the person you want to talk to has one of the devices as well.

Photo: Jakob Schiller/Element.ly

Salomon S-Lab X Alp Carbon GTX

Kilian Jornet hepled designed the new S-Lab X Alp Carbon GTX ($300) mountaineering shoe from Salomon. That says a lot right there.

Jornet is famous for taking just a couple hours to run up mountains that take normal people days to climb. The bar he sets is silly high.

He wants The S-Lab X Alp Carbon GTX on his feet because they're super lightweight but can take a crampon. They also have a Gore-Tex liner to keep him dry, an integrated gaiter, and enough insulation to keep him comfy all the way down to 20 degrees.

We're not Kilian Jornet. But we very much look forward to testing these to see just how fast we can move when we're not being held back by a heavy pair of mountaineering boots.

Photo: Jakob Schiller/Element.ly

Big Agnes mtnGLO tent lights

Big Agnes's mtnGLO line of tents ($200-$600) made us have one of those "why the heck didn't we think of that" moments.

What they've done is sew a lightweight string of LEDs into the lining of various tent, so instead of having to turn on your headlamp, you just turn on your tent. The lights weigh almost nothing, give off enough light so you can get ready for bed, and have a super long running time on just two double A batteries.

Big Agnes is also selling a string of lights that you can add to your normal tent, pictured here.

Photo: Jakob Schiller/Element.ly

Osprey Aura AG

"Revolutionize" is a word we like to stay away from. But it's appropriate here because Osprey has indeed revolutionized the pack with their new Anti-Gravity Suspension system, featured in the Atmos AG and Aura AG ($260 for the 65L version).

What the company has done is build a suspension system that literally wraps around your body like someone hugging you. Instead of having to make tons of adjustments to get the pack to conform to your body, this suspension system does it for you. You still have to adjust some straps for the perfect fit, but we've never used a pack that felt so comfortable, right from the start.

Photo: Jakob Schiller/Element.ly

Black Diamond Ember Power Light

The Ember Power Light from Black Diamond will permanently live in our hiking and backpacking kits. Permanently.

There's nothing groundbreaking here, but BD has smartly mashed a flashlight with a USB charger, combining two of the most important things we rely on out in the woods.

And knowing BD, this thing will be reliable and last forever.

Photo: Jakob Schiller/Element.ly

Therm-a-Rest EvoLite

The EvoLite mattress ($120) from Therm-a-Rest caught our attention because it's a hybrid. It uses alternating foam and air channels to reduce the weight of traditional foam mattresses while amplifying loft. All told there are two inches of loft, which means you'll have an extra-comfy pad that's also plenty light (1 lb. 1 oz) and plenty packable.

Photo: Jakob Schiller/Element.ly

Salewa Speed Ascents

As you can see from the photo, the Salewa Speed Ascents ($140) have camber. Or put more plainly, they're bent in the toe and heal.

This curved, or rockered design, is for people who are running up or down hills because it helps the shoe meet the angle of the hill more head on, ensuring better traction.

Photo: Jakob Schiller/Element.ly

I’ve told myself I won’t be one of those dads. You know, the pushy kind where I expect my kids to love my hobbies with the same passion. That said, I’m not going to shy away from encouraging them to tag along, either.

At the moment my daughter Lulu is about a year old and I’ve started taking her out on some of my more mellow adventures. Last  month we went up to the Sandia Mountains, which sit just outside Albuquerque where I live, and went for a hike. She can’t walk so I carried her in the Poco Premium child carrier from Osprey, which is about as plush as child carriers come. She gets a safe and comfy ride thanks to a smart and well-padded child “pocket,” and I can carry her in comfort thanks to a well-designed yoke that makes sure most of her weight sits on my hips instead of my back.

There are a plethora of pockets, plus a zip off pack which will hold a myriad of necessary child accessories, like bottles, binkies and bags of Cheerios.

This pack aint cheap, but you should be able to get a couple of solid years of use out of it. Making it a good investment for both you and your little one. And the bag is rated for a not so little one approaching the 30 and 40 pound range.

The best part is that Lulu loved it. She cooed and laughed the whole time and we have already planned more adventures.

The Scoop:

• Carries well
• Plenty of pockets for all the baby essentials
• Lulu loved it

My boyfriend and I recently rode our motorcycles from California to Ushuaia, Argentina. Our route was roughly 15,000 miles through every kind of terrain and environment imaginable.

For the trip I had a lot of gear choices to make, but one of the most important was what boots I was going to use. I needed something that would stand up to every possible weather condition and thousands of miles of wear and tear.

After weeks of reading online reviews and consulting with more experienced riders, I found and bought the Alpinestars CR-4 Gore-Tex XCR Boots. Alpinestars classifies the CR-4 as a ‘tech touring’ boot, with a slightly more flexible sole and a shorter shaft. Meaning they don’t provide as much protection as a motocross boot.

This suited me just fine because I figure I needed something that offered some protection but would also allow me to hop off the bike and go for a walk without my feet being reduced to a bloody mess of blisters.

During the trip these boots were with me as I scaled a volcano in Nicaragua, navigated rivers in Costa Rica and crashed while off roading in Colombia. They kept me dry in rainstorms and dried out quickly after each river crossing. What I really appreciated, though, was their performance in the Andes during the late fall.

The ride through the Andes was one of, if not the coldest experience of my life. I wore every layer of clothing I had under my riding suit, doubled up on gloves, and kept my hand grip warmers turned on high the entire time. Even then, I couldn’t ride more than 10 minutes without loosing feeling in my hands. My feet, however, were a different story. On the coldest days there was a slight discomfort, but for the most part my toes stayed happy with the minimal addition of ski socks.

The Elements

• Great riding boots, but you can also climb volcanoes in them as well
• They keep the water out and the heat in
• Held up over 15,000 miles of abuse on a motorcycle