Pitch one might offer t-shirt conditions, but that doesn’t mean you’ll find “sun’s out, guns out” weather on pitch four, too. “It was 80 degrees and sunny when I placed my first cam,” says one tester of a late summer climb at Colorado’s Lumpy Ridge, “and then a half hour later, I was shivering in a whipping wind.”
After two seasons of ice climbing in this jacket, one tester compared it to an electric blanket. “It’s warmer than it looks,” he said. The secret is Polartec’s Power Shield High Loft, a precipitation-resistant, wind-blocking, stretchy fabric backed by a generously fluffy gridded fleece.
Finding a well-fitting, technical, and comfortable baselayer bottom for women can be inexplicably impossible. Athleta and Smartwool filled the void with their Midweight Pattern Bottom, which is 100 percent merino wool; testers praised it as “a lady’s baselayer dream come true.
“I’ve worn these bouldering at Horsetooth Reservoir in Colorado, in the gym, flying across the country, and out to dinner,” our tester said. These climbing jeans are at home in any situation. A fully gusseted inseam (from crotch to ankle) provides “the mobility of synthetic pants with a fabric like durable denim.”
Labeled as a “do-everything hoody for the do-everything athlete,” this full-zip midlayer really does all mountain sports well. Our testers took it (and the women’s version, the Avail Hoody) from boulderfields in northern California to the long multi-pitches of Red Rock to ski slopes in Colorado.
The name says it all. This shell protected our testers from hail, rain, and eyelid-fluttering winds year-round in the Colorado high country. And at a whispery 11 oz., it’s stealth and compact enough to disappear into a pack and not be a weight liability.
We gave these to a Tennessee tester, and the lightweight, stretchy, DWR-treated fabric proved extremely breathable day in and day out. “These shorts gave me excellent freedom of movement with just the right amount of stretch without being too baggy,” he said.
When it’s slightly too cold for a T-shirt but too warm for a full-on midlayer, the Calico Hooded Zip Tee is just right. This pullover had enough technical features for hard climbing on winter days in Colorado’s Eldorado and Boulder canyons but enough comfort and style in the sun at crags in Utah.
One of the founders of Cloudveil recently launched Stio, a brand with a similar spirit (Jackson, Wyoming-based, designed for climbers and skiers—and cracking beers back in town). The Origins Hoody has become a tester favorite.
When waterproof-breathable shells venture below 10 oz., you might have to make sacrifices, like non-adjustable cuffs or hood or limited breathability. Not so with the 6.9-oz. Focus LT: Testers praised this Spartan-butuseful jacket for blocking rain but never getting clammy and called it one of the best three-season hardshells they’d worn.
Patagonia’s own version of water-resistant down ups the ante by boosting loft to an astonishing 1,000-fill. They zap 800-fill down with radio waves until its molecular structure changes, allowing the plumes to accept a silicone DWR treatment without the use of chemical binders.
This one-of-a-kind kneepad features a wraparound design with quick-cinch buckles that makes the pad easy on, easy off. Instead of taking off your shoes or bunching up your pants, you can strap it around almost anything on your leg—no more duct tape, liquid adhesives, or weird shave jobs just to get your kneepad on.
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