The Best Outdoor Gear of 2024: 14 Winners, 850 Products Tested

Published May 24, 2024 08:00AM

We test a lot of gear at Outside. Want numbers? For the 2024 Summer Gear Guide on Outside, Climbing, and Backpacker, we put upwards of 850 products through three months of rigorous field testing. And by “we,” we mean nine gear editors, four dozen category managers, and hundreds of additional testers.

After testers put hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of collective miles on each shoe, bike, pack, etc., we collected their written feedback, tallied scores, and hand-picked 474 products across 69 categories—from backpacking packs to running shoes to mountain bikes and more—to include in our “best of” lists. We’ve spent years tweaking and perfecting our testing process and stand behind the performance of every one of these products.

No amount of advertising dollars can buy brands a spot on our gear lists. (This should go without saying, but we’ll play the record on repeat until it sinks in.) To be included in Outside’s Gear Guide, a product has to perform and impress in the real world, plain and simple. Gear that doesn’t live up to the challenge doesn’t make the cut, while gear that blows the socks off our savvy testers earns a special nod: our coveted Editors’ Choice award.

At a Glance

All gear in this guide was tested by multiple reviewers. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside. Learn more.

Best Trail Super Shoe

Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra

Weight: 9.5 oz (men), 8.1 oz (women)
Stack Height: 38–30 mm
Drop: 8 mm
Sizing: 6-13, 14 (men’s), 5-11 (women’s)

Plated road shoes are widely recognized for enhancing running efficiency and promoting better recovery in most runners. Yet, despite the success of their road running counterparts, plated trail shoes have regrettably not achieved the same level of success. In the process of adapting technologies that work on the road to models designed for the trail, shoes have either lacked the ability to effectively handle variable terrain or fallen short in providing the efficiency and recovery benefits seen in road super shoes.

The Agravic Speed Ultra changes that. It topped our list of Best Trail-Running Shoes. Every tester was in awe of how easily faster paces came to them when wearing this shoe. Adidas has skillfully taken every element that makes super shoes super and put them together in a trail shoe, like a five-star chief meticulously crafting the ingredients of their best-selling dish.

Best Backpacking Gadget

Heat It

For American trekkers, there’s usually little more than snake oil available to deal with itchy insect bites. Heat It, a German import, is the first itch-relief product we’ve tried that actually works. While this type of device is popular across Europe, Heat It is the first to make headway in the United States, especially in such a compact design.

The thumb drive-sized device plugs into the power port of an iPhone or Android cell phone and, controlled by a super-easy-to-use app, delivers a pulse of concentrated heat between 117 and 126 degrees directly to the bite, neutralizing the reaction. The phone app allows users to tweak settings for child or adult application, heat intensity, and skin sensitivity.

Best Duffel

Nemo Double Haul Convertible Duffel and Tote

We tested plenty of gear boxes and bags last summer and fall, but Nemo’s Double Haul Duffel was a shoo-in favorite thanks to its brilliant design that transforms this bag from duffel to pack to tote.

“The options are outrageous,” commented one tester, who chucked her camera gear, clothes, watercolor supplies, and hiking essentials in the 100-liter version for a three-day trip in the Sierra and still had volume to spare. Her personal favorite hauling configuration was backpack mode, while her adventure partner preferred to unzip and prop the Double Haul open, converting it into a massive, rectangularly-mouthed tote.

Testers unanimously agreed that the Double Haul isn’t just ideal for camping adventures, but also day trips to the crag, ski resort, or even the gym.

Best Hiking Shoe

Saucony Ultra Ridge GTX

Weight: 12.6 oz (men’s) / 11 oz (women’s)
Sizes: 7-15 (men’s) / 5-12 (women’s)

Trail runner-based boots tend to skew in one direction or the other—either they’re too light to support heavy loads, but feel great at speed, or they’re too overbuilt to move fast. One of the lightest high-top boots we’ve ever tried, the Ultra Ridge GTX might just be the first fusion to hit the bullseye.

A Pebax-based foam insert in the midsole—the same kind used in bouncy, marathon-racing super shoes—is remarkably comfortable and lively-feeling underfoot. It never felt squishy or unstable thanks to a firmer EVA frame below and around the insert and a lightly padded high-top that provides lateral support. It excels over a variety of surfaces: an unobtrusive rock plate prevents bruising while a grippy, durable, chevron-studded outsole digs into mucky and slippery surfaces.

Best Backpacking Pack

Mystery Ranch Radix 57

The Radix 57 doesn’t just look sexy with its sleek monochrome fabric and tantalizing, full-length side zipper. It also delivers best-in-class comfort, load carry, and gear access all in a sub-4-pound package—about a pound less than many other packs capable of carrying similar loads. The secret: shaving weight by using space-age materials—not skimping on suspension.

On the outside, a strong-but-gossamer 100-denier Robic nylon is reinforced with a grid of ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), a uniquely strong and waterproof thread. On the inside, a 7000-series aerospace-grade aluminum frame keeps loads close to the back.

Most Versatile Headlamp

Silva Free Series

From after-work mountain bike rides to early-morning trail runs to uphill laps at the ski resort, every nighttime activity requires something different out of a headlamp. That’s always meant that multisport athletes need to amass a big (and expensive) quiver of lights or make do with a headlamp that’s not quite bright enough, too heavy, or underpowered for their adventure of the day.

Until now: Billing itself as the world’s first modular headlamp line, the Silva Free Series lets users mix and match batteries and headlamps to create a customized light for high-speed, high-octane nighttime activities.

Best Value Trail Bike

YT Jeffsy

As a now-longstanding staple of the YT lineup, the main theme of the Jeffsy is alive and well: a 29er trail bike meant to get along with just about anything you might encounter. The all-mountain geometry of the updated model keeps the ride both stable and energetic. Climbing feels supportive and efficient—the bike remains energetic over technical terrain in and out of the saddle. Descending is intuitive and well-balanced, with excellent cornering performance and great pop on jumps and jibs.

Takeaway: this is a great bike for people looking for easy and intuitive handling, an unfussy layout, and a solid ride feel regardless of how hard you’re pushing the bike. But don’t let that dissuade you if you’re keen to ride hard, as Jeffsy is more than willing to get rowdy.

Best Overall Trail Bike

Scor 2030 GX

It only takes one three-letter word to summarize why the Scor 2030 is our 2024 Editor’s Choice winner: fun! With its stubby back end and relatively slack head angle, the 2030 is incredibly entertaining, especially on technical, rolling terrain. Pumping, manualing, and jumping are the 2030’s strong suits, but it also squeezes every last drop of performance out of its 120 millimeters of rear travel. That trait allows it to shine brighter than most bikes in this travel bracket when faced with chunky, technical sections of trail.

Best Backpacking Tent

Durston X-Mid Pro 1

Weight: 17.8 oz (DCF floor); 1.2 lbs (sil-nylon floor)
Interior Space: 20 square feet
Peak Height: 45 inches

With the Durston X-Mid Pro 1, Durston Gear has perfected its signature asymmetrical tarp-tent design to create the most comfortable, storm-worthy one-pound shelter we’ve ever tested.

The secret sauce behind founder Dan Durston’s ultralight success, both in his one- and two-person tents, is a deceptively simple offset design: Where many other trekking-pole tents are set up with poles at the midpoint of the tent, the X-Mid’s poles sit with one towards the feet and the other towards the head. That means 45 inches of peak height at both ends, which lends an airy, vaulted feeling and enough room to change. Offset poles also mean that there’s no obstruction in front of the mesh doors, which can be operated easily with one hand thanks to two easy-sliding zippers.

Best Enduro Bike

Trek Slash

Tested Build: 9.9 XO AXS T-Type Gen 6
Weight: 34.4 lbs (size M)
Sizing available: S, M, M/L, L and XL

Trek’s engineers typically have a careful approach to bike development, rarely taking things too far. With this year’s Slash, they pushed the envelope a bit further than they usually do to make the ideal pedal-access, descent-focused bike. It certainly is a far departure from prior models, now featuring a high pivot layout, meaning the bike’s main pivot is placed above the top of the chainring and the rear wheel axle. But in many ways, it still has the classic Trek ethos.

With 170 millimeters of travel, this bike can happily mow through chunky sections of trail but is equally capable when things get tight and slow, thanks to the carefully-considered geometry and very predictable suspension feel. That predictability is key to the overall versatility of the bike, as you can push into the suspension in more flowing terrain without feeling like you’re losing too much energy to the rear end.

Most Durable Climbing Rope

Edelrid Eagle Lite Protect Pro Dry 9.5 mm

Impact force: 8.7 kN
Sheath percentage: 38%
Dynamic elongation: 32%
Available lengths: 60 m, 70 m

Whereas a few of the other ropes we tested needed, on average, to be cut once per week, this cord just kept going and going and going—two testers were able to make it last six weeks while climbing on it two to three times per week on sharp limestone in Rifle, Colorado.

There’s good science behind this durability: The Eagle Lite Protect utilizes Edelrid’s new Cut Protect technology, which incorporates aramid fibers into the sheath using a unique braiding process. Frequently used by the military and aerospace engineers, aramid fibers are known to be strong and heat-resistant and are often incorporated into ballistic-rated body armor fabric, like Kevlar.

Best eMTB

Orbea Wild M-LTD

Orbea’s new Wild eMTB arrived at the party with revised geometry, a stiffer frame, and Bosch’s latest CX Race motor. All of the models roll on 29-inch wheels and have 160-millimeters of rear travel, but Orbea’s MyO program allows for a wide range of configuration options. Riders can select from a 160 or 170-millimeter fork, a 625-watt-hour or 750-watt-hour battery, the option to add on a display or light package, and to customize the paint scheme.

The new Wild may have been designed with racing in mind, but there’s no need to go near a race course to enjoy it. It’s fast, powerful, and incredibly composed while climbing and descending, making it an excellent all-rounder for riders who prefer their trails on the trickier, more technical side.

Most Innovative Stick Clip

Metolius Climbing Roll Up Stick Clip Kit

Weight: 28 oz (full kit); 21 oz (pole only)
Dimensions: Kit in bag is 3.75” x 4.5”; stick extends to 9.8 feet

Last year, our lead climbing gear tester flew out to the Red River Gorge, Kentucky, with a telescoping, sub-9-foot-long stick clip, which just barely fit in his pack and was a hair too short for many first bolts. This year, he flew back out with the Roll Up Stick Clip, which extends to 9.8 feet but packs down to the size of a large can of tomato sauce.

Its compact design comes courtesy of a space-age composite material that comes tightly rolled in a cylinder. Like a Fruit Roll-Up, it unfurls and refolds into a tube that you can click the end fitting into. (The fitting accepts an included Superclip or camera-mount adapter.) We were initially skeptical about durability, but after unrolling and re-rolling it dozens of times and banging the stick around at the crags, it’s remained as solid as on day one, with no cracking or deformation.

Best Road Bike

Cannondale SuperSix EVO

The SuperSix Evo is Cannondale’s updated lightweight racer. It’s not quite as aerodynamic as the American brand’s aero-at-all-cost SystemSix or as smooth as the Synapse all-road bike, but it is far more comfortable, lighter, and still offers agile handling considering its extremely fast pace. Though this new iteration doesn’t represent the same performance leap as the first model, the upgrades to this version make the bike easier to work on and generally more aerodynamic.

Much of those aero gains are found at the front end. On the previous SuperSix, Cannondale made the well-intentioned decision to route the cables largely internally but in front of the headset bearings, which added bulk to an otherwise slim-tubed bike. It also limited just how much the bars could turn left or right. In the latest system, the cables are routed through the headset bearings using a triangular steerer tube. This allowed Cannondale to make the headtube area much more slender, making for a trimmer, more aerodynamic (and therefore faster), profile.

We Tested 850 Pieces of Summer Gear. These 14 Are the Best.

At a Glance

Best Trail Super Shoe

Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra

Best Backpacking Gadget

Heat It

Best Duffel

Nemo Double Haul Convertible Duffel and Tote

Best Hiking Shoe

Saucony Ultra Ridge GTX

Best Backpacking Pack

Mystery Ranch Radix 57

Most Versatile Headlamp

Silva Free Series

Best Value Trail Bike

YT Jeffsy

Best Overall Trail Bike

Scor 2030 GX

Best Backpacking Tent

Durston X-Mid Pro 1