Fall is my favorite season. This might seem odd since my adventures tend to slow down at this time of year, but I find it to be a peaceful transitional season of…

It's no secret that I'm a huge gear head. But of all the categories of outdoor equipment, none has a larger presence in my gear closet than shoes. Yet even…

While it can be fun to review complicated outdoor gear like backpacks and tents, I tend to get the most joy out of simple things like socks and water bottles.…

Interchangeable lens sunglasses have been around for a long time. I’ve owned several pairs, but despite the advantage of having multiple lenses to choose from, I very rarely change them. All of the pairs I have owned are difficult to change, and the pressure required to remove and replace a lens often makes me nervous that I’ll break something. Luckily I live in California and play at high elevations so most of the time I put in the strongest glacier lens and never remove it. I’ve always considered interchangeable lenses to be more of a gimmick than a useful feature.

But then, Switch Sunglasses came along and completely changed my mind. In fact, after last winter’s Outdoor Retailer Show, I honored Switch sunglasses with my “Brilliant Take on an Old Gimmick” award. Rather than forcing the lenses into some kind of notch or groove, Switch uses magnets to hold a lens in place. Gentle pressure is all that is needed to pop a lens out of the frame, and better yet, no pressure is needed to snap a new one in. The magnets just ‘suck’ the lens into place.

Lets talk about socks. As a kid, they’re a disappointing Christmas gift. As an adult, yay socks!
One complaint I’ve overheard in REI and outdoor stores is the expense of socks. Do you *really* need to spend $20 for a pair of socks when you can get what looks like the same thing at Walmart for $4? When those socks are Darn Tough, then my answer is a resounding YES. This post is an ode to my favorite sock manufacturer.

I’ve used pretty much every brand of sock on the market and I cannot recommend anything more than Darn Toughs. Not only do they perform magnificently in the field, their durability is so far beyond any other sock I’ve tried. Generations of other brands have passed through my sock drawer, yet I’m still holding on to the first pair of Darn Toughs I got nearly ten years ago. I wear them more frequently, too. Spend $20 on a pair of these and not only will you have much happier feet on the trail, they will outlive 50 pairs of the $4 socks.
I have a large collection of Darn Tough socks. Some were given to me at various Outdoor Retailer shows. Others have been graciously sent to me by Darn Tough. And yes, I’ve bought them for myself as well. One perk of going to the OR shows is a lot of free socks, so I don’t often have to spend money on them. But when I do, I go straight to Darn Tough. I don’t even look at other brands anymore. And as more of my sock collection gets replaced by Darn Tough, the less frequently I need to buy new socks!
Lets take a look at my lineup. These pictures speak for themselves when it comes to durability of these socks. In the photo above, can you tell which pair has 10 years and over  a 1000 miles on them?
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I always like to look back on my trips and learn from what worked and what didn't work. With respect to gear, I have a few observations that I thought…