r/outdoorgear

Hello! I posted this on r/hikinggear but didn't get any traction, so I'm trying here.

I'm tentatively planning on traveling to Iceland this upcoming March. It's my understanding that it will still be quite cold and snowy at that time, in the 20/30 degree range with wind chill as well. I'm planning to tour the ice caves and see the northern lights and do some other outdoorsy excursions--nothing crazy, mostly guided tours and hikes. My problem is that I live in the deep south, around the Panhandle, so I don't have any real cold weather equipment or a tolerance to extreme cold. On top of that, I'm fairly petite. I have a 25 in. waist, 36 in. hip and I'm 5'4". The little bit of looking I've done online has indicated that a lot of cold weather hiking clothing intended for women has very limited sizing, a lot of which doesn't seem to accommodate a size 0-2. All this is to say that I need the advice and recommendations of those more experienced. I really need to know how much layering I would need to do and what kind of garments I would need. Likewise, I would greatly appreciate brands, websites, personal reviews, and links to products you feel are the best for this sort of weather and my sizing. And obviously since I probably won't get much use out of this stuff after my trip, I would love to save a few bucks wherever I can. Any and all advice helps! Thanks in advance!

I'm looking for a puffer jacket. The peak xv (NZ brand) Zephyr from Dwights outdoors (NZ seller) seems to be a pretty good combo of reasonably priced, reasonably warm, and reasonably light (340g, 129g of 800 Fill down, $250 AUD). Only issue is, I have zero idea what their reputation is as a brand and since I'd have to order it online and pay a handling fee plus postage to return it, I'm pretty hesitant. Has anyone here used anything of theirs? And how did you find it?

I'm headed to Europe in a couple weeks and I found the la sportiva lumina 200 on sale for $300 AUD so that's my other top option but I'd also have to order it online and I wouldn't have a chance to return it if it doesn't fit since I'll have only one night in the country it's available in. So it's pretty risky.

If anyone has a recommendation for an alternative, I'm all ears. I run cold and I'm after something that can keep me comfortable down to -5 Celsius with appropriate layers. I'd love to keep price below $300 AUD but since I do hike a lot, I'm not against spending more if there's no other option.

Edited for internationalisation.

I swear every outdoors shop that I visit in person is so incredulously expensive and I refuse to believe that I’m simply buying it for functionality. I understand that there’s moisture wicking technology and it’s merino wool or whatever but there’s gotta be at least one brand that makes base layers at a cheaper price point. Then again, are base layers really that important? Can I just use dry fit or something? Sorry this is a rant more than anything else lol, I just saw a tshirt today for $80 and it made me really mad

Edit: thank you for the helpful information and engagement, if you have any other recommendations for things like mid layers that would help too! I’m going on a 4 day trip in the late summer so I’m not expecting it to get that cold

Hi all, was wondering if anyone has experience with the Practitioner Hoody since I am considering getting one. Is it too warm for spring skitouring as an outer layer over just a base layer? Or better said, which Arcteryx model is it closest to in terms of warmth? Bonus points if anyone has some info on wind resistance. Thank you!

Hi! I’m 24F and trying to build a proper winter wardrobe for two trips early next year:
Skiing near Geneva in January.
I’ve never skied before
Iceland in February.
Pretty much a trip of a lifetime for me, so I’ll be outdoors a lot and want to be properly warm and waterproof
My total budget is around €1,000, and ideally I’d like to buy good-quality pieces that I can use for both trips rather than buying a completely separate ski wardrobe.
I do care quite a bit about style 😭 I want to look cute, but I also don’t want to be the idiot who prioritised an outfit and is freezing or wet halfway up a mountain.
I’m thinking I’ll need some combination of:
Waterproof jacket/shell
Ski/waterproof trousers
Midlayer/fleece
Merino/thermal base layers
Gloves
Warm socks
Hat/balaclava
Boots for Iceland (I assume I’ll rent ski boots)

Anything else I’m completely overlooking as a beginner

I’m based in Ireland, so ideally looking for brands I can easily buy in Ireland or Europe.
If you had roughly €1,000 to build this from scratch, where would you spend the money and where would you save?

Also very open to specific brand and product recommendations, especially things that are stylish enough that I’ll actually wear them again after these trips.

Thank you!!

I’m looking for a backpack for doing day hikes and hopefully C2C mountain summits like rainier as well, I know 40L is a lot for day hikes but I just like carrying a lot of stuff honestly, plus I mostly do strenuous 7-15mi hikes as I don’t like when things are easy haha. I’m looking for a bag that has a hip belt with pockets, ice axe/trekking pole loops, and preferably a water bladder holder, side zipper to the main compartment, and honestly just a bunch of added compartments/small pockets as I like keeping things separate.

I’ve seen and liked:
Osprey exos 38L pack $245 and
Decathlon Simond alpinism evo 40L pack $200/$150 on sale

Im not an ultra light hiker, I much prefer comfort and usability, any other recommendations would be appreciated, I like larger bags because I have the freedom to do hikes that require that much room and I can just not fill if I’m going on a shorter hike

My high end sailing jacket gave up after 10 years and I need to get a new one. However, due to how much I am sailing (two weeks per year on sea), I want to get now something that will be useful also outside of sailing. My current jacket was big, warm and nice but it was just laying around useless, and I used it at most two weeks per year.

I would like to get now a lightweight hardshell as waterproof and windproof layer and then pack some fleece or something underneath, depending on activity I'm doing.

Did anyone of you used similar combo? What models would you recommend? I was thinking about Patagonia torrentshell

I’ve spent months shaving ounces off my shelter and stove setup, but whenever I hit a trail with a 30-pound pack, my quads still start shaking by mile eight. I keep seeing discussions around active hip assistance systems designed for long-distance treks.

The concept is essentially a waist-mounted wearable system that syncs with your stride to assist leg lifting and forward propulsion, delaying muscle fatigue over long distances but adding roughly 2.5kg of battery and frame weight seems like a big tradeoff and real-world endurance data on rugged wilderness treks is still lacking. Is carrying extra battery weight worth it if it delays late-day leg fatigue?

Will be in the US in the coming weeks, are there any good sales for down backpacking quilts? Which stores should I look into?

Looking for something I can use in light snow camping maybe around -3 C . Budget is 400USD Max

Thank you!

I’m looking to buy a softshell jacket mostly for wind proofing, and I’ve found 4 choices that might work, the most important thing is wind proofing, but I’d love to hear the pros and cons of each hoodie

I’m currently looking at the:
Rab Borealis $130 10oz
OR Ferrosi $165 14oz
MH Kor Airshell $170 5oz
OR Shadow Wind Hoodie $140 5oz

All 4 can pack into its own pocket, all are pretty light besides the Ferrosi, and both OR’s have 3 pockets, the other two have 2 pockets. (I’ve heard that the Kor and Shadow are very similar and the deciding factor should be price, is that true?)

I'm looking for a knife for my 6 y old girl and my niece.

Are there any recommendations?

My daughter likes to build an adventurer bag pack?

Any other recommendations?

Especially ropes? I think more about a static rope.

Hello, I'm looking to get an insulated jacket that I can wear beneath my ME Lhotse jacket at summit stops. Or in event of an emergency. I'm looking for something that is warm enough for that but also light/packable enough without it taking up the majority of the room in my Osprey Kestrel 38L backpack or it being daft heavy. Willing to spend up to c£300. Anything beyond is out of my range.

My current layering system is;

Base- Rab long sleeve t-shirt

Mid- Patagonia R1 air

Shell- ME Lhotse

If anyone had any suggestions for what they use and would recommend for this sort of use, it would be greatly appreciated.

My partner has wider shoulders and also rolls around a lot in his sleeping bag at night. He’s practically stuffed into his mummy bag and says that he wakes up every time he rolls over all night, so we’re looking to replace his sleeping bag with a quilt/hybrid.

We found the north face universal one bag that snaps shut with large flaps instead of a zipper which he loved, the only issue is it’s 4lbs and massive so not really a great option for backpacking. He still wants something under him and surrounding him, just not so restrictive as a mummy bag.

Is there anything anywhere else sort of like this or should we just get a regular quilt and figure out how he can wrap it around himself?

I’m just starting hiking/mountaineering and wanted to sort of future proof my purchases. right now I’m just looking for a hard/soft shell? (Idk the difference) for hiking in rain and high wind conditions.

I’m looking for 3L waterproof 20k/20k breathability/sub 6 RET jackets with arm pit zips and preferably thumb holes, more then 2 pockets, and being able to store it inside a pocket

right now I’m looking at the:
Forclaz mt900 waterproof jacket $130
Quechua mh500 jacket for $150
Black diamond dawn patrol shell used for $100
Patagonias torrentshell 3L jacket for $132

but I’m looking for more recommendations hopefully less then $200 or more info on these jackets/which is “best”

TLDR: looking for a sub $200 3L waterproof jacket that I can buy now and use for a long time until I eventually max out my gear and buy the “absolute best” jacket money can buy