Innehållsförteckning för March/April 2020 från Outside

In January of 1994, when I was a sophomore in college, I walked over to the student union after the holiday break to check my mailbox. Inside I found a copy of Outside, the first issue of a gift subscription my parents had given me for Christmas. I immediately fell in love with the writing, and then, in the ensuing years, with one writer in particular: David Quammen. Every time I received a new copy of Outside, I’d start flipping the pages to find his Natural Acts column, where Quammen spun fascinating yarns out of seemingly dry topics like plant ecology. As I look back, reading his stories acted as a kind of invisible hand on the steering wheel that gradually changed my career trajectory, prompting me to veer off…

“I BECAME A WRITER for a reason,” Noé Álvarez tells me a few moments after we meet. “So I wouldn’t have to talk too much.” The 34-year-old is quiet but friendly, wearing a beanie and a flannel shirt. We’re at a coffee shop in Boston, where he lives, discussing his forthcoming memoir, Spirit Run, a remarkable account of a 6,000-mile ultramarathon relay through North America. Álvarez was raised working class in Yakima, Washington, the son of two Mexican immigrants. Early on in Spirit Run, he laments the impact that years of labor in an apple warehouse had on his mother’s body, explaining how he’d internalized a singular idea: his parents’ existence was a painful one, and making it to college was his only way out. In 2003, Álvarez earned a…

A seven-minute mile is a seven-minute mile. But what does 300 watts mean? The movements involved in running are so complex that there’s no universal agreement on how to measure and quantify power. Here’s how three trackers approach it. Stryd: A foot pod equipped with tiny accelerometers and other sensors measures the motion of your feet to calculate power and sends the data to your watch or phone. Stryd’s algorithm adjusts on hilly terrain to ensure that a given power number always corresponds to the same rate of energy expenditure. Garmin Run Power: This free app works with any recent barometer-equipped Garmin watch, combined with a chest strap or waist-mounted pod equipped with accelerometers to measure the motion of your center of mass. Unlike Stryd, Garmin reports the power applied…

ADD COLLAGEN to the growing list of trendy supplements. But unlike other products that have failed the science test (remember fish oil?), this one seems backed up by research: clinical studies suggest that consuming 10 to 15 grams of collagen daily could support bone and skin health, improve strength, speed recovery, encourage tendon health, and reduce joint pain. All of this good news has led to a market that’s expected to grow by over $2 billion in the next five years, to a projected $6.6 billion. Most collagen products are derived from either beef or fish and are composed of partial proteins called collagen peptides. When consumed after exercise, these peptides are easier for our bodies to pick up and use to build our own collagen proteins. From powders to…

O TENDER CHILD OF BUT SIX YEARS: MAY THIS MASSIVE MOTOCROSS-STYLE HELMET, COMPLETE WITH 14 INTAKE VENTS, FIT AND PROTECT YOU, FOR I UNDERSTAND NOT THE WAYS OF THE ONLINE SIZING CHART. I clicked purchase, and two weeks later my son, Casper, and I were roaring across a high sage desert, darkness falling, canyons plunging, chunky rocks looming, frigid wind howling, expensive epic of cinematic masculinity unfolding. What in the end does a father want for his child? I wanted Casper to not get pneumonia on the first fucking day of our trip. But in his infinite wisdom, the god of the utility terrain vehicle (or UTV) forsook windshields, windows, climate control, and, for that matter, an effective muffler. I draped my coat across the boy’s little lap. “Don’t let…

Snippy Remarks This winter, Outside Online columnist Wes Siler wrote “I Got a Vasectomy Because of Climate Change,” calling the surgery “the most powerful personal action” he could make to limit his carbon emissions. The piece spurred gratitude, skepticism, and some breathless anger. I want to let you know how much it meant to me to read Wes Siler’s piece. This is something I’m planning to do, and I applaud him for making this struggle personal. His actions have a quantifiable impact on the world. Dylan Jones Connecticut Or we could raise children who will also raise children who will change the way humans impact the planet. We are part of the earth’s ecosystems. Choosing no more humans means choosing to have no hope. Meglantyne Allison Facebook A handful of…

1. Fjällräven High Coast Foldsack pack, $100 2. Aesop Déodorant spray, $35 3. Hydro Flask Trail Series bottle, $45 4. Blundstone 550 Chelsea boots, $205 5. The North Face North Dome 2 jacket, $129 6. Peak Design Travel duffel, $130 7. Fossil Three-Hand Date Silicone watch, $129 8. Goop G.Tox travel kit (shampoo and cleanser shown), $40 9. Victorinox Edge Packable pack, $75 10. Merrell Boulder Range shoes, $120 11. Patagonia Torrentshell 3L jacket, $149 12. Aether Griffith vest, $325 13. Aether Clarke pants, $250 14. Smith Roam sunglasses, $209…

IT DOESN’T matter how fit you are if you can’t stay on your feet. A good sense of balance is crucial for both performance and injury prevention, regardless of how you choose to play outside. “When we train our balance, we’re really trying to improve proprioception, your body’s sense of itself in space,” says Alex Bunt, strength and conditioning trainer to skiing legend Lindsey Vonn. “The better total-body awareness you have, the better athlete you’re going to be.” Bunt suggests these six moves, which target three main balance categories: static, dynamic, and stepping or landing. Do one set of one exercise from each category barefoot at the end of every workout, with no rests between exercises. Repeat, pausing up to a minute between rounds if needed. Close your eyes for…

Skechers GoRun 7+ Hyper $135 How do you improve Skechers’s 2018 Gear of the Year winning road shoe? By giving it a more secure upper while increasing durability. The Goodyear outsole gives maximum grip and confidence. Efficient strides come naturally, thanks to the ultra-responsive midsole and a design that fosters midfoot striking. 7.7 oz (men’s, pictured) / 6.3 oz (women’s); 4 mm drop Topo Athletic Zephyr $130 This performance-oriented speedster won over the hearts and feet of our testers. It’s made with a rigid plastic plate in the midsole, and the firmness was a bit unyielding at first. But the Zephyr quickly felt like a fun, responsive, high-speed trainer. Testers enjoyed the spacious forefoot, which allowed toes to splay naturally. 9 oz (men’s, pictured) / 7.4 oz (women’s); 5 mm…

WHEN A 400-YARD tunnel in the opening mile of last fall’s Chicago Marathon garbled the pace data on her GPS watch, Nicole Lane didn’t panic. The 25-year-old was aiming to dip below the threshold of two hours 45 minutes to qualify for this year’s Olympic Trials in Atlanta, but she wasn’t too concerned about splits. Instead, her coach, former 2:16 marathoner Steve Palladino, had given her strict instructions the night before: aim for a power output between 218 and 219 watts. “There were definitely times when I felt pretty good and thought about speeding up,” she recalls, “but seeing the power get higher than what Steve gave me, I would slow down.” The first wearable power meter for running, from a Boulder, Colorado, startup called Stryd, was launched in 2015.…

I’M DROWNING at the gym. We’re four hours into the Art of Breath clinic, run by coach and trainer Rob Wilson, and right now I’m “dry-land swimming,” which involves carrying kettlebells across the floor with no oxygen in my lungs. Turns out that’s really freaking hard. Practicing breathwork isn’t exactly groundbreaking. The ujjayi breath, with its dramatic “ha”-sounding exhale, is an integral part of yoga, and athletes have been limiting their oxygen intake during workouts for decades. Wilson developed the Art of Breath four years ago to help deliver a mix of these drills to the masses. During a one-day session last November, he taught me and 41 other participants how to perfect this basic life function with innovative exercises like dryland swimming and inflating a balloon while holding a…

THE NIGHT BEFORE NOURIA NEWMAN NEARLY DROWNED in India, in August 2018, she used her paddle to sweep animal dung out of an abandoned stone hut. The then 25-year-old French kayaker was alone at 13,467 feet in the Himalayas. “It’s gonna be the bedroom,” she announced, whisking the space with a mix of mild altitude sickness and bliss. That day she had put on the Tsarap River and kayaked mostly flatwater through mountains too high for trees to grow. Day two would bring elevated flows and mellow rapids—Class III, she’d been told. “It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful. I’m so happy,” Newman said the next morning, announcing her state of mind into her GoPro as she paddled through a canyon whose walls were layered like stacked pancakes. Shortly after, she heard the unexpected…