Gear Patrol

Ah, the music festival. Concert after concert under the hot sun, huge fields of camping fans, available yet astronomically priced food, and port-a-potties stretching to the horizon combine for a strange breed of “roughing it” with large doses of civilization mixed in. Prepare properly and you’re in for the weekend of a lifetime; shirk the prep and you’ll be poor and plenty grumpy come Sunday night. Here are ten pieces of gear — appropriately fitting the chaotic and not at all fashionable atmosphere you’ll come to know and love — to get your music festival experience on track for “Epic!” status. We’ll leave the collapsible peace pipe to you.

No, it’s not made especially for a zombie outbreak. The Lansky T.A.S.K. (Tactical Apocalypse Survival Kit) ($200) is aimed at avoiding (or taking down) whatever your own personal apocalypse may be. We break it down.

To soothe the discomfort of a damp, rocky and generally pokey forest floor when camping, ground-bound tenters have to make sure they’ve come equipped, which is a drag en route. The Blue Ridge Camping Hammock ($140) combines the comforts of being high, dry and comfortably cradled during your next forest foray.

Back-to-nature gourmands, rejoice — the BioLite Portable Grill ($60) saves you from suffering through camp dinners made of only canned soup and stick-toasted weenies, while still powering your decidedly non-forest-friendly electronic devices.

When an outdoor titan like Patagonia states they’ve invented the highest-performing down technology available anywhere and stuffed it into “the finest down parka ever made” — you should pay attention.

Something about sitting atop an unexplored peak to watch the sunrise while enjoying your favorite coffee just feels right. Maybe it’s the sub-freezing temperatures and obligatory wind chill, or it’s the all night trek catching up with you. With that in mind, we’ve got the best tried and true methods for brewing your favorite coffee for you next adventure, be it a weekend of car camping or a full blown backcountry expedition.

Nothing ruins a backpacking trip like a terrible night’s sleep (or a lack of clean underwear, but if you can’t figure that one out you’re beyond our help). A good sleeping bag is the key to staying warm and dry when you’re crashing under the stars — so you’re at your best crossing that next 8,000 foot mountain pass. Sleeping bag tech has made its way into the space age in the last few years: your 20-year-old bag from summer camp or the Boy Scouts is no longer up to snuff. Here’s our list of the best 20°F (or below) bags to ensure comfort and safety for three-season camping.

The Alpaca Guitar more like “I’ll pack a…” than the animal, but we’ll assume that’s what they were going for. The Kickstarter project is all about turning everyone’s favorite campfire fun into a nigh unbreakable, waterproof piece of hiking gear.

The M-65 waterproof fishtail parka was first used by the U.S. Army in the Korean War as a lightweight shell to keep soldiers dry. The design allowed soldiers to wrap the back of the coat around their upper legs for ease of movement and more waterproof surface. Recently the “hope I’m cool enough to stay here” Ace Hotel teamed up with Alpha Industries — known for military-inspired casual wear — to revive the storied coat. Retaining the classic M-65 style while updating it with a washed nylon shell, stay-dry seams and modern lines means you can throw this on and hike through unknown forest and muddy embankments before strolling directly into the board room, unscathed. Don’t whine to us if the muddy boots give you away, though.

Holding on to heritage for dear life while still being picky about efficiency, quality and practicality is taking the tough path — but produces the kind of results we dig. Bush Smarts, a New York-based builder, designer and sourcer of prime camp gear, has created a library of outdoor gear that eschews flash and gimmick…

Best Made Co.’s latest camping accessory is made in the USA from solid white oak, duck canvas and solid brass hardware, producing a vintage aesthetic that would look right at home around both your grandfather’s campsite and yours. Since America’s not getting any lighter, the Camp Chair ($185) is built to support 350 pounds, both in chair or stool mode.

Wondermade Marshmallows ($8) shatter the conventional s’mores mold with their diverse line of flavored addiction cubes sugary treats. Boasting a perfect spongy consistency, these handcrafted marshmallows challenge the pallet with a bouquet of unique flavors like gingerbread, peppermint, s’mores (s’mores inception?), pumpkin pie, Guinness and bourbon. A smartly designed box accomplishes the sole mission of…

If you’ve ever used trekking poles with friction locks, you know they can be fickle and finicky — slippage and tedious adjustment are par for the course. MSR’s SureLock TR-3 allows you to navigate frequently changing terrain with an on-the-fly two-finger length adjustment system. That means no removing the gloves or poles from your hands to unlock, adjust, and re-lock your sticks.

He shows up at Christmas dinner with new scars and less digits from his latest cage dives and winter Alpine ascents. His tales, most of them true, scare Aunt Betty to tears and enchant the kids. And while the adventurer’s gifts for you usually amount to a carved tribal trinket or a rock from a…

Backpacks are ubiquitous, and sometimes too many pockets just means… too many pockets. In the case of the Marmot Urban Hauler ($50), less is more. Based on a centuries-old Japanese fishing bag, the Urban Hauler is as simple as a pack can get, short of a brown grocery bag and duct tape. Made of UpCycled…

The classic hiking boot never grows old, but sometimes a bit of fashion-driven change is welcomed. After all, you sport most of your woodsy fashion flair at the coffee shop, dontcha? Less a couple inches of leather than your standard hiking boot, the Olukai Mauna Lalo ($225) hiking shoe is just the right combination of…

The outdoorsman on your list is easily identifiable: he’s rarely home and smells faintly of man sweat and wood smoke when you do catch him between excursions. His particular passion falls within an extensive of range possible pursuits (noodling for catfish, anyone?), but one thing is for certain — he does them outside. His look…

After a rough day of solo backpacking and exploration, nothing rejuvenates like a good meal. Unfortunately, going it alone out in the field doesn’t always lend to the best of creature comforts. The Snow Peak Ozen Solo Table ($50) provides a level surface on the ground or in your tent and should at least make…

Whether it’s for your bug-out bag or your hiking kit, the fundamental survival items — knife, flashlight, multitool, your bag itself — make up 98% of what you’ll use and anchor your camp/hike/escape. The Gerber GO Bag ($274) gives you the whole kit and caboodle. Not only does it provide a laundry list of quality,…

Camping is one of America’s great pastimes, and some die-hards do it through all four seasons. But whether it’s 90 degrees and swampy or so cold the lining of your nose freezes, you’ll always need some good light shed on the situation. The L.L. Bean Lighthouse 30-Day Camp Lantern ($60) won’t just brighten things up…

Whether you’re in the great outdoors when the sun goes down or at home when the power goes out (thanks, Hurricane Sandy), proper portable lighting can make the difference between life and death — or at least help you figure out where your next meal (or bath) is coming from. Sometimes a flashlight (narrow beam)…

The latest in automotive headlight technology is downright impressive. Adaptive headlights turn with the steering wheel, high-beams deactivate when oncoming traffic approaches and self-leveling low beams move when the road angle changes. Why can’t headlamps follow suit? No more complaining: the Petzl NAO ($175), an adaptive and rechargable headlamp, seems to work in conjunction with…

The North Face Back-to-Berkeley Low Down ($110) hiking shoes are a perfectly executed throwback to a simpler time, when bell bottoms and hang-glider-sized collars were all the rage. But their retro good looks belie the cutting-edge technology infused throughout: a waterproof suede and polyurethane coated ballistic mesh upper, an inner HydroSeal waterproof membrane liner, 100g…

Once you start toting a knife in your EDC, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. Cutting, prying, and oh-so-important meat-slicing — you’ve never had it so good. There are plenty of fantastic utility knives for that kind of work — but they don’t quite cut it when you move out of the concrete…

The Boy Scouts of America’s motto is simply “Be prepared”. They’re spot on: failing to do so can lead to some seriously bad outcomes when true disaster strikes. The AE Light SolarMine Emergency Lantern ($115) is made to give you light in exactly that unfortunate occasion, and having proved itself during Japan’s horrific 2011 earthquake…

Boot technology has come a long way since the days of Sir Edmund Hillary, but some things, like a vintage-style hiking boot, should never change. Danner, in collaboration with Tanner Goods, has made an exemplary modern classic in the Danner Mountain Trail Left Bank boot ($350). Made in the Portland, Oregon Danner factory, this special…

Unless you’re fastpacking, any trip involving more than two people (kids, especially) maxes out vehicle cubic space before you run out of things you need to bring. Dinoot Modular Camping Trailers ($789+) let you take everything on your list, plus everything on your wife’s list, too. With modular, build-as-you-go setup, each trailer is customizable to…

A list of locales that are not axe-friendly: your kid’s preschool; any school, for that matter; certain churches, chapels, mosques, temples and cathedrals; Apple stores. For everywhere (ok, not everywhere) else, there’s the Best Made Co. Duck Canvas Axe Case ($110+). This perfect answer for card-carrying axemen is designed with safety and protection in mind,…

Often, when you’re a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. So good on Hardcore Hammers for busting their own paradigm with the Hardcore Hatchet ($45). The move is a natural one for the hammer makers — from one artful, useful expression of wood and metal to another. Like their hammers, every hatchet is individually…

Italian shoemaker Diemme has been crafting fine footwear for mountaineering, trekking, military, safety applications and hunting since 1992. But a tradition of practicality doesn’t mean their products aren’t stylish. The Diemme Roccia Vet Vesuvio Suede boot ($400) is evidence to that effect. Originally created as part of their hunting line, the Roccia Vet Vesuvio is…