Our Favorite Gear of 2023
our writers share the best of hundreds of pieces of gear they tested this year
At Treeline Review, we’ve had a busy year of testing outdoor gear and sharing our findings. From the ski slopes, to campsites, rivers, trails and more, our testing has taken us–and our gear–through all kinds of conditions and activities. Through it all, we’ve found ourselves gravitating to our go-to favorite gear items.
We asked our writers to share their favorite gear from 2023, including apparel, backpacking gear, electronics, and even sunscreen. Each writer has tested hundreds of pieces of gear this year. Sometimes, picking a single favorite was a challenge. The items on this list are our favorites when pressed to choose just one.
These are the items we find ourselves consistently reaching for even when the testing is done. Our mission at Treeline Review has always been to buy right the first time so you need less stuff. Our writers share what they love doing and the gear that makes their lives better. Check out our 2023 Gear Year-in-Review to see what we can’t get enough of!
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Our Favorite Outdoor Apparel of the Year
TOPO REVIVE
I have worn the Topo Revive recovery slippers everyday–yes, every single day–since I first started testing them last year for our Best Recovery Shoes and Sandals guide. What I love most about the slippers are the 3D Wave Sense Insoles that massage the bottom of the feet, though everything from support, traction, comfort, and design is fantastic.
The Revive makes a great house shoe, especially for folks who may be prone to foot injury or wish to recover from activities faster. The foot support and comfort is designed specifically for that purpose. So while my favorite gear of the year is, in this case, an indoor rather than outdoor gear item, it helps me recover faster from, and be ready for, my outdoor activities. Also, if you wish to make them an outdoor-use shoe, the Vibram® XS Trek EVO outsole offers excellent traction.
The specs are great, but simply put: these slippers are comfortable and are the only footwear I want to wear around the house.
MEN'S
WOMEN'S
A windshirt has long been my favorite piece of gear. I wear a windshirt nearly every day on my long distance hikes and carry one on nearly every dayhike. A wind shirt is perfect for cool mornings and evenings or to stay warm during a break. It will provide protection from mosquitos and biting flies. And, it is light and compact enough to carry in your pocket.
Katabatic introduced its own windshirt in 2023. The Katabic Crest Windshell is a 2 oz. hooded windshirt constructed of Pertex Quantum Air, an ultralight, wind-resistant, air-permeable fabric with a DWR coating for light water resistance. The material is comfortable against bare skin. The elastic cuffs and hood provide a snug fit.
Some folks argue lightweight rain jackets make a windshirt redundant. I couldn’t disagree more. The Katabatic windshirt is significantly lighter, more breathable, and more packable than any rain jacket. Plus, excessive use of a rain jacket will significantly reduce its life and reliability. For the weight and size of an energy bar, you can have one of the most versatile pieces of gear.
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WOMEN'S
Thinking about all the great gear I’ve had a chance to test this year, my favorite comes down to which gear I’ve used the most. This year it’s the Outdoor Vitals Vario Jacket–a stretchy, versatile mid-layer jacket that’s as good on trail and in the backcountry as it is for wearing around town after an adventure. I’ve worn this maroon jacket hiking Zion’s West Rim in April and in December for early season backcountry runs.
The Vario was comfortable as a midlayer when temps dipped below freezing, and thanks to the 3DeFX Insulation and vented armpits, it didn’t sweat out even during high energy output like skinning. It was also a nice, light jacket to wear on cool summer and fall evenings when hiking in Lake Tahoe and just tooling around Denver. With understated features, like an adjustable waist hem and thumb loops, it’s got just the right amount of tech, too.
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WOMEN'S
The First Lite Obsidian Foundry pants are the best all-around outdoor pants I’ve ever owned!
Here’s why.
Yesterday I went ski touring and fat biking, grocery shopped, visited the hardware store, changed a headlight bulb, split firewood, wrestled with my pup and made dinner.
All in the same pair of pants.
Obsidian Foundry pants are constructed of ripstop merino wool with reinforced snag and tear resistant stretch nylon in the seat, crotch, and lower legs. The merino regulates temperature, staying warm–wet or dry–and cool in the summer months, is silent, and resists odor buildup. These are hunting pants, so silent and scent-free are key features–good things for us regular folk too. A DWR coating resists moisture. Construction is triple threaded with paracord pull zippers and dual back pockets. The pants come with a removable suspender system and weigh 1lb 6oz.
Obsidian Foundry pants are great backpacking and hiking pants. During the colder months I just add tights. When temperatures really plummet and the snow gets deep I switch to First Lite’s fleece lined, fully zippered legs Catalyst Foundry pants.
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WOMEN'S
OUTDOOR RESEARCH HEMISPHERES II JACKET
Last year, Outdoor Research made some big updates to an already awesome and super popular backcountry ski jacket. While this update came last year, I did most of my testing on lots of ski tours this spring. Of the dozens of jackets I’ve tested for resort and backcountry skiing, most of them get left in the back of the closet after testing is done. The Hemispheres II stays in my mudroom all season long and it’s the first jacket I reach for when backcountry skiing.
This jacket pairs top-notch materials and features—lightweight GORE-TEX, stretch where you need it, and ample venting options for the uphill—with an updated fit that’s dialed to perfection.
It’s long enough to keep snow out sans powder skirt and roomy enough for ample freedom of movement and plenty of layers without being overly baggy or cumbersome. But my favorite part: the wide neck. Too many ski jackets have narrow collars that feel constricting, especially when you add layers or a neck gaiter or buff. I can burrow into the collar of this jacket like a cold turtle, and I love it.
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WOMEN'S
RIDGE MERINO SOLSTICE SUN HOODIE
While testing sun shirts for the Best Sun Shirts guide, the days the Ridge Merino Solstice Hoodie were in my rotation were my favorite testing days. The fabric feels soft, the hood feels like a hug, and the cut drapes flatteringly over my body. I've been testing the Solstice since 2019, but this year I tested the new model (which fixed the drawstring, previously my only complaint) and it's become my go-to sun shirt.
While merino wool can sometimes be too warm for desert hiking, when deciding what to wear for thru-hiking Arizona Trail, I couldn't bring myself to choose a different sun hoodie. On trail, it didn't stink after a week straight of wearing it. The hood stayed up in the wind and it was comfy enough to sleep in. I love it so much, I still wear the same (now discolored) shirt I used thru-hiking to get drinks with friends. It's not just my favorite gear item, it's my favorite shirt.
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WOMEN'S
Small things that make a big difference
NEMO FILLO
As an insomniac, I have a laundry list of conditions that must be met before I can sleep through the night: the temperature has to be cool enough, my stress levels need to be low enough, and my bed needs to be cozy enough. To the latter point, the item I reach for again and again is surprisingly not my giant Jason Momoa pillow (it was a gift, y’all), but the NEMO Fillo.
Deemed Most Comfortable in our Best Backpacking Pillows guide, the Fillo’s hybrid design (part inflatable, part smooshy foam) makes it surprisingly cush and adjustable; I release a tiny pfft of air to keep most of the 4” loft intact, then it’s off to slumberland. That, and the fact that the jersey cover feels better against my skin than regular pillowcases, means that I haven’t just taken the Fillo out on trail, but I’ve also used it on road trips and at home. A true, snooze-worthy workhorse!
Honestly, I never thought I would be writing an ode to a hiking umbrella in 2023. I’d tried umbrellas on the Pacific Crest Trail and on Lowest-to-Highest (L2H) trail from Badwater Basin to Mt. Whitney, and decided they weren’t for me. However, when I set off on the Great Divide Trail this summer, Treeline Review’s Liz and Naomi promised I needed one.
I first bought the Carbon Trekking Umbrella as a Valentine’s Day gift for my girlfriend. I was immediately jealous. It felt so light it seemed to pull your arm skywards! I had to get one too. This umbrella was my reprieve while hiking in a 4-day storm, a shelter from sun on road-walks, the only way to stop for breaks during downpours, and a way to get smelly hiker friends to walk as close to you as possible. What makes it different? It offers a large protected area, doesn’t flip inside out in the wind, and is super light!
BADGER SPORT SPF 40 REEF-SAFE SUNSCREEN
When I started my research on how to choose an actually reef-safe sunscreen this year, I was trying to plan a honeymoon and so stressed out because there were just NO clear answers out there on how to not, you know, kill everything in the ocean during my vacation. As I got deeper into that research, it became clear why "reef-safe" is an ever-moving target.
With all that newfound knowledge of the complexities involved, it was even more of a relief to find a product that I could feel good about now, later, and very likely into the future, even as science uncovers more about how different chemicals and ingredients affect marine and aquatic life. This is why the Badger Sport SPF 40 sunscreen is the winner of our Best Overall Reef-Safe Sunscreen.
Bottom line: Badger Sport SPF 40 has four ingredients, it's from a great company, and it has undergone some of the most rigorous testing out there to ensure reef safety. It's a clear YES in a sea (no pun intended) of well-we're-not-totally-sures, and finding it made me feel so much better about getting in the water!
USB-C CHARGING ADAPTERS FOR NON-USB DEVICES
I have a lot of things to charge on my thru hikes. It's a little ridiculous. And there's always a lot of charging drama to go along with it–I have too many cables, they're usually all the same color, (which is the same color as the bottom of my tent), and there's no good way to organize them. I'm always paranoid that I'm going to lose one, and the chances of finding a Shokz headphone cable or Garmin watch cable for sale in a store on a thru hike are close to zero.
I'm really looking forward to the day when all manufacturers (ahem Garmin and Skokz) use the standard charging system, but until then, I'm a huge HUGE fan of these charging adapters for non-USB-C devices.
They turn your non-USB-C device into a USB-C charging device with a scant ~3 grams. They're cheap, light, and small–all things that thru hikers covet. They’re so light that I carry two just in case. All you need is a USB-C cable, which you're likely carrying anyway. Leave all the extra cables at home.
These adapters are also great for travel–some have keychain rings so you'll always have one when you need one. This product falls into the category of where has it been all my life!
GARMIN
SHOKZ
USB-A TO USB-C
MINI USB TO USB-C
Our favorite big gear items of the year
OUTDOOR VITALS SKYLINE FASTPACK
The Outdoor Vitals Skyline Fastpack is my favorite piece of gear of 2023. Two of my favorite activities are trail running and thru-hiking, and this backpack-running-vest hybrid lets you move however you want and doesn’t bounce like a backpack. I used it for an 800-mile thru-hike on the Arizona Trail and the 100-mile Wind River High Route this summer. And while backpacking with a 30-liter pack isn’t for everyone, I also love using this as a daypack cinched down to a smaller size.
This pack adds the best aspects of a trail running vest to a 30-liter roll-top bag. It has tons of exterior pockets you can access while you move down the trail–three pockets on each shoulder strap, a bottom pocket with a hidden zipper pocket inside, and two side pockets.
For years, I made my own backpacks for thru-hiking because there wasn’t anything available to purchase that suited my wants in a pack. Now, there’s a backpack I can actually recommend to lightweight backpackers and backpacking-curious trail runners: the Skyline Fastpack.
I have always been a minimalist when it comes to car camping, eschewing some of the creature comforts so that I didn’t have to have gear that felt extraneous. One piece I added to my car camping kit this year was the ALPS Mountaineering Spirit Table. It has come along with me on every car camping trip I have taken this year, and has quickly become one of my favorite things about car camping.
Being able to have an extra surface for cooking big meals around the fire, or holding an extra lantern, or even just a spot to place my book or play cards, has been invaluable.
The table is also light and extremely packable, a feature that was non negotiable for me. Many of the other camping tables I’ve seen are long, heavy, and look like they would take up a lot of space in a car.
The ALPS Spirit table is smaller than a mid size camping chair, with hollow steel legs that fold into the polyester rip-stop fabric that makes up the table top. The fabric of the table top has proven to be extremely tough, withstanding heavy rains when left out overnight and even withstanding every day use as a makeshift coffee table when my partner and I moved into our new home this year (I love a versatile piece of gear!).
At the end of the day, this table has turned me into a believer that some creature comforts are worth bringing along, and I know I will be using this table every time I car camp.
WHYLD RIVER UL SLEEPING BAG FOR DOG
This down sleeping bag is an essential piece of gear that I have enjoyed by seeing how happy it makes our dogs. When I tested this sleeping bag for our Dog Hiking Gear guide, I expected that Ace would love it for camping on trail, which he absolutely did.
As a piece of outdoor gear this serves its intended purpose as an easy-to-pack-and-carry doggie sleeping bag. The unintended purpose was that Stella would commandeer it for her nightly ritual. Stella is an always cold Terrier/Bully mix who has now claimed the dog sleeping bag as her own. It brings me joy to see how happy she is cuddling herself into a down sleeping bag and waiting for it to fluff just right.
I have washed it several times and the bag looks brand new. It is not often that you find a really well-made and designed piece of gear for a dog, but this is it. 100% Stella approved.
End of the year reflections on gear
Ultimately, gear is a tool to get you outside doing the thing you love to do with the people you love spending time with.
Our mission at Treeline Review has always been to buy right the first time so you need less stuff.
With these favorite pieces of gear of 2023, we know we found items that will stay by our side for a long time.
