Month: March 2019

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The star of Netflix’s latest sci-fi series isn’t a forgetful robot or even a pesky kid. Rather, it’s an odd-looking tent from Germany that steals most of the first episode’s screen time. 

The show, Lost in Space, gets a lot of things wrong. Fire burns up, not out. Ice freezes from top to bottom, not the other way around. And it doesn’t actually rain liquid water in below-freezing conditions. But one thing it gets right is the tent that the Robinson family relies on to survive their first night on the alien planet. 

That tent is the HeimPlanet Cave, and you can actually buy one right now for $400.

HeimPlanet’s most distinguishing feature is its use of inflatable geodesic poles. That unique design makes the tent more stable in high winds, faster to set up, and easier to repair. The poles themselves are made from a strong TPU inner tube (yes, just like in bike tires) that inflate inside a rugged polyester sleeve. To set the tent up, you just spread it out, hook up the included pump, and start blowing air: in just a few seconds, the tent will stand up on its own as you inflate it. After staking it down, no other work is required. 

Like a tree or skyscraper, the inflatable poles are designed to flex with the wind, making the structure better able to stand up to fierce weather (HeimPlanet’s mountaineering tent is designed for wind speeds up to 112 miles per hour), or even damage from a falling rock or, you know, space-ship part. Most of the time, the poles will just bounce back after an impact like that—the polyester sheath does an excellent job protecting the inner tubes from abrasion and punctures. But should you manage to put a hole in one, repairing the tube is just as easy as patching a bike tube. HeimPlanet employs a novel tube connection system that allows you to blow up the poles all at once, then separate them into individual chambers, ensuring stability should one of those chambers be damaged. Traditional rigid poles, on the other hand, whether they be aluminum, fiberglass, or carbon fiber, will snap and shatter in big impacts, and can prove impossible to repair as a result. 

The last advantage of this configuration is packability. While the two- to three-person tent weighs a hefty 10.6 pounds, it’s un-inflated poles can be rolled, jammed, or packed into compartments of virtually any shape (unlike rigid poles, which create a minimum packed length), and in that state are virtually impervious to damage. With an inflatable pole tent all bundled up, you can subject them to falls, impacts, or even spaceship crashes without fear of damage. 

The bottom line? If we were planning to colonize an alien planet, we would likely bring along a Heimplanet as our emergency shelter. 

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Airstream design hasn’t changed much in the 80 years since the company was founded. That’s part of the reason the iconic camping trailers have such a cult following. The simple design and aluminum construction is as much about retro-modern aesthetics as it is functional trailering.

Now Airstream is attempting to put its stamp on a new kind of trailer: its latest model, the Nest ($45,900 and up), is made out of fiberglass. The 16-foot two-person pod looks nothing like the Airstreams of yore. For starters, its two-tone white and gray exterior is sleek in a more subdued way, a noticeable departure from the aluminum panels that make traditional Airstreams look like shiny silver train cars. It’s also slightly boxier.

The move to fiberglass isn’t an entirely new thing for Airstream. Founder Wally Byam played around with fiberglass shells as early as the 1950s, though they never made it to market. In 2016, Airstream acquired the young Bend, Oregon, company Nest, which had just started prototyping a small fiberglass trailer. In a statement at the time, Airstream founder Bob Wheeler said the company had been looking to make a fiberglass trailer for some time, was impressed by the Nest’s design, and wanted to “bring this design to market.” 

According to an Airstream spokesperson, the appeal of fiberglass is as much about appearance as it is about performance. Its lighter weight means that the Nest can be towed by a large SUV—no pickup truck required. But fiberglass is also an opportunity to take Airstream’s design stamp and cult following into a new market. “We saw an opportunity to push the fiberglass trailer industry into good design,” the spokesperson said. In other words: Airstream wants to make fiberglass trailers chic. 

To that end, it turned to auto designer Bryan Thompson, who was the creative mind behind Airstream’s other small modern-looking (but still aluminum) trailer, the Basecamp ($35,900 and up). In what Airstream calls “highly-aesthetic, automotive-like design and styling,” the Nest features a large front windshield (supposedly inspired by ski goggles) and a row of three square side windows on each size. Shape-wise, the Nest is vaguely reminiscent of an old-school VW bus: square-ish, with rounded corners and a gently sloping front.

Inside, the Nest looks similar to Airstream’s classic smaller model, the Sport ($45,900 and up). It has a queen-size bed, a counter with sink and stove, a full bathroom and shower, and a closet. Clearly designed for the modern traveler, it also has built-in outlets and USB ports throughout.

As more and more young people opt to buy trailers and vans instead of houses, it makes sense that Airstream would choose this moment to revisit fibgerglass. Though more expensive than aluminum, it’s also more durable, less susceptible to denting, and cheaper to maintain—a gel coating means that scratches buff out easily. In 30 years, when today’s Nests become collectors items, they’ll still (hopefully) look as good as new.

In short, your children are in vastly more danger in their own driveways than they are in a bicycle child seat

All over America, cities and municipalities are gradually coming to terms with an undeniable truth:

There's no more room for cars.

It's not a matter of sanctimonious environmentalism, or promoting skinny-jeaned gentrification, or facilitating a UN plot to take away your SUV. Rather, it's a simple matter of physics: large multi-ton boxes are an astoundingly poor way to move people across cities, especially large ones that are expected to maintain any sort of sustainable growth. The inevitable consequences of car dependency are that you're either sitting in a traffic jam getting angry or speeding into the next one to make up for lost time, which is how pedestrians and cyclists—and drivers for that matter—get killed.

Given this, by way of ameliorating the pernicious effects of a century of car-oriented development, cities are increasingly retrofitting their streetscapes to simultaneously accommodate human beings and discourage reckless driving. Reclaim a car lane here, add a bike lane there, throw in some pedestrian islands and curb bulb-outs to discourage Formula One-style cornering, and suddenly you've got calmer streets and something resembling a neighborhood again. Colloquially, planning nerds refer to these sorts of retrofits as "road diets," though this is a bit of a misnomer as we wind up with more usable street space and not less.

Of course, if you tell Americans they've got to go on a diet, they shit themselves, and if you tell them they've got to rethink their approach to driving, they shit on you, too. The phenomenon of induced demand (whereby more roadways simply result in more traffic) has proven itself time and time again, yet people persist in believing that we can somehow road-widen and highway-build our way out of an ongoing congestion crisis.

The city of Los Angeles is very much in the throes of this cognitive dissonance. A series of road diets under Mayor Eric Garcetti as part of the Vision Zero initiative have elicited the usual self-soiling and feces-flinging from opponents who fear nothing more than change. One of the more vocal has been pop psychologist, author, and advice columnist Amy Alkon, who while arguing against a road diet project in her Venice neighborhood, tweeted this in response to someone who posted pictures of people cycling with children:

As an asshole who's been endangering his babies for years now, I recognize this statement immediately as the moronic utterance that it is. If transporting kids by bike is meaningfully more dangerous than pushing them around in strollers, then there certainly doesn’t seem to be any data to back that up:

Can carrying a kid on a bike be dangerous? Sure. I'd imagine hillbombing in San Francisco on a brakeless fixie with junior in tow could end pretty badly. Then again, so would doing the same thing with a Bugaboo, and it's a virtual certainty you're not going to be attempting either. The bottom line is that, despite drivers’ best efforts to hit us, cycling itself just isn't that dangerous (you can even argue it’s the safest form of transport)—and the conservative approach any halfway sensible parent takes to riding with a kid onboard is even safer. 

On the other hand, if your goal is to endanger your children in transit, then you can't do any better than using a car. Setting aside the thousands of children who die in collisions every year, an average of 37 kids are killed annually due to being left in hot cars, and even more suffer "backover deaths," which are exactly what they sound like.

Then there's traffic. Road diet opponents typically fret that these sorts of changes will result in more congestion and encourage drivers to seek out their cherished side streets in order to avoid it. Given this, you'd think the idea of child-shlepping by bicycle would be very attractive to them, since nothing gums up neighborhood streets like self-absorbed parents behind the wheel.

Nevertheless, Alkon doubled down on Twitter:

Anyone who transports their child next to traffic on a bicycle, again, is a terrible parent, endangering their child in order to support their fundamentalist ideology of CYCLES UBER ALLES. I hope their child is adopted by more careful neighbors.

And muted anybody who attempted to repair the short circuit in her thought process:

This was not a science question, and it is not surprising that you, as a member of the fundamentalist cyclist mob trying to bully me into silence for daring to have an unapproved view, would argue so sleazily. Muting you.

Ultimately though, Alkon's contempt and resentment for people who engage in the cheap, safe, practical—and, quite frankly, delightful—act of transporting their kids by bike embodies perhaps the greatest toll the car has exacted upon our culture: it's completely annihilated our ability to perceive and understand danger and act accordingly. Elon Musk uses the same distorted logic to paint public transportation as scary and sell us on the notion that we can still solve all our problems with cars:

“It’s a pain in the ass,” he continued. “That’s why everyone doesn’t like it. And there’s like a bunch of random strangers, one of who might be a serial killer, OK, great. And so that’s why people like individualized transport, that goes where you want, when you want.”

Believing that bicycles are a form of child endangerment or that your neighbors are "random strangers" who want to kill you is no way to go through life, much less plan a city. Neither is driving around with the window rolled up and your fingers in you ears shouting, "Muting you!" But as long as people insist on doing that, I guess I'll just keep on being an asshole.

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When my father turned 40, his friends threw him a funeral-themed birthday party, complete with black balloons, flowers, and one of those cheesy portraits on a tripod.

 

There was a time when turning 40 felt like having one foot in the grave, particularly if you were an athlete. Depending on the sport, athletes typically peak before 30. At 40, your best days on the field should be well behind you. But today, aging professional athletes compete—and win—for decades longer than before. Cyclists, swimmers, quarterbacks, and runners are progressing long after they were supposed to hit their athletic peak (see: Tom Brady, age 39 during his last Super Bowl appearance, or runner Meb Keflezighi and mountain biker Catharine Pendrel, 41 and 35, respectively, during the Rio Olympics.)

 

How do these superstars defy the well-established limits of age? And can the average amateur athlete learn anything from them to continue competing into her forties and beyond?

That’s the premise behind Play On, a book that details journalist Jeff Bercovici’s multiyear journey through the world of elite sports to discover how these aging athletes stay at the top of their games. Bercovici is well-suited to cover the subject: He’s the San Francisco bureau chief for Inc., where he reports on technology and entrepreneurship. He’s also an avid soccer player who dabbles in running, rock climbing, and cycling. Like most folks who would pick up his book, he’s pushing 40 and doesn’t want to give up being a competitive athlete.

“It’s not a matter of outliers,” Bercovici writes in the intro. “In virtually every sport, athletes are sticking around for an extra victory lap or three rather than shuffling off to the metaphorical showers at the first sign of gray.”

It’s a hopeful beginning, particularly when you consider Bercovici spends the next several pages detailing exactly how our body breaks down as we age. Muscle mass decreases, bone density diminishes, lung capacity deteriorates. Even your max heart rate falls.

The good news? Bercovici argues that most of these declines can be delayed or even reversed through regular intense exercise, and he points to research showing that some professional athletes actually live longer on average than the rest of us. For instance, Tour de France cyclists have an average life span that’s eight years longer than that of mere mortals. Studies show that elite athletes in their fifties and sixties often have a decades-younger “biological age,” determined by how well their body functions.

Bercovici theorizes that aging elite athletes know something the rest of us don’t and use tools most of us haven’t heard of yet, like brain-stimulating headsets that enhance motor skills or DNA testing to predict injuries. A study cited in the book found a 17-year lag between the pioneering of a medical innovation and the introduction of that innovation to the general population. “Peering into the world of elite athletes is literally a glimpse into the future the rest of us will soon be living in,” Bercovici writes. He meets established research and fringe science with equal parts skepticism and fascination but generally withholds judgment of each practice until the end of the book.

Aside from a deep dive into genetic testing (there’s no way to write about DNA sequences that doesn’t cause narcolepsy in the layperson), it’s a fast and fun read that has Bercovici bouncing from anti-aging clinics to elite training camps to jujitsu studios on his quest for athletic longevity. He runs at high elevation with Meb, works the VersaClimber—a vertical “treadmill” that has athletes climbing with their hands and feet—next to Colin Kaepernick at a training center in Arizona, and details how some sports scientists are sending pulses of mild electric currents into the brain to enhance cognitive speed.

But the book doesn’t just focus on high-tech innovation. For example, the tool Peyton Manning used to prolong his career and win one last championship was a four-by-four plank turned balance drill. In fact, if there’s an overarching lesson to be learned through Bercovici’s quest, it’s that no single technical innovation, fitness trend, or superfood can halt age-related deterioration. This revelation is probably disappointing for any aging athlete who picks up the book hoping it will give her an edge on Strava. In fact, throughout the majority of Play On, Bercovici resists giving the reader any actionable advice. There are no prescriptions or meal plans. And let’s be honest, a “do this, not that; eat this, not that” rundown is probably what most of us are after.

Instead, Bercovici addresses our desire for a silver bullet in a chapter called “Careful What You Swallow,” which looks at the bizarre practices some athletes undertake to stay in the game a bit longer. Athletes’ dietary habits read like lists of superstitions: A pro basketball player swears by the health benefits of soaking in hot red wine; an NFL linebacker eats nothing but beef and pinto beans for days before big games; a certain vampire-like tech giant swears by young blood.

Instead of a cure-all, the book operates under a more holistic notion that working harder while working smarter is the key to longevity in sports. When FIFA named Carli Lloyd, at age 33, the world’s best soccer player, she was doing 400 pushups and 800 situps a day. But she also trained herself to run slower during games to conserve energy. Similarly, you can trace the prolonged success of athletes like Roger Federer or Tom Brady back to their work ethic and willingness to adapt as they age.

Sounds frustrating, right? It is. But don’t fret, if you’re really looking for some prescriptive advice, the epilogue offers a handful of cutting-edge fitness theories and practices that Bercovici himself has adopted after years of research. And it’s stuff that you can actually practice at home without dropping $20,000 on a cryogenic tank. I won’t spoil Bercovici’s advice here (it does involve eating more Jell-O), but I will say that the payoff is worth the wait. Just remember that the latest fitness innovations are nothing without a foundation of hard work.

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The books, movies, music, and podcasts we couldn’t stop talking about

February felt like an especially short month (sorry, we’re short on jokes). But we still managed to pack in some great new culture discoveries. 

What We Read 

Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship, by journalist Kayleen Schaefer, examines the reality of female friendship and breaks down the stereotypes that women have shallow bonds formed around competition and pettiness. The title speaks for itself: I constantly say those exact words to my friends when we part ways or to my sister when she goes out for a run alone. More female-driven stories than ever—from Big Little Lies to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel—are getting their due respect, and Schaefer’s work is a great addition to this trend (and your bookshelf).

—Abbey Gingras, social media editorial assistant

Did you know that Geronimo's real name was Goyahkla, which means “One Who Yawns?” Neither did I. The Apache Wars by Paul Andrew Hutton is a marvel of the writer and historian’s knowledge of the West. It follows the kidnapping of a red-haired child, Mickey Free, who was raised by the Apache and would later become a dangerous tool for the U.S. Army in their effort to hunt and capture Geronimo. Hutton does a great job—although it sometimes becomes a bit overwhelming—intertwining the histories and stories of other Apache leaders like Mangas Coloradas, Victorio, Chochise, as well as special appearances from frontiersmen like Kit Carson. 

—J. Weston Phippen, senior editor

I’d heard a lot of good things about the novel Americanah by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, so I picked it up. It’s an excellent cultural exchange that is totally worthy of the praise. What stood out for me were the descriptions of Lagosian lifestyle and the often baffling experiences that immigrants have after they arrive in the U.S.

—Tasha Zemke, copy editor

Everyone should read Tad Friend’s recent New Yorker profile of Donald Glover, the writer, star, and creator of FX’s Atlanta. Not only is is a revealing portrait of a complicated artist, but it is a master class in nonfiction writing. It’s the kind of story that makes other editors and journalists jealous. Or maybe that’s just me.     

—Nick Hunt, associate editor

What We Listened To

As Outside’s murder podcast connoisseur (context here), I have to recommend the Atlanta Monster podcast. This one explores the Atlanta Child Murders, in which 28 victims, primarily African-American children, were killed or went missing from poor neighborhoods in the city from 1979 to 1981. Though Wayne Williams is often thought of as responsible for these crimes, he was actually convicted of the murders of two adults, which raises the question: is Williams guilty or did the Atlanta Monster go free? The show comes from the makers of Up and Vanished, another true crime podcast that I’d highly recommend. The producers excel in talking to a variety of guests, from near-victims to families of the deceased to officers who worked the case to Williams himself. I’ve binged on the first ten episodes and plan to immediately download the next when it’s released on Thursday.

—Abigail Wise, online managing editor

Since its release on February 23, I’ve been listening to Darlingside’s new album Extralife on loop. About nine years ago, the members of Darlingside were recent college grads, just figuring out if they could make a band work. In Extralife, they let us know that they're grown up now, fully formed, if still evolving. “Hold Your Head Up High” and “Singularity” highlight the group's beautiful harmonies, reminding me “God of Loss” from an earlier album, Birds Say. In this way, Darlingside continues to meld chamber music and pop and folk-rock to powerful effect—it’s original and beautiful and I look forward to seeing how they continue to grow. 

—Cate Costley, editorial fellow

Parts of cycling Twitter hate him. Some real-life cyclists still seem to hate him. And much of the media certainly isn’t a fan. But I’ve always loved Lance Armstrong’s cycling commentary, and I’ve been eager for his cycling-focused podcast, Stages, to return. Lucky for me, a new episode just dropped. It’s only February, but he somehow has me excited for the Tour de France already.

—Scott Rosenfield, digital general manager

I should definitely be embarrassed to admit that I’ve just been listening to “God's Plan” by Drake for the past few weeks, but that’s the truth. I promise I’ll up my podcast game for March. 

—Molly Mirhashem, associate editor 

What We Watched and Otherwise Experienced

As I’m planning my first trip to Iceland, I've been obsessing over everything that can possibly help me save for the trip faster. I use Qapital for short-term savings and highly recommend it, but I discovered a new favorite this month. Joy is a savings app that gives you the opportunity to reflect on purchases by rating them as either happy or sad spends. It tracks this data so you can see trends in your spending, and hopefully prioritize making happier purchases. It also analyzes your spending relative to your income to suggest small, safe, “daily spends.” These daily spends are usually no more than three dollars, but saving a tiny bit every day truly adds up.

—Jenny Earnest, social media manager

I spent February hobbling into training mode for a trail race, which means I am now spending a lot of time talking myself down from race-day nerves. (Race day is in June. I know I have a problem.) But there is one competitive event that has soothed me this month: the Westminster Dog Show. Specifically, this five-minute clip of Biggie the pug, a very sturdy, moony-eyed little guy who deserved Best in Show (how did a bichon frisé win?) and who will get me through many a stressful day in the months to come.

—Erin Berger, senior editor

If you like music, whatever genre, you need to watch the PBS multi-episode documentary American Epic. It traces the roots of music by following the record industry's push into the deep corners of American culture in the 1920s, when portable and electric recording was a new invention. This allowed labels to draw local artist from the places like the backwoods of Virginia, where they recorded the Carter Family, who gave birth to country and folk; or to the Mississippi Delta, where they recorded a man named Charley Patton, who created the sound (the Delta Blues, the best music in my humble opinion) that Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry helped turn into rock n’ roll. Robert Redford narrates. And Jack White has a hand in it all. The last episode is a special treat.

—J.W.P.

I just saw Darkest Hour, a movie about England at the beginning of World War II. Gary Oldman is phenomenal as Winston Churchill, and the inside look at the stressful days leading up to the decision of whether to pursue a peace deal with Hitler or fight to the bitter end is riveting. The cinematography is stunning, too. I didn't want it to end.

—Mary Turner, deputy editor

I started watching The Killing, the American adaptation of a Danish murder mystery television series, on Netflix this month—and I'm already on season three. The acting, especially by leads Joel Kinnaman and Mireille Enos, is great and the setting is very Twin Peaks-y, if that's your thing. I'm not actually into all the gray rainy moodiness of Washington state but I am very into Kinnaman’s swagger and Enos’s crinkly eyes. 

—Svati Narula, assistant social manager

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Quality gear doesn't have to be expensive. These are our favorite budget-friendly products on sale at REI from May 18 through May 28.

About Our Deals Coverage

We work with top retailers and brands to find the best deals on outdoor gear. Then our editors and writers carefully review the sales to select the products we’ve used and trust. When you click a Buy Now button in this story, it will take you to the brand whose sale we're covering.

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An essential item for hikers and travelers alike, this synthetic towel features a waffle texture which helps it absorb up to eight times its weight in water yet wring out almost completely dry.

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These stuff sacks are some of the most underrated travel products. They’re light, can easily be stuffed in a backpack pocket and are great for storing dirty laundry or air drying wet clothes.

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Perfect for days on the river, trail, or in the garden, the Helios has a wide brim that will shade your entire face and neck from the sun and also features a UPF coating. 

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Our Gear Guy deemed these boxer briefs some of the best performance underwear he's tried. Featuring Saxx’s patented BallPark construction, they keep everything in place whether you’re at the office or on a run.

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There are lots of fancy camp chairs that fold to the size of your forearm and feature ultra-lightweight carbon fiber frames. But those can’t beat the comfort of a traditional camp chair like the Camp X. Get a few now while they’re cheap.

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This understated v-neck is perfect for relaxing but technical features like lightweight, moisture-wicking polyester fabric and reflective hits make it great for running, too.

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This three-pouch set is made of washable, odor-resistant polyester with a mesh top so you can see what's inside. The cubes compress either folded or rolled clothing items, while smaller cube can stow electronics cords and accessories.

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Gel padding mixed with soft and durable synthetic leather palms make these fingerless gloves a great option for road rides.

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Featuring two low-profile valves for inflation and deflation, this pillow easily inflates to a with a few breaths. Soft polyester tricot fabric is comfortable next to skin and one end is taller than the other to accommodate different head positions.

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Organize your travel toiletries with these four silicone bottles that are soft, squeezable, and translucent. They come in a clear plastic pouch with water-resistant zipper for easy airline security screening.

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Outside staffers love these nut butter filled bars so much that we recently ranked every flavor. Take a look at our favorites, then stock up while they’re on sale.

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Eagle Creek and National Geographic have partnered to create a set of adventure travel bags designed to combine durability, versatility, and user-friendliness. The National Geographic Guide Series features two backpacks, a duffel, and two roller bags, all constructed with super-tough tarpaulin fabric, weatherproof zippers, and wide easy-access openings for optimum organization. The bags went on pre-sale today and start shipping on June 1, but we got our hands on them a few months early and put them to the test.

Here are the three we liked the most.

Out of all the packs in Eagle Creek’s new line, the Utility 40L best straddles the line between technical and lifestyle. Its burly tarpaulin outer is weatherproof, keeping valuables safe from moisture, with the added benefit that you can spray it down should the Utility get dirty in transit. (The zippers are only water-resistant, so don’t go taking the pack on rafting trips and expect the contents to be untouchable.) Two handy compression straps on each side tighten everything up if you don’t pack to the brim, but if you do, a semirigid back panel keeps the Utility from sagging. A stowable hipbelt is icing on the cake.

On the lifestyle end of the spectrum, I really appreciated the separate laptop pocket that you access through a zipper at the top—clutch if you want to retrieve your computer while the Utility is stuffed under the seat in front of you on a flight. The main zippers extend all the way down the side, meaning I could splay the pack open and get to the contents buried at the bottom without emptying the whole thing. But for smaller, important items like power cords and passports, the smaller front compartment affords quick access. My only gripe there is that its zipper runs vertically down the middle, which can make it hard to open all the way without things falling out.

All in all, the Utility’s size and capability make it the only luggage I need if I’m traveling light for a weekend, comfortable in the knowledge that it’ll hold up to almost anything I put it through.

—Will Egensteiner, senior gear editor

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Weighing nearly five pounds with a 65-liter capacity, the Guide Travel Pack is overkill for someone who prefers to travel light. But for those who find themselves trekking to Everest Base Camp or bushwhacking through the Amazon, this bag can keep up.

The highlight is the super-thick and highly durable tarpaulin material—you won’t find any easy-to-tear, lightweight mesh pockets here. It offers so much structure that despite having only a plastic frame, the pack will almost stand up on its own. Besides that, it has many of the standard features I look for in a backpacking bag. There’s a cavernous main compartment and two exterior organization pockets—one in front and one on top—plus a hydration bladder pocket, external compression straps, and an adjustable torso, which helps dial in the perfect fit. The lid isn’t removable, but the clamshell design means it won’t flop around when the pack isn’t stuffed to the brim.

It’s big and heavy, but the Guide will probably outlast every other pack in your closet.

—Ben Fox, associate reviews editor

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The burly backpack duffel has become standard in many a brand’s line of accessories (and many an Outsider’s travel kit). With the 60-liter All Purpose Duffel, Eagle Creek puts its own unique twist on that classic design. Rather than a single cavern with a rectangular opening flap on the top, this hauler unzips around the sides and splays open into two halves, each with a mesh zippered cover. The upside of this is increased organization: Separate your gear and find what you’re looking for more easily without having to dig around in the dark corners of your bag.

The downside is that it’s harder to fit large, odd-shaped objects that are bigger than either of the two half-compartments (the internal mesh covers aren’t removable). Granted, this is only an issue if you’re packing expedition equipment—sleeping bags, cooking equipment, climbing ropes. For basic travel, this bag presents a happy medium between the durability and carrying capacity of a duffel and the organization of a traditional suitcase. The tarpaulin fabric is lightweight yet super durable. Quick-release straps on both sides mean the duffel expands when you’re cramming gear and cinches down when you’re traveling light.

—Ariella Gintzler, assistant gear editor

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If you stood above Oahu’s Hanauma Bay Nature Reserve 20 or 30 years ago, you’d have seen a vibrant spectrum of dark green, brown, orange, and purple coral through the clear waters of Hawaii’s famous snorkeling spot. A closer look would have revealed an abundance of colorful tropical fish, from various butterfly fish to the reef triggerfish (humuhumu-nukunuku-apua´a in Hawaiian).

While some fish are still there—albeit a lot less of them, according to Craig Downs, an ecotoxicologist with the Haereticus Environmental Laboratory in Virginia—the coral looks nothing like its old self: It has receded. And what’s left is whitish, dying from what’s known as bleaching, or already dead. Like the Great Barrier Reef, Hanauma’s reef has suffered from global warming, but what’s lowering the temperature at which the coral dies is the estimated 412 pounds of sunscreen that washes off the bay’s roughly 2,600 average visitors per day, according to scientists.

Specifically, scientists have identified two chemicals within sunscreen that act as reef-bleaching culprits: oxybenzone (an endocrine disruptor that turns male fish into female fish) and octinoxate. Both are ingredients in the majority of sunscreen products sold in Hawaii (and the world, for that matter), like those from Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat, and Coppertone. Those chemicals are also found in some other personal care products, like face creams.

Downs, who earned his PhD at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, conducted a study in November 2017 at the request of the nonprofit Friends of Hanauma Bay to examine the harms chemicals like oxybenzone can have on the ocean. Last fall, Downs found toxic levels of it in Hanauma Bay. “Anything above basically 50 nanograms per liter of seawater of oxybenzone can induce toxicity in a variety of marine organisms,” Downs says. He explains how the highest concentration in parts of Hanauma Bay was nearly 29,000 nanongrams per liter. “That affects coral, algae, sea urchins, algae eaters, all of them. That’s why there’s less fish.” He had previously tested other tourist-heavy waters, such as the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Buck Island in 2005, for oxybenzone and has sampled for the chemical all over the world, including other parts of Hawaii, so Downs’ 2017 study wasn’t the first to bring the problem to light. But it is likely to get worse. The number of tourists visiting the state reached an all-time high in 2017, at 9.38 million—a 5 percent increase over 2016.

“When I swim, I see this sheen on the surface, which is really scary,” says Stuart Coleman, the Hawaii Islands manager for Surfrider Foundation and a 20-year Hawaii resident. That same sunscreen sheen can be seen on the waters of Maui’s popular offshore snorkeling spot, Molokini Crater, and in other heavily trafficked Hawaiian waters.

The studies and the pollution have caught the attention of politicians. Hawaii Democratic State Senator Will Espero and Republican State Representative Gene Ward introduced a bill banning sunscreens containing the chemicals in early 2017, but it died this time last year in committee.

Reintroduced in 2018 by Democratic State Senator Mike Gabbard as SB 2571, or the “Sunscreen Pollution Ban,” the 2018 bill would ban the sale of all sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate in Hawaii. The current bill proposes an effective date of July 2021 to allow county preemption. It would also include an exemption for general cosmetics. SB2571 goes to a vote on the Senate floor Tuesday, with the potential to be signed by Hawaii’s Governor David Ige.

If the bill passes, come July 2021, no sunblocks from Edgewell or other big pharma companies containing those chemicals will line the shelves of Hawaiian convenience stores, hotels, pharmacies, or supermarkets.

Most of the big corporations have already started developing reef-friendly zinc-based products. In response to the pending bill, Edgewell Personal Care, makers of Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic sunscreens, issued a statement to Outside: “To meet consumer needs, we produce several Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic products that are free of oxybenzone and octinoxate.” And while the company will continue to make products containing the two potentially banned ingredients, which are “clearly listed in the active ingredients on the label,” Edgewell also states that it will “continue to ensure [they] comply with all relevant regulations concerning oxybenzone and octinoxate.”

Even if sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate aren’t banned, the publicity has been good for all-natural products using non-nanotized zinc oxide. A whole crop of Hawaiian-made natural products, like Kōkua Sun Care Hawaiian Natural Zinc Sunscreen and Mama Kuleana Reef and Skin Care Products (which also sells sunblocking rash guards), have sprung up in recent years to join mainland competitors like All Good.

“Some of the stuff happening on the ground is pretty remarkable,” says All Good founder Caroline Duell, who started a Safe Sunscreen Council in March that includes ten brands, plus her own. “Nonprofits, athletes, and hotels in Hawaii are starting to create their own regulations for what can and can’t be used. That’s really exciting.”

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The first mile of every run doesn’t have to suck. In fact, it shouldn’t.

That’s why world-class runners and coaches recommend warming up both your body and brain before you hit the pavement or trail. The goal is “to perk you up before you take your first step on the run, ” says Jon Marcus, elite coach and director of High Performance West.

A good warmup primes your central nervous system, soft tissues, and internal organs for activity. By increasing your heart rate and supporting blood flow, the warmup makes the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the physiological systems working hardest more efficient. What’s more, studies have shown that dynamic warmup movements can help improve performance and may prevent injuries.

To get the most out of your warmup, tailor it specifically to whatever lies in front of you—the conditions, the run you’re about to do, and your upcoming race. You’ll also want to practice your pre-run routine throughout your training so that, come race day, it’s a natural part of your process, says Lauren Fleshman, elite coach and former pro runner. “When done regularly, it helps calm the mind through familiarity. Prerace nerves are lessened when you have a simple checklist of items to take care of,” she says. “This is why my hard workout days have the same warmup as my races. It makes race day feel more familiar.”

Tacking on a warmup can take as little as a few minutes. Even when you’re strapped for time, going through a quick list of specific motions will help prime you physically and mentally. Here are three warmup options of varying length. Experiment with distance, duration, and a range of movements to see what works best for you, your training, and upcoming goal races.

If you’re time-crunched, try this routine inspired by Lauren Fleshman’s Oiselle Little Wing elite group warmup. Complete five to ten reps of each movement.

Stand straight, bring your right knee to your chest while keeping your left leg straight, and rise up on your left tiptoes as you clasp your hands in front of your right knee. Take a step forward and alternate legs, hugging your left knee to your chest while rising up on your right toes. Keep your core engaged and strong.

Stand straight, take a step forward, and bring your right foot to your right glute. Alternate with each step. Remember to keep your core strong and back straight.

Roll your shoulders backward several times, then forward.

Keeping your arms straight and out to the side, circle your arms forward and then backward.

Stand straight and twist your upper body from side to side. Most of the rotation should come from your hips.

Stand straight and clasp your hands with your fingers pointed. Without bending your knees, raise your hands above your head and use your pointed fingers to draw a circle in the air, reaching up and around toward the ground, and then close the circle as you rotate back to the top, standing straight up.

Standing straight up, make exaggerated hula-hooping-style circles with your hips, rotating in one direction, then the other.

In a slight crouch with your feet and ankles touching, place your hands on your knees. Bend your knees and make little circles with them, rotating in one direction five to ten times, and then switch.

Pointing your toe into the ground, roll your ankle in circles in one direction, then switch directions. Repeat with the other foot.

One of the most popular go-tos for dynamic warmups is a matrix based on work by Dr. Gary Gay and popularized by elite coach Jay Johnson’s matrix. It takes your body through all three planes of motion and leg swings. Complete five reps of each exercise on each leg.

Take a large step forward with one leg, bending at the knee until your front thigh is almost parallel to the ground and your back knee is nearly at a 90-degree angle. Don’t let your front knee fall in front of your toe. Step back to standing. Alternate sides.

Repeat the motion above, but add an upper-body twist toward the front leg. Step back to standing, then alternate sides.

Start standing straight, step one leg to the side, bending into that knee and keeping the other leg straight. Face your chest forward and sit down and back over the bent leg. Switch sides.

From a standing position, raise one foot and step it behind you at a 45-degree angle. Sink into that knee and keep your posture tall. Alternate sides.

From a standing position, kick one foot up to your glutes. Step backward into a reverse lunge, then return to standing tall. Alternate sides.

Stand near a wall, car, or fence and hold on lightly for balance. Swing each leg front and back (with feet parallel to the wall, car, or fence) and side to side (with feet pointing toward or perpendicular to the wall).

For a thorough dynamic warmup, practice Lauren Fleshman’s Little Wing warmup, ideal for tougher workouts and race days when your body needs a little more before it can work at high intensity. It incorporates many of the moves from shorter routines and adds a few more. You’ll need 30 meters of grass, sidewalk, or any walkable surface. Complete eight to ten reps of each exercise.

Dynamic Stretches

Stand straight, bring your right knee to your chest while keeping your left leg straight, and rise up on your left tiptoes as you clasp your hands in front of your right knee. Take a step forward and alternate legs, hugging your left knee to your chest while rising up on your right toes. Keep your core engaged and strong.

Stand straight, take a step forward, and bring your right foot to your right glute. Alternate with each step. Remember to keep your core strong and back straight.

Take a large step forward with one leg, bending at the knee until your front thigh is almost parallel to the ground and your back knee is nearly at a 90-degree angle. Don’t let your front knee fall in front of your toe. Step back to standing. Alternate sides.

Start standing straight, step one leg to the side, bending into that knee and keeping the other leg straight. Face your chest forward and sit down and back over the bent leg. Switch sides.

From a standing position, kick one foot up to your glutes. Step backward into a reverse lunge, then return to standing tall. Alternate sides.

With feet flat, bring your hands to the ground and walk them away from your feet, creating an upside-down V with your body. Walk forward with hands and feet, striking the ground with your heels first.

These are more like an army crawl than traditional mountain climbers. Get on all fours. Move your right arm forward, place your hand on the ground, and then step your right foot out to meet the hand. Complete the same motions on the left side.

Skipping

Generating power from your glutes and keeping your core engaged, jump forward, bringing one knee up at a 90-degree angle alongside the opposite arm. Continue as you alternate which leg you bring up.

Skip sideways in one direction, then the other.

Drive one knee up and over the opposite leg as you side skip/grapevine in one direction. Return facing the same way, leading with the alternate knee.

Focus on driving your foot back as you skip backward.

Mimic your backward skipping, but run this time.

Rotational Mobility

Roll your neck one direction eight to ten times, then switch direction.

Roll your shoulders backward several times, then forward.

Keeping your arms straight and out to the side, circle your arms forward and then backward.

Stand straight and twist your upper body from side to side. Most of the rotation should come from your hips.

Stand straight and clasp your hands with your fingers pointed. Without bending your knees, raise your hands above your head and use your pointed fingers to draw a circle in the air, reaching up and around toward the ground, and then close the circle as you rotate back to the top, standing straight up.

Standing straight up, make exaggerated hula-hooping-style circles with your hips, rotating in one direction, then the other.

In a slight crouch with your feet and ankles touching, place your hands on your knees. Bend your knees and make little circles with them, rotating in one direction five to ten times, then switch.

Pointing your toe into the ground, roll your ankle in circles in one direction, then switch directions. Repeat with the other foot.

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The sun is shining, the leaves are budding, and, fingers crossed, the last winter storms are behind us. It’s finally spring, which means it’s time to start trail running, mountain biking, rock climbing, and bike commuting. You’ll need a layer to help combat chilly winds and sudden showers. Here are five of our favorite women's rain shells. 

Outdoor Research recently redesigned their popular Helium, dropping weight and adding breathability. The 2.5-layer waterproof Pertex Shield fabric has a bit of stretch and comes in at a svelte 5.8 ounces. Plus, it packs into its own pocket. 

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The H2No fabric that Patagonia uses for the Rainshadow is fully waterproof and fairly breathable, but cheaper to produce than Gore-Tex which keeps the cost of the jacket low. A helmet-compatible hood with a visor, watertight zippers and a draw-cord at the hem are just a few of the highlights of this full-featured rain shell.

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This shell ventilates as well as it protects thanks to two hidden vents along the back which help dump access heat. The polyester liner features Omni-Freeze Zero, a sweat-activated cooling technology that helps lower your body temp as you pick up the pace.

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The Alpine Start is a great just in case layer for those adventures where the weather turns unexpectedly nasty. Although it's not fully waterproof, the softshell features a durable water repellent treatment that will repel light rain. It weighs less than 7 ounces, packs into its own pocket and has a helmet-compatible hood.

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Cycling brand Castelli turned to eVent fabric for this stashable layer that’s fully waterproof and very breathable. It has cycling specific details galore, including two back pockets, reflective hits, a high collar and extended rear hem.

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