Editor's Letter
Welcome to our 2024 Summer Gear Guide! Below you’ll find dozens of reviews packed with the most impressive gear we tested this past year. Whether it’s hiking, camping, biking, fishing, swimming, running, working out, yoga, or tech, we’ve got it all here—and if we don’t, you might find it in our Backpacker Summer Gear Guide or over on Climbing. Want all of this great gear in a glossy, tactile experience? Pick up Outside magazine’s May/June issue at newsstands or read it digitally with your Outside+ subscription.
To make these picks, we enlisted the help of 9 editors, four dozen product category managers, and hundreds of testers who collectively spent months testing 800+ products. Staff from Outside, Backpacker, Climbing, Run, Yoga Journal, Pinkbike, and Velo all contributed to the effort. We hope this guide helps make your journey on-trail and off that much easier.
Hiking and Camping
The best tents for stretching out, staying dry, and sleeping soundly under the stars
These sleeping bags aren’t the lightest or most packable, but they’re the coziest.
These tester-approved sleeping pads and camp beds put comfort first
Our favorite knives, coffee presses, coolers, and cook sets for outdoor meal prep
Bags, tools, and little extras to make camp feel like your home away from home
Live like royalty miles from pavement with these kitted-out rigs
Maximize family time outdoors with these smart kid picks
Rugged bags designed to go wherever adventure takes you
We put this season’s best outdoor Bluetooth speakers through their paces on road trips and tailgates, boat decks and beaches. These eight emerged as our favorites.
Capture your adventures in detail-rich photos with these fully featured cameras
Sony’s new A7CII is a full-frame powerhouse in a small package
Bikes and E-Bikes
These biking accessories and tools will help you work smarter, not harder, on two wheels
Pinkbike writers and editors tested 25 trail bikes last year. These seven picks impressed us the most.
There’s no downhill too technical for these rides
We tested top-tier racers and budget-friendly road machines. These are our top picks.
These eMTBs are powerful, quiet, and handle techy trails as well as analog mountain bikes
From lightweight road kicks to rugged trail shoes, these top picks deliver power, comfort, and performance for every ride
We biked long and hard on 17 different electric commuter bikes to find out which four are truly the best.
From sweat-wicking shorts to a minimalist shell, here are our favorite products to hit the trails this summer
We tested 18 different bikes to bring you the best road and gravel e-bikes of 2024
Our favorite gravel whips of the year for every type of rider
These high-performance lids outdo the competition in road, gravel, and mountain biking.
These jerseys, pants, and shorts got us through rain, sunshine, wind, and everything in between
Water Sports
Fly-fishing rods, lines, and accessories that earned a permanent spot in our gear box
Whether you’re hiking, paddling, or splashing around, these are the best water shoes for every kind of adventure
At the top of our list: comfortable, stylish suits that seamlessly transition between activities
We surfed, ran, and swam our hearts out in 18 different styles. These were our favorites.
We tested dozens of paddleboards. These five favorites stood out from the crowd.
Our favorite boats for flatwater to Class V rapids
We tested 21 boards and road countless breaks to bring you our top six picks
Running and Fitness
We put over 130 running shoes through thousands of miles of long runs, speed workouts, races, and daily jaunts. These 19 emerged as the best.
Plush, with surprising pep, the updated Nike Vomero is our new go-to training shoe
We tested 38 running packs over a wide range of distances, speeds, and terrains to find the most comfortable and functional for you
We tested yoga apparel, mats, and accessories during dozens of hours of diverse practice to find the pieces that will optimize your yoga experience
Six testers spent hundreds of hours working out to find these best-performing sports bras for every type of activity
The Rab Veil 12 comfortably carried everything we needed on runs from neighborhood jogs to 100-mile adventures—and let us reach what we wanted without taking the pack off
We tested 20 new products on trails, treadmills, and trains to find the best earbuds and headphones for every listener and budget
A crew of athletes and adventurers put in well over 1,000 miles running, hiking, and biking, plus tracked hundreds of workout hours and daily activities to find the best watch for every athlete
We Loved the Classic Look of These Earbuds from Marshall. Then We Were Wowed by Their Sound Quality.
The Marshall Motif II ANC earbuds made us feel like we were inside a recording studio
We put more than 150 trail shoes through hundreds of miles of rocky singletrack, sandy paths, and muddy forests. These 18 emerged as the best.
Having run in every plated trail shoe made, we find the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra the first that matches road supershoe performance without sacrificing trail-handling prowess
Over a dozen athletes put 66 sunglasses to the test in a range of outdoor activities. These shades performed the absolute best.
These are the classic, oversized sunnies you’ll wear on the beach, the ski hill, or the road trip
We tested over 50 pairs of running shorts to find the most comfortable and functional for every type of run
Seven testers tried 48 t-shirts and singlets over nearly 4,000 miles. These came out on top.
Seven testers tried 31 running shorts over nearly 4,000 miles. These came out on top.
These 14 best women's running T-shirts and tanks will keep you cool, dry, comfortable, and stylish
Eight testers worked out in 42 tops and 33 shorts for more than 300 hours. These picks came out on top.
Nine testers sweated in more than 50 summer workout shirts, shorts, hats, and accessories. These six came out on top.