Innehållsförteckning för March/April 2022 från Outside

New Balance Fresh Foam X 860v12 $135 With a traditional medial post—a dense section of foam in the midsole—you’d expect the 860v12 to perform like a garden-variety stability shoe. But a layer of New Balance’s energetic foam compound sits directly underfoot, providing pep. A roomy toe box and narrow heel cup hit the sweet spot for some testers, while others craved a snugger fit. (Men’s 11.4 oz, women’s 8.9 oz; 10 mm drop) Nike Air Zoom Alphafly Next Nature $300 Don’t be fooled by the slapped-together, prototype-ish appearance. This sustainable version of Nike’s fastest marathon shoe works as well as the original. It has a 70 percent recycled midsole and a 50 percent recycled carbon-fiber plate, leading one tester to gush, “Soft on impact, but super fast and a helluva…

THE WELTER OF Interstate 10 drowns out Yolanda Davis-Overstreet’s voice as we pedal beneath an ivy-laced underpass on the cusp of South L.A. I’m following her mauve city bike north on Redondo—we’ve just left West Adams Boulevard, the main drag through her childhood stomping grounds of the same name—and we’re heading for New Los Angeles Charter Middle School, about half a mile away as the crow flies. After her daughter began sixth grade there in 2013, Davis-Overstreet led a grassroots campaign urging the city to install pedestrian infrastructure at the dangerous intersection in front of the school. Today the 61-year-old is vibrant in cyan beaded earrings, Vans, and brow-line glasses. She isn’t wearing a helmet; while she normally opts for one, personal-safety gear offers little in the face of the…

a. REI Co-op Flash 18L $40 Our minimalist testers were drawn to this year’s version of the Flash 18. The pack’s drawstring closure makes it easy to secure and get out the door in a jiff. Want to cut weight? Leave the chest strap and waist belt behind. Planning a multi-pitch climb? With its streamlined profile, you’ve got an exceptional follow pack. It can also be flipped inside out to serve as a stuffsack in a pinch. b. Outdoor Research Field Explorer 20L $99 Equipped with reflective webbing and 600-denier polyester, this was our favorite for tough commutes. We loved the padded sleeve inside the roll-top main compartment, which kept our laptop secure, and a second, zippered opening allowed us to slip it out with no fuss. External flaps and…

a. Electra Vale Go 9D EQ S $3,750 Ideal for everyday errands and office commutes, this cruiser-inspired Class 3 e-bike features a powerful 250-watt Bosch motor, so you can whiz down city streets at a maximum assisted speed of 28 miles per hour. The 500-watt-hour battery is cleanly integrated into the step-through frame and provides a range of approximately 65 miles. Eager to add panniers or a basket? The built-in rear rack makes for painless upgrades. More essential are the LED lights at both ends to increase rider visibility. And perhaps best of all is the Vale’s bottom-bracket placement: the cranks are forward relative to the saddle, allowing stopped riders to remain seated comfortably with both feet flat on the ground. b. QuietKat Apex $5,499 and up There’s a growing…

PORTABLE AND calorically dense, the energy bar is an essential pick-me-up for hikers and other outdoor adventurers. Emma Zimmerman, cookbook author and cofounder of Hayden Flour Mills in Queen Creek, Arizona, often takes her homemade version on backpacking trips in the saguaro-spiked Superstition Mountains. It’s filled with heart-healthy oatmeal and vitamin- and mineral-rich fruits and nuts. And unlike many store-bought bars, it feels like a soft brownie. Here’s how to make it. Overnight Oat Bake with Cherries and Almonds MAKES EIGHT BARS INGREDIENTS 2½ cups cracked or rolled oats13½ fluid ounces canned coconut milk2 large eggs⅓ cup maple syrup⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted2 teaspoons baking powder1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon almond extract½ teaspoon fine sea salt10 ounces pitted cherries, fresh or frozen2 ounces slivered almonds1…

IN THE LATE 1970S, my parents took my brother and me to a cabin on Little Cobb Island, an uninhabited dollop of beach and seashells on the Atlantic side of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The cabin was only accessible by boat, and things could get sketchy if the fog rolled in and you drifted too close to the surf. It was November, and the lodge was cold and drafty, so all four of us slept that first night stacked like cordwood in a single musty bed. I was only four or five years old, but four decades later I can still recall with full clarity the smell when I woke up the next morning. Bud Taylor, a local roofer who doubled as the cabin’s caretaker, was cooking sausage in a cast-iron pan…

THE QUERY, politely probing, came in the October 27, 1954, issue of The Bicycle, a British weekly. “Who wants to join a ‘Rough-Stuff Fellowship?’” The letter writer, one W. H. Paul, had been prompted by an article, published a few weeks before, asking, “Are the rough ways losing their popularity?” Noting that he’d always “been a searcher of the remote, wild and more desolate country,” Paul decried the prevalence of the “modern lightweight” bicycle, “with its Continental this and super that,” which impels the rider “to keep on the billiard-table surfaces of the modern tarmac.” He suspected there might be a “small, select circle who love the rough and high ways.” He was not wrong. His letter provoked other letters. “The sense of adventure and interest to be found in traversing…

Ortovox 2.5L Civetta $315 This jacket is so light that testers initially doubted its weatherproof abilities. Yet it kept one hiker dry through a deluge. The stretchy polyamide fabric includes an ultrathin waterproof membrane that breathes better than most on the market, making this a choice layer for warm rainstorms. The hood also snugs in place without futzy adjustments, thanks to elastic that runs across the back of the head, and it’s lined with merino to mop sweat. (Men’s S–XXL, women’s XS–XL; 6 oz) Norrøna Falketind Gore-Tex Paclite $299 If wet hill climbs separate great waterproof shells from merely good ones, Norrøna is leading the charge. During a hike with 3,000 feet of vertical gain in 100 percent humidity, the Falketind’s lightweight, 20-denier, two-layer fabric breathed well, while raised dots…

ON A TYPICAL training ride in Spain’s Sierra Nevada, Tokyo Olympics triathlon champion Kristian Blummenfelt might start near Granada, at around 3,000 feet above sea level, and finish as high as 10,000 feet. A key mantra for Norway’s world-beating triathlon squad is intensity control—each workout is neither easier nor harder than what the coach prescribes. But the elevation change makes it difficult to dial in the pace. As the air becomes thinner, steadily decreasing oxygen levels mean that heart rate and power output no longer consistently indicate how hard the body is working. Lactate, which requires a small drop of blood, is too unwieldy a measure to keep them on target. So Blummenfelt and his training partners rely on a relatively obscure and unheralded piece of wearable tech, one that…

LOOKS LIKE working from home is here to stay. In an October 2021 Gallup poll, nine out of ten remote employees said they wanted to keep clocking in from the couch at least some of the time. Our advice: do it right with the best tech and accoutrements you can get HR to sign off on. We tested a variety of home-office gear promising better ergonomic support and a more pleasant nine-to-five. These six made it through the interview process. a. Work from Home Desks WFH desk ($435) Made of sturdy birchwood ply, this standing model is easy to assemble and takes up less room than other designs, making it perfect for tight spaces. And with 16 add-ons, including a bookshelf ($200) and hooks ($18 for two), you can customize…

LET’S TURN THE FUN BACK ON! By Mary Turner AFTER A SERIES OF CHALLENGING LIFE EVENTS over the past few years, I forgot what fun is. That can happen as you get older, as financial and health concerns, the loss of loved ones, and the effects of an ongoing pandemic pile up. Soon enough, your fun meter gets out of whack. Or disappears entirely. Recently, I decided to find mine again. But first I needed to better understand what my idea of fun really is, because it’s different for everyone. For some, it’s climbing tall mountains and paddling bigrapids; for others, it’s laughing around a fire pit with friends and a good IPA. I took an informal poll about fun on Facebook, and the answers ranged from surfing to Citi…

IN FEBRUARY 2021, when President-elect Joe Biden nominated Deb Haaland to become the 54th secretary of the interior, the left and right staked out familiar turf. A one-term Democratic congresswoman from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Haaland had become a darling to environmentalists. She supported the Green New Deal, called for a fracking ban on public lands, and tweeted out progressive red meat like “Republicans don’t believe in science.” GOP legislators all but fainted on the rotunda floor but were revived with smelling salts long enough to foresee the end of the oil industry and what one of them called “our way of life.” Fifteen House members urged Biden to withdraw the nomination, labeling it “a direct threat to working men and women.” Senator Steve Daines of Montana, a member of the committee…