Kelly Bastone is a Steamboat Springs, CO-based freelancer, specializing in outdoor, travel, fitness, and profile stories.
On Aug. 14, half of NEMO’s workforce reported for duty at a quiet grove of hardwoods near Barrington, New Hampshire, about a 30-minute drive from company headquarters. Each employee arrived ready to sweat. Their task was to build two bridges on trails through a brand-new, ...read more
During the entire month of July, NEMO’s 24 employees conducted a silent negotiation. Dover, New Hampshire (where NEMO is headquartered) was experiencing record high temperatures, and some employees craved ultra-cool office temperatures. Yet the company had challenged itself to ...read more
NEMO employees love a good contest. While other companies announce “initiatives,” NEMO stages competitions that spark everyone’s urge to win—even if it’s just to claim the honor of being the fastest to load a backpack during the company campout. But the company’s latest challenge ...read more
BioLite began with a quest to give campers a better way to cook with wood—but call it a cooking company, and you miss the point. This brand’s true focus is developing energy for off-grid living, whether that’s in Yellowstone or Kenya. Because while some travelers prefer to unplug ...read more
Down is everywhere these days, on city streets as well as in the backcountry. Even the water repellent version has become ubiquitous: Twenty brands now use DownTek, the leading brand of DWR down. Yet most devotees of down know nothing about the plumage they love to swaddle ...read more
If Vincent Colliard were a smaller-minded person, he’d be a surf bum. That’s what his six-year-old self wanted to be. Growing up in a Paris suburb, Colliard kept a poster of surf legend Kelly Slater on his bedroom wall, and every day he’d stare wistfully at the sunkissed ...read more
Trends in street fashion will determine what your buyers will want next year—and beyond. We talk to three outdoor designers and curators to find out how they interpret fashion trends for the outdoor market. Everyone wants to know what the next hot trend will be, because big ...read more
Manufacturers put tons of effort into predicting buyers' whims when it comes to color. Here's how gear designers peer into the crystal ball. Design veterans know that the difference between a blockbuster product and a total flop isn’t always about materials or high-tech features. ...read more
Women's gear is niche no more. It’s hard to imagine a world in which women didn’t have access to outdoor gear that’s optimized for them. But that wasn’t always the case: Ill-fitting apparel and hard goods were the norm for women as recently as 20 years ago, and even now, ...read more
Shoppers on Amazon.com can buy an entire backpacking setup for less than a hundred bucks. You’ll find a 4-ounce canister stove for $5.60; a 50-degree-rated sleeping bag for $25.98; a two-person, 3.3-pound tent for $20.99; a 90-liter backpack for $39.90. Need hiking boots, too? ...read more
This article is brought to you in partnership with Farm to Feet. Not since “Flashdance” has American manufacturing seemed so sexy. Back in 1983, Alex Owens created sparks whether she was wielding a welding torch or corkscrewing across the stage as an exotic dancer. Then the ...read more