The Gear Guys's gift list: Toys for outdoor boys and girls

Stephen Tegenold
GEAR JUNKIE

Gear Junkie top 10 gear picks 2004 Over the past 12 months, I ran two marathons, climbed two major mountains, skied a 50-kilometer race, explored canyons in southcentral Utah, completed nine adventure races and traveled to corners as far afield as Ucluelet, B.C., and Kyoto, Japan. Along the way, I tested and reviewed more than 50 pieces of new outdoor gear. Here are the ones that survived, thrived and ended up as my favorite picks of the year. Duofold Hydrid - It looks like a normal T-shirt, but the Hydrid fits and breathes so well that it nearly became my uniform for training outdoors this year. I now own three of them. ($25, www.duofold.com) Montrail Susitna XCR - They look like normal trail-runners, but the Gore-Tex Susitnas come with small rubber gaiters and are waterproof. I even attached crampons and climbed Mt. Rainier in them. ($125, www.montrail.com) Kahtoola KTS crampons - The accompaniment to the aforementioned Montrail shoes were these lightweight aluminum crampons. They're flexible and grip well enough for snow climbs up to 60 degrees. ($129, www.kahtoola.com) Squeaky Cheeks - This dry-powder lubricant, made of corn starch, bentonite clay, elm bark and other odd ingredients, kept me chafe-free running and racing all year long. ($6, www.squeakycheeks.com) REI jackets - The Winter Ridge Nordic Jacket and its cousin, the Performance Wool Jacket, are lightweight, breathable and optimized for seriously aerobic cold-weather activities. I wore them religiously all winter long. ($125 each, www.rei.com) Kona Jake the Snake - This cyclocross model has road-bike performance with off-road features like knobby tires and a reinforced frame. It let me keep speed on the pavement while still allowing for some trail riding. ($1,099, www.konaworld.com) Fischer Nordic Pacer - These 171-centimeter Nordic cruisers held up to abuse for hundreds of kilometers of racing and training. They're a bit shorter and fatter than traditional skis, but provide extra stability and still manage to fly on the snow. ($219; www.fischerskis.com) Life-Link Guide Ultra-Light pole - A solid trekking pole with an integrated avalanche probe, just in case. The high-grade aluminum and carbon fiber poles weigh just 7 ounces apiece. ($100, www.life-link.com) MyTopo.com - Customizable United States Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps and satellite photos that come in sizes that range from 18x24 to 36x44 inches. A complete online database of USGS quadrangles lets you surf, scroll and select the map of your choosing from anywhere in the country. ($10-$30 per map, www.mytopo.com) RailRiders Eco-Mesh shirt - It blocks out the sun while letting the body breathe. The shirt has a 3-inch-wide continuous mesh vent that runs up the side of the torso and a large mesh vent on the upper back to let body heat escape. ($54, www.railriders.com) Read the entire article.