#he does use compressed space to fast travel though

[3-inch-sam]

how the fuck do i put Gman on the grid. i can't take him out of his suit that's unethical. i can't unweirdify him either that would be so wrong to do. fuuuckk

[thatonestoreguy]

Breaking Bubbles and Other Stories

The Sixth Doctor and Peri travel through time and space in this anthology release.

Breaking Bubbles sees the Doctor and Peri arrive in what appears to be an idyllic garden, but is actually a prison. This story was fun and fast. It was essentially a regular episode of the series shrunk down to a half-hour time slot. Interestingly, it doesn't feel compressed. Everyone gets time to shine and no scene feels artificially shortened. Too often these shorter stories feel too short for the ideas they’re trying to convey. Here, the story says what it wants to with a tight and focused script with just the right pace.

Next is Of Chaos Time The, where the Doctor’s timeline is as jumbled as the title and he must figure out what’s going on before it’s too late. This adventure takes an idea we’ve seen before, (a story told out of order) but does something new with it. The Doctor is living the adventure out of order right alongside of us, so he must figure out what’s going on the same way we do. I really enjoyed this adventure, though the use of a voiceover in parts to explain what’s going on was a bit heavy handed. 

An Eye for Murder is a more straightforward adventure. The Doctor and Peri follow a strange signal to a women's college at the dawn of WWII only to discover a mystery. It’s hard to do a mystery in such a short time frame, especially one that deals with such deep themes. The setting isn’t just window dressing and the adventure integrates ideas about communism, pro-fascist sentiment in England, Jewish persecution, and the struggles of women seeking higher education at a time they are seen as less than. It’s a lot of ideas to squeeze in on top of a mystery. I enjoyed the adventure, but this setting and these characters could make up an entire series by itself. Trying to sprinkle in some sci-fi and make it a half-hour Doctor Who tale takes away from the deeper story lurking in the background.

Finally, The Curious Incident of the Doctor in the Night-Time ends the collection on a highpoint. As the title might suggest, the story is a homage to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The story follows a boy named Michael who has some sort of spectrum disorder. Michael stumbles upon a mystery with greater implications than he is aware. This story has a very similar voice to the play, even using an actor from the production, but still manages to have its own message. It helps that the story isn’t entirely serious and has many fun moments. These lighter moments serve to heighten the darker turns in the second half. The Doctor’s and Michael’s similarities and the scenes they share bring out some tender moments about grief and memory. This adventure has both laugh out loud moments and moments that touch your heart, sometimes in the span of a couple of minutes. It’s the best story in the anthology and a great way to cap it off.

Overall I liked this anthology and didn’t think there were any stinkers in the batch. Every story had something interesting and special about it. Some might have had flaws, but their positives outweighed those slight negatives. 

[thedaveandkimmershow]

It comes up, of course. How fast time moves. How years, decades are gone in the blink of an eye.

Which feels true.

Even though it isn't.

Definitely when I look back across years and decades I'm looking at a thing—Time—that's massively compressed by that act of looking. I imagine those years and decades in a literal blink of a eye. I don't relive them. I don't unpack them. So of course it all seems like it zipped by. Because in thinking about it just then...

It actually did zip by.

However.

That wasn't my lived experience.

Okay I lied just now. That wasn't always my lived experience.

Why?

Because I wasn't always paying attention. I wasn't always invested in whatever it was at the time. I wasn't always fully present for certain experiences. So yeah.

That time. Blew by.

Because I didn't really live it. A little like that Adam Sandler movie "Click" where he has a remote that can literally fast forward or rewind his life. The remote also has a memory. So if he's jumped ahead for a certain activity or circumstance once, the remote will jump him forward on its own whenever that activity or circumstance turns up again. Until suddenly he's skipping through huuuuge chunks of his life.

That's maybe overly dramatic on my part... but the lesson remains. Invested or not. Relational or not. Present...

Or not.

To be clear: life always feels like it just sped the heck by when you're looking in the rearview mirror. That's a perceptual trick, however. The real question is Did I live my life? Did I experience it with the people I love?

Because yeah. There are always ways to not.

Try to avoid those, is my advice.

😐

I'm kicking the tires on these ideas right now because I was thinking about how intentional we've been with Kimmer's aunt Jacquie. How intentional Kimmer's been. How intentional Jacquie's son has been.

I'm thinking about how we spent the last ten months during which Jacquie obviously didn't have tons of time left on the clock. I'm remembering each visit. I'm remembering sitting next to her bed and holding her hand. I'm remembering Jacquie back at her memory care home in the midst of a squirt gun fight in the courtyard on a hot day. I'm remembering walking her in the halls of her rehab place at the top of the year when she thought we could catch a ride with whoever that was parked out in front of the front doors. I'm remembering walking around her neighborhood with her. And walking around her neighborhood with her. And walking around her neighborhood with her.

I remember our family sitting around the patio table for pizza dinner when her husband, Dave, was alive and we were joined by their son and grandson.

I remember the details. I photographed a bunch of those details. I wrote about those details.

And Kimmer?

Yeah. She spent ten times more time immersed with her aunt than I (at least). And she has a better memory than I. She could tell you stories.

She could.

The reason I'm banging this drum right now is to point out that, in the rearview mirror, time is like hyperspace. You travel great distances in no time at all.

Memory, however, is different. When we choose to unpack a particular event or circumstance or relationship whether through raw remembering, photographs, or writing... time unfolds again. Not fully, of course. Just enough to remind us it didn't actually happen as fast as it later seems because...

Because we were in relationship. Because we were fully present. Because we were and are invested. And yeah. Those experiences that claim more space in our brains? We get to unpack those later. That time isn't lost to us. The experiences aren't lost to us. They colored us in ways that persist. They affect who we are and how we are. Because Life does that when we allow it to. Because Time does that when we allow it to. Because our closest relationships do that.

When we allow them to.

In the end, we have no regrets about our time with Jacquie. We ended well together. Especially Jacquie and Kimmer.

Those two ended well.

And the Why of that's not lost on me.

Kimmer invested herself in Jacquie's remaining days. Before that, she invested herself in Jacquie as Jacquie's dementia drained her of memories, names, relationships, and bandwidth. Before that, she invested in Jacquie as Jacquie's favorite niece just as Jacquie invested in Kimmer as Kimmer's favorite aunt. Two peas in a pod, their relationship was a natural expression of their personalities and experiences. They had no problem being fully present with each other. Kimmer had no problem being fully present with Jacquie as dementia began the drawn out process of taking Jacquie away from us. Kimmer had no problem being fully present with Jacquie during the last five weeks of Jacquie's life as Jacquie's cognition ebbed and flowed, as her consciousness sometimes latched onto things in the real world...

But mostly didn't.

Kimmer lived that experience with Jacquie. She walked the last lap with her.

And ended well.

No regrets.

It comes up, of course. How fast time moves. How years, decades are gone in the blink of an eye.

Which feels true.

Even though it isn't.

🙂

[evolutionsvoid]

Flegor [flee-gohr] Alias: Fleaman, Bug-Saw, Jitters Date Discovered: April 5th, 1955 Place of Origin: United States   Notable Stomping Grounds: United States, Mexico, Canada   Height: 80 feet Length: 80 feet Biology: Flegor is a flea that has been turned into a kaiju through exposure to Yamaneon. The circumstances of his transformation aren't fully known, though some suggest he may have been aboard a lab rat that was used in Yamaneon experiments and wound up being collateral damage. Though this tiny parasite has been turned giant, he still carries many of the traits of his kind. The powerful limbs that give fleas such an incredible jump have been boosted by his transformation, allowing him to launch his massive bulk with ease. A tough exoskeleton allows him to take a hefty amount of punishment from attackers, and from any time he doesn't stick the landing. The combs and bristles that once adorned his body have hardened and sharpened, forming nasty spikes. These aren't the only pointy parts of him, as sections of his exoskeleton have formed razor sharp blades. All these sharpened bits can serve as weapons and defense on their own, but an unique part of his anatomy allows him to utilize them in different ways. With flexible segments of his specially arranged exoskeleton and the help of his internal setup, Flegor is capable of expanding and contracting his body laterally. When cornered, he can swell his body to give himself a bigger profile, as well as cause his spiked hairs to radiate outwards for a spiny defense. In times of escape, he can instead compress himself into a thinner form, allowing him to squeeze through tight spots and make him a smaller target to hit. This compression can be combined with his sharp blades and powerful jump to turn him into a living saw, spinning through the air to slice through any obstacle in his path. This change is not a permanent one, as he is using his muscles to cause this shift. Eventually these muscles grow strained and tired, so he must relax his body and return to his normal size. Flegor also possesses a sharpened proboscis, though he no longer uses it for feeding but as a desperate weapon in close quarters. It has been noted that one of Flegor's eyes is quite larger than the other. It is currently believed it was an abnormality Flegor had before he was transformed.     Flegor's kaiju powers include: - Super strength - An enhanced healing factor - Immunity to radiation - Lateral compression/expansion Personality: While many kaiju can be described as "frightening," Flegor is seen more as a "frightened" creature. He is extremely nervous, always checking his surroundings and never sitting still. He tends to twitch and fidget about, with this behavior becoming more prevalent as his stress grows. His panicked behaviors are increased when he is faced with open spaces and areas with no cover. He is terrified of such exposed places, so much so that some have claimed he is kenophobic. When forced into such an area, be it from fleeing a fight or trying to reach a better habitat, he becomes paranoid and terrified of the idea of being caught in this unescapable place. He is very jumpy and constantly looking around for threats, all while trying to leave this horrible place as fast as possible. While open spaces cause him stress, he finds solace in areas that are cluttered and full. Forests and cities are sanctuaries to him, as he feels most calm whilst hiding amongst the tall buildings or trees (though he may stick out a little). His frantic nature tones down when he is in these areas, allowing him to show a more curious side. In this sanctuary, he will move about and inspect his environment on a regular basis, either curious of his surroundings or ensuring that everything is as it should be. By contracting his body, he can squeeze through the trees and streets without causing too much damage, but that doesn't account for the things trampled underfoot or if another kaiju is pursuing him. Unfortunately, Flegor's habitats do not last forever, as larger kaiju may scare him from his forest home, and humans aren't too fond of a giant flea zipping through their neighborhood. Eventually he will be pushed out, and the terrified kaiju will be forced to find a new haven. When it comes to other kaiju, Flegor often wants nothing to do with them. Such creatures are big, loud and territorial, which are not appealing traits for this nervous flea. When one of these massive beasts make an appearance, Flegor is quick to vacate the premises. He will even run from more peaceful kaiju if he encounters them in an exposed area, as he is too scared to take any chances. His avoidance of other kaiju means that Flegor rarely takes part in battle. He prefers to launch himself away from a threat, or scurry away as fast as possible. Only when he is cornered or trapped will he fight back, but this just for the chance to escape. In these cases, he will use his jumping legs to fire himself at an opponent and tear at them with his razor-tipped body. If he can't go around, he will go through. In tight spaces where he can't jump, he will go for the "puffed up and pointy" method, hoping to discourage attack with his spiny hairs. If the foe is tripped up from this trick, it may create an opening for him to flee. While Flegor has no desire to cause destruction or death, his panicked escapes can still cause quite a bit of damage. His thin body can help him slip through the skyline, but the enraged opponent barreling after him is rarely so careful. His mighty leaps tend to shake and shatter the ground he shoots off from, which also happens to the places he comes crashing down on.   Though terrified by practically any threat, there are some kaiju out there that Flegor seems to trust. Flegor appears to have an affinity for kaiju who possess thick coats, especially mammalian beasts. Hairy kaiju are not seen as a threat but as a companion or protector. When Flegor encounters a furred beast, he will follow them around and stick close by. He does not need to be acknowledged or accepted, as long as the other kaiju does not attack him, he will be happy to hang around. When following one of these kaiju, Flegor will lose some of his nervousness, finding comfort in something familiar to his past life. While these hangouts may last for a while, they are not forever. Eventually this kaiju may travel somewhere that Flegor does not want to go, or they may grow tired of this skittering shadow and chase him off. These separations sadden him, but he does not appear to hold a grudge. He certainly remembers each of these "companions" and he will try to accompany them again if he meets back up with them, regardless if they were the ones who drove him away. An interesting note about this behavior is that these are the only times Flegor has been seen actively participating in a fight. If he is following a trusted kaiju and they are attacked, Flegor will actually try to help in the fight. No one is really sure if the presence of a companion gives Flegor courage to battle or if he is trying to protect his "friend." He will try his best to fend off this foe, though if a battle goes south he may scurry away, either in shame or fear. With him only fighting when another kaiju is beside him and his smaller size, people often joke that Flegor is some kind of sidekick or crazed assistant. This behavior has caused people to wonder if it is possible to permanently partner Flegor up with a hairy and welcoming kaiju, one who would not chase him away or travel where he is uncomfortable. If the humans can find one that is peaceful and relatively stationary, then perhaps Flegor can at last find a safe and happy home.       ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This nervous little fellow is for @tyrantisterror ‘s A.T.O.M Create A Kaiju Contest 3-D! I participated in the last contest and had an absolute blast with it, so I was eager to join in on the fun this year! Fleas are such neat critters with some weird bodies, so I tried to use some of that for this little guy. I also found the idea of a tiny parasite turning into a giant an interesting one, as this setting has them sustained off of natural energy over actual food. With no need to eat, and no bigger beasts to latch onto, a parasite like Flegor would pretty much be lost in this new world. It was a neat thought, which led to this poor fella. Hopefully he finds a good home or friend!     For anyone interested, here is the link to the contest! tyrantisterror.tumblr.com/post…

[shewhowillnotbenamed1]

x 100

I wanted to say thank you for 100+ followers!!! I meant to do this way sooner, I figured what better way to say thank you than with a DamiRae? Of course, I will be taking requests and asks as well, my inbox is open for any pairing! If preferred, I have a prompt list here. I’ll do my best, just as everyone here has welcomed me to the Tumblr community has done. (Sorry for mushiness) Really, thank you so much!!

-----------

"When you said relaxing and casual, I didn't think you meant this." Damian gestured at the people around them. They were dropping off their bags, jackets, phones, and keys onto shelves built into the back corner of the room, before lining up to take their places. In even spaces. Orderly rows and columns.

Earlier, Jon had suggested something about walking to get lunch at a new place. But Damian realized upon entry into this facility that he had been tricked.

"Are we in the same room? It couldn't get more relaxing and casual." Jon sounded more enthused than he should have been. His dark waves whipped around as he glanced excitedly at loose t-shirts, sweatpants, and of course the bare feet.

"But still - why would you invite me?" Damian scowled in his joggers and tank top. "I should have just stayed at my office..."

"That attitude is exactly why I did - because it's Saturday." The taller man insisted. "You shouldn't be working; you should be resting and refreshing yourself. For once."

Damian folded his muscular arms. "Non-business day aside, the economy doesn't rest, therefore neither should I."

"Come on, D... see this one through." He placed a hand firmly on Damian's shoulder. "Or at least give it a few minutes. If you really want to go after that, I won't fight you."

Conceding through clenched teeth, he muttered in Arabic, what was presumably an assent, no doubt after a string of expletives. Damian exhaled. "Fine."

"Good afternoon, everyone."

The forest eyes flew across the room toward the source. As if by magic, the lights began to lower and the sound of flowing water poured in through the speakers. The door closed seconds after the slightly accented voice spoke. The room fell silent as a slender statured silhouette strode in with the posture and grace of a dancer. Her spine went convex as she bowed, hands clasped to her front over her breastbone. "Namaste."

"Namaste." The class's cluster of voices echoed.

"I'm glad to see you all... Some of you I've seen at my classes before," Dark eyes traced over Damian briefly. "Some faces - new." He could feel flickers from her even with the bulbs overhead dimmed down. "For the next hour we will work together to shape our bodies and broaden our minds..."

"Still here?" His best friend mumbled. But it fell on deaf ears.

Amazingly, Damian already found himself introspecting.

Introspecting about the instructor.

That assured and relaxed demeanor. It was coupled with a casual and quiet confidence which was further enhanced by a body that seemed to be impossible for anyone less-disciplined to achieve. What was it about yoga instructors? "Huh?" Damian mumbled when he snapped out of it.

Jon whispered. "If you were leaving, now would be the time."

"I'm...still deliberating."

"Right." Jon smirked. "Deliberate away."

"Now... ease your mind." The instructor directed. "The outside world does not exist within. You may leave it outside those doors from which you entered today..."

"Let us begin..."

Damian took a deep breath, his stomach fluttering with an odd thrill.

"Balsana... Child's pose..."

While guiding them through the various poses, the instructor glided around the room - she was everywhere and nowhere at once.

Sometimes a voice, but mostly a presence.

From the second she walked in, she commanded the room. Though her voice never went above a murmur, everyone hung on her every word and movement. Wanting to be that good. Needing her to notice them. And lulled and weaved into a sense of calm and comfort by her. Knowing full well that they were in expert hands to care for their bodies and minds. No, it wasn't yoga instructors. He discerned enough to know she was in a league all her own.

An expert of her craft.

Damian watched as more long plum hair cascaded out of its high bun. Her soft near smile while she eased into the most graceful Natarajasana - dancer's pose - there ever was. What a wonder, she was to behold. And as he saw her leg extend itself behind her in a standing split, his mind fell out of sync with his motions. It immediately ran itself through the most shameful scenarios imaginable.

All of sudden, Damian felt himself go rigid. The instructor, she was right behind him.

"You need to lift off some of that tension..." She murmured. "Or you will never feel balanced in this move." Her sports bra and leggings brushed him, as she supported the frame that grew clunky and cumbersome under her touch. "Now lean forward..." She smoothed one shapely arm over his right one, drawing it outward to point towards the wall with closed fingers. Her hand was overlapping his. "Feel the extension of your arm. Reach outside yourself - as though these walls cannot contain you... It is an endless extension..." She whispered this instruction for his ears.

And his ears alone.

And Jon and the middle aged men and women were falling far from his mind. The entire yoga class had disappeared into the dim light around him. He could hear nothing but her breath and the low, elegant rasp emitting from her throat. And faintly behind it, the babbling creek and quiet music - with its low drum beats and hypnotic rhythm.

Damian could feel her patient heartbeat compressed under the tight black fabric of her athletic attire. "Take your other arm to lengthen your leg..." She spoke softly. Her hand began a slow sweep to his sweatpants. She traced his thigh, as she moved, her body now pressing its front into his side. She grasped his leg gently, stretching it up and out. Damian strained as her other hand traveled higher up his thigh.

"Slow inhale..." The yoga instructor urged Damian. The emerald eyes angled to her face, after the escaped tress touched his shoulder. "Higher... Exhale..." And she lifted his leg further up behind him. Her hand clasped over his own, guiding him to elongate it properly. Little by little, she eased more of his own weight back onto him. Once he was balanced, she withdrew and stood back to survey him.

The instructor gave him a single nod and moved on to observe other students. Damian felt a ripple of loss throughout himself. That cool skin. The thin bra pressing into his back. He knew she was only assisting him. But as he sneaked peeks at others, for whom she adjusted posture, he noticed that she hadn't been nearly as attentive.

Or was it his imagination?

With his free hand, Jon gave him a thumbs up. He held his foot with his other, mouthing out the corner of his smile. Was I right? Is she great or what?

Damian managed to muster up an eye-roll. "Whatever, you still owe me for this." He snapped under his breath. But then, the yoga instructor swept past him and he knew full well he was staying for the whole class of his own volition.

"Now lay back on your mats... Arms at your sides. Palms out and open... Close your eyes... Breathe... Let all remaining thoughts subside..."

"Savasana..."

During the savasana, Damian felt relaxed enough to drift off. Those ten minutes of bliss passed by in a blink. They were over so fast, it was almost abrupt.

"Wonderful class, everyone. Namaste." Raven bowed, standing patiently at the front.

Had it really been an hour? Already?

Damian frowned.

"Man, you can't still be grumpy after this, Damian. Yoga is supposed to be soothing... I guess it's not for everyone." Jon gathered up his water bottle and phone from a shelf. "I'll get you for lunch?"

"One second." He padded over to where the instructor stood chatting with the queue of gushing students. She politely excused herself to gather her belongings and dab a small towel around her decolletage.

She tilted her head in his direction. "You're one of the new students today, aren't you?" Damian nodded, nearly forgetting that he approached her. "I'm Raven." Raven shook his hand, her grip cool and firm. "Is this your first yoga class...?"

"It is." Damian stepped closer. "You could tell. Clearly, I could be better..."

"For your first time, you were quite good." Vibrant vert furtively followed the descent of a bead of saltwater into her cleavage.

"Good is not great - not the best." Damian corrected.

"Yoga is not a competition." Raven said gently. "It is between the outer and inner selves. Your body and mind. It is a solo activity - even if you are in a group."

"I agree - I do think it is a solo activity... Maybe I would fare better as an individual under your tutelage." Damian steered subtly.

"I'm afraid I don't follow." Raven placed her arms into a thin sweater she left billowing around her.

"Then, I'll be blunt." He angled his chin toward her. "Do you do private lessons, Raven?"

"No..." She replied. Eyeing him curiously. "Not typically."

"Maybe you'll make an exception..." Damian conjured a business card and held it out to her fingertips. "For me."

Raven grasped it between two fingers, her eyes flitted back and forth. She quirked a slender brow. "Damian Wayne."

[theredconversegirl]

hi! i’m the anon that asked about blurbs and one shots!! i just thought of a blurb where sakura is bitten by a poisonous bug or something where the venom is slow moving (kinda like sasori’s where the victim dies within three days) but there are serious symptoms like major fatigue, graphic hallucinations and excruciating pain and while sakura is enduring those symptoms all sasuke can do is comfort her until they find a cure?? idk KSKSK im not talented enough to write this but ANGST

Hi there nonny! :) 

Thanks for sending me this prompt! I always liked the idea of Sakura or Sasuke taking care of each other in a situation like this. 

My first attempt to write this was terrible, so I took my time with the second. Also, I’m having computer issues and my writing time is limited because of that 😓

This is my first attempt of writing angst, so please forgive me if it’s not good enough 😬. I had to play a bit with what you suggested, since I think Sasuke wouldn’t wait three days to try to save her, he’d probably teleport to Tsunade asap! 😂

Hope you like it anyway! 💕

Title: “Bane” Rate: T Words: 3854 Warnings: Shinobi AU where Sasuke never left and has both arms.

📌 Read also here: Fanfiction | ao3

——————————————————————————

bane | noun { 1. a cause of great distress or annoyance. 2. something, especially poison, which can cause death.

—————————————————————————— 

This was supposed to be an easy mission.

A simple, easy, piece of cake mission – like any diplomatic mission is these days.

As the enemies surround them (not slightly concerned with stealth at all), Sasuke decides, with amusement glinting in his eyes, that nothing is really simple or easy when it comes to Team Seven – even though they are only two this time.

His hand unsheathes his kusanagi with a swift motion, and though it could help them, Sasuke doesn't bother to activate his Sharingan. He hears rather than sees the confidence his teammate has on them when Sakura turns her back to him and tugs at her combat gloves, the leather stretching around her fingers.

Despite the years apart, they both work surprisingly well together. The nearly impeccable teamwork flows like a river does towards the sea; merciless and inevitable.

There's only a moment of hesitancy where hundreds of sharp senbons rain towards him, and although he can probably move in time, Sakura uses her momentum after a kick to push him to the opposite direction.

After that, punches to the ground are synced with swipes of his sword. Right hooks with roundhouse kicks. And when it ends, hardly five minutes later, they are both panting, sharing complacent smiles.

Sasuke feels a warming feeling swirling inside him, a mix of post-battle excitement, the remnants of the adrenaline in his veins, and something else he can't really name. The light buzz accompanies him as he ties all the nukenins and sends a hawk to the Kazekage; they are still in Suna's territory after all.

The warmth dissipates, draining him instantly, when he sees Sakura swaying from foot to foot, a grimace twisting her dainty features.

"What's going on?"

She replies but whatever the answer is, it comes out as an intelligible slur. She tries again and the effort is futile. Her hands flicker green for a second, but the chakra flow cuts off, and that alarms Sasuke.

He might be wrong (and he hopes he is), but Sasuke thinks he knows what's happening to her. He has seen this reaction before – a few times in the Snake's lab, and once on the road – and every time, it was associated with the exposure of poisonous substances. It starts mostly with the inebriated state Sakura is in.

Quickly, Sasuke steps in her personal space and scans her face, neck, her bare arms, turning her around and moving her limbs like she's a ragdoll. He's looking for the point of contact, where most of the substance should still be. He doesn't find anything other than debris though, consequence of her powerful punches.

He exhales slowly, trying to concentrate on their next steps. If Sakura is indeed poisoned, he needs to act quickly. Konoha is about two days away by foot. He doesn't have enough chakra for a teleport. Naruto is Kami-knows-where. And they are still in the middle of the freaking desert.

As he runs the possibilities through his mind, Sasuke glances down, still holding her arm, and sees the moment where she struggles to move her red dress. Unconsciously, he extends his hand to help her, bunching up one side of the dress above her waist. He holds the fabric there, trying to avoid her eyes as she mumbles something close to a thank you.

There's an angry scratch above her hip, not larger than five inches, which is quickly swelling. Sakura tries to close the broken skin with her chakra, but it's useless; it flickers a few times feebly and then fades.

Whatever poison coated the weapon responsible for this wound, Sasuke thinks, it reacts slowly, with the intention to catch the opponent off guard, no doubt. It's eating her chakra cells, blocking its paths one by one.

He confirms that as he checks her with his Sharingan; her reserves are nearly empty, and he can distinctively see a few spots whirling inside of Sakura's chakra system. Sasuke tells her that, but the medic-nin is clearly struggling to process the information.

His time with Orochimaru taught him a lot about poisons – and he's even immune to a few thanks to that – but this one doesn't match the ones he personally knows. If it's anything like the one Sakura herself found the cure for all those years ago here in Suna, there's nothing much he can do; his limited knowledge in medical ninjutsu warrants that.

With the night approaching, and the risk of sandstorms, Sasuke decides to find shelter and wait in a safe place where he can replenish enough chakra to take them back home – by summon or whichever option he can use first.

He only has time to secure her arm around his neck when Sakura slumps against him. Cautiously, he guides them through the endless dunes until he sees the entrance of a small cave they spotted earlier that day.

Her smaller body is tucked in his arms by the time they get inside, her skin cold to the touch. Sasuke shrugs off his travel cloak and lays Sakura on top of it. He works quickly after that, making a fire to keep them warm, and returning to her side.

Disoriented, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, Sakura mumbles words every now and then. She whines and pants, and Sasuke knows the poison is spreading. He reaches for her medical pouch and unclasps it from her belt. Inside there are herbs, and syringes, first aid items, and other things Sasuke has no clue how to use.

In the light the small fire provides, Sasuke notices the changes in her; the ashen color of her face, the perspiration coating her skin, and her usually rosy lips turning blue.

A strangled cry forces him to move again, and he curses under his breath as he continues rummaging her things. She's dying and the realization bothers him more than he cares to admit; Sasuke knows he's on borrowed time.

Stupid, foolish woman, the words echoes in his head as he unrolls their travel blankets over her shivering body.

Before she's covered, Sasuke checks her pulse, brows furrowing in deep concern when he finds only a faint hint of her heartbeat. It's thready at best, and he needs to do something.

Anything.

He hears his name, he thinks, her voice is strained and the word broken on her lips, but the "kun" gives it away. He knows she's calling him.

His hand moves on its own, touching her cheek first, then her forehead, checking her temperature. Her skin is clammy and feverish, and he shouldn't be surprised with the fast development of her symptoms, but he still is.

"I'm here," he rasps, hopeful that she'll open her bright green eyes for him.

Sakura hums, and curls to his side, seeking his warmth even though she's warm enough for the both of them. She's crying, he notices; tracks of fresh tears run from one cheek down her neck.

He goes back to the pile of things he gathered from their backpacks and finds a piece of clean fabric. He folds the cloth and damps it with some water. When the cool compress is placed on her temple, Sakura sighs in relief, but her pained expression doesn't ease his mind. Not one bit.

Sasuke kneels beside her, pressing the cloth against her burning skin. His fingers brush her pink locks away, and he huffs, almost amused, when she blindly follows his touch. The Uchiha knows it's no use, but he calls her anyway, firm and louder this time. She doesn't respond.

He can't help but glare at her, because how dare she? She should have known better; she's scolded so many people about the dangers of battle wounds and enemies' weapons, him included.

The intensity of his gaze loses its strength when he considers everything again. Sakura is the last person that deserves such a fate; a painful, restless death. A death without a goodbye. A death that's not really hers.

He wishes he could take her place, and a little voice in his mind tells him that's how it was supposed to be. The Uchiha frowns, but it only lasts for a short moment as realization hits him; he's almost certain that she earned that scratch in that one moment he hesitated. That one moment where she pushed him out of the way. It was supposed to be him laying on this cold floor, withering away little by little. Not her.

"Idiot," he mutters, "why did you do that?"

"Sasu—"

Sakura's breathing becomes rattled, pain twisting her features, and for a brief moment he feels hope. If she can feel pain, it means she can still fight, right?

He abandons the cold compress on her forehead to move the covers aside. In the haste of getting her warm, he completely forgot about her wound. In a deliberate way, Sasuke removes her red dress, exposing the infected area. Blisters form close to the scratch, the flesh angry and swollen around the wound.

Sasuke snatches the first aid kit he found earlier in her pouch and prepares the ointment to clean the cut. He applies a little pressure as he works, covering the entire area with herbs once it looks sanitary enough. Sakura thrashes during the entire process, and the only way to avoid more damage and ensure that he can finish his work without hurting her more, is to straddle her small body, pinning her legs underneath him.

With his Sharingan, he keeps track of her progress, careful to not waste too much chakra. Now that he's taking a better look at it, he notices a concentration of the dark substance still close to the opened gash.

He doesn't even stop to think it through. Sasuke grabs a kunai and deepens the cut, pressing just right to push the poison out. She screams in response, shouting profanities, and jerking wildly in pain the entire time. But he can't stop now, even if the last thing he wants is to see her suffering, he can't stop; it's for her own good.

He snatches her wrists with one hand and presses her stomach with the other, his tomoes spinning and watching attentively as he removes as much of the malicious substance as he can. The dark, putrid liquid starts to ooze out of the wound, and Sasuke uses his knee to pin her to her side in an angle that helps the extraction process.

The moment that the last drop is removed, Sakura's chakra flares and she goes limp under him. He watches, Sharingan still taking in every detail, as her body starts to slowly give out and her nearly lifeless weight sinks to the ground.

No, no, no. She's supposed to get better...

When his gaze settles on her face, Sasuke notices how her breathing is shallow, a stark difference from a minute ago. Her features are slowly relaxing as if the pain is dissipating with each breath she takes.

Is this how it ends?

He's surprised when the thought crosses his mind. Sasuke's not one that contemplates the future; he's always thought he'd die young, after killing his brother. He's never expected to turn twenty. And he has never thought about rekindling the bonds he broke all those years ago when he left.

But here he is, a reinstated and pardoned Konoha shinobi, a war hero, a teammate, a friend, a brother. All things he wasn't two years ago. And now, before he even had the chance to really stop and think about his future, he can't.

This is not how we're supposed to end, he thinks, a hand running through his dark locks as he looks down at her with a myriad of emotions he's never associated with his name when looking at Sakura; pain, regret, remorse, sorrow, and pure, unadulterated sadness.

He releases her tiny wrists, sagging against her, defeated. The tiny hope he had gained leaves him as he continues to sink in his own storm, feeling as if he's being submerged under water, deprived of his air.

That obscure corner of his mind, the one that's full of self-loathing and doubt, whispers, "but did you even begin?''

On a whim, or maybe it's the bubbling rage inside of him, Sasuke growls like a wounded animal, releasing a burst of his chakra around them. His chest heaves and his shoulders shake, but he still feels numb. Empty.

He hears a whimper, even though his ears ring with the echo of his own anger. A choked gasp escapes him when he looks down.

It seems that the pulse of chakra he released has been absorbed by Sakura's body – somehow. His sharp eyes can clearly see her jugular pulsing, her eyes moving frantically underneath her lids, lashes fluttering against her lightly rosy cheeks.

There's… there is still a fighting chance.

As fast as he can, Sasuke scans his surroundings, noting every single resource available to him. He eliminates anything he can't use and lists possible steps; everything happens in a span of thirty seconds.

He considers summoning Garuda to take them home, but the amount of chakra is not enough. He considers Aoda – but that would require even more chakra – or any other smaller snake that could assist. But the solution, the best-case scenario, comes from a stupid idea that only Naruto could come up with. And maybe it's worth the shot, because all Naruto's ideas work in some way.

As blood runs from Sakura's wound towards the floor, a red path painting her fair skin, Sasuke transfers most of his chakra to her, calculating exactly how much he'll need to succeed. Then, he grabs her hands with his, swipes her thumb over her own blood, and guides her through the signs of Kuchiyose no Jutsu.

He pushes the last of his chakra to her hands, forcing the jutsu to drain the previously infused amount when he says the words. The smoke takes him by surprise (deep down he didn't have much faith in this plan), and when he sees a slime creature not bigger than his hand, he sighs in relief.

The tiny slug is very polite and right to the point. It pleases him greatly when she quickly understands the situation and gets to work. Katsuyu guides him, asking him to confirm where the rest of the venom is located, and with his bloodline once more he scans Sakura's body, pointing out the chakra path that is blocked and tainted by the poison.

The summon tells him he did a great job considering the limited resources and chakra available to him. Although she's being very helpful and sharing more than necessary, narrating her every move and findings, the slug's little voice trembles when she says that if the substance had reached Sakura's heart, things would have been different.

And suddenly, the severity of this predicament downs on him (again), because he has seen with his own eyes how the dark swirl is stuck a few inches short of that destination. His own heart constricts painfully, galloping against his ribcage as a life without pink flashes in the front of his mind.

"Sasuke-san?" Katsuyu calls, "ready?"

The question breaks him out of his stupor, and he nods quickly, pushing aside the plummeting feeling in order to get to more important matters. Sakura.

Together, they isolate the venom and the slug coerces it out of Sakura's main chakra path, pushing it towards the opened wound. It doesn't take long, and as the last drops leave Sakura's body, he notices how the color starts to return to her pale face.

"It's done," the slug says as she slides away from Sakura, taking the poison with her. "Sakura-sama is still weak and will need to break through the fever on her own."

"What do you mean?"

"My time here is ending, and you both need your rest. Her body will need to recover on its own until her chakra reserves are full again."

"I see. Thank you"

"No, thank you, Uchiha-san. Please take care of her!"

"Aa."

The summon disappears not long after, and Sasuke knows he'll be eternally grateful for its help.

For the first time in two hours, he allows himself to relax. Sasuke slouches backwards, leaning on the cave wall, head tipped up. He takes a deep breath, filling his lungs completely, and it's so invigorating that makes him think how a simple action that he does everyday – all the time – can feel so different, so good.

He reaches for the medical supplies and gets back to work. With a clinical eye, he carefully sterilizes her wound, cleans her skin, and then bandages it. He checks her temperature, tilts her head to give her some water, and repeats the routine like clockwork.

The silence, which usually is a comfort to the last Uchiha, is now a nuisance. It makes his mind overwork, inflicting painful thoughts, and aggravating his already guilty consciousness. The wind whispers angrily outside, though he hears it loud and clear.

She almost died.

In his place.

She's suffering.

Because of him.

Again.

A small whimper escapes her, and Sasuke thinks with mild exasperation, that's becoming one of his new favorite sounds. Maybe it comes second, losing only to her sickeningly sweet laughter.

She whispers and mumbles and Sasuke knows it's the remnants of the poison talking. And, between nonsense filled dreams, curses and random fits of rage, Sakura cries – a lot. It's not really a surprise when he stops to think about it, but it's not a pleasant sight, even though he knows it means she's getting better, naturally recovering.

She cries about the Dobe not realizing the Hyuuga girl is madly in love with him since Kami knows when, and how it pains her to see him being a fool every day, completely oblivious.

She cries about Tsunade going on a vacation and not inviting her.

She cries about her parents. Her mother's incessant inquiries about weddings and grand-babies, and her daddy's poor sense of humor that she secretly loves.

She cries about Ino. How the blonde keeps forgetting to return her things, and insists on pushing Sakura to date, because… she shouldn't wait forever.

He doesn't really know how to react to the last one. Sasuke is in a phase where emotions and feelings are still confusing, and there's also this new part of him that constantly fights between what's right versus what he wants. And as much as he wants her, he knows he's not right for her. It wouldn't be the right decision.

As the hallucinations go back and forth, there are more broken words than complete thoughts, but at a certain moment he knows he's there with her. The next words are proof enough and nobody can say otherwise.

"Please don't— don't go Sasu—hn."

Her voice is broken and exhausted, loaded with so much pain that he can almost touch it.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here." He says resolutely, because he's done running away.

Sasuke takes her hand on his, comforting her like she did once. He's not sure Sakura can hear him, and he squeezes her hand – a little harder than necessary – waiting for her to squeeze back.

She doesn't.

He watches as she struggles through painful memories, and as the masochist he is, Sasuke relives them along with her. Some words are welcome, and even missed, but others are venom and sting more than expected. He doesn't miss the irony of all, wondering if fate is messing with him – if such a thing exists, that is.

The torture session, as he calls it, lasts no longer than a few hours. Sakura's fever breaks sometime between her memories of the war and the events after. Her natural color is returning fully and even the tip of her nose is pink.

As her senses start to work again, Sakura tries to raise herself into a sitting position, and she huffs, frustrated, when she can't. Sasuke soothes her confusion by drawing little circles on her back.

"Why?" He asks, his voice lower than a whisper.

Although Sasuke's tried to contain his anger, frustration – or whatever this is – he can feel it coming off in waves as he finally sees her eyes again; as glassy and green as they were that morning. There was a moment, not long ago, he thought he wouldn't see them again.

When she doesn't reply, he tells her how careless she was. How they were supposed to work together as a team and not jump to save each other's lives like when they were kids. He scolds her like she's a petulant child that disobeyed her parent's orders and because of that she'd hurt herself.

Sakura doesn't say a word or look at him. She moves away with great effort, leaning on the wall of the cave beside him. When she's settled, she looks up at him. And this time, her eyes are blazing with anger.

She tilts her chin up in defiance and says, tone flat, "because I'm a medic."

They both scowl, hearing the statement as the lie it is; it's not only because of that.

"You are an idiot, that's what you are."

His words, his voice grows heated and Sasuke is not sure if they are directed to her or himself. And as expected, Sakura gives back as much as she gets, matching his tone and glare.

"Oh, excuse me for trying to save my teammate's life," she tells him like what she did was a normal occurrence. "I didn't know it was an idiotic idea."

"Tch. You shouldn't have done that, Sakura." He reproaches, nearly losing his strength when he continues, "I could—" have lost you.

"You don't tell me what to do, Uchiha."

"Tell me why you did that," he probes, despite the way she crosses her arms and throws him a menace look.

"I don't know!" Sakura yells, "my body just moved, okay?!"

A deafening silence follows then. The tension crackles explosively as they lock their eyes in a familiar stare-down. The weight and meaning of her statement are not lost on him.

He thinks of his day, how it was supposed to be just an easy return home. He thinks of how scared he was from the moment she fell until she opened her eyes again. He thinks of how infuriating this woman is. How she drives him crazy, pushing him to situations where he cannot do a thing.

Her chest heavens, but Sasuke knows it has nothing to do with the poison, not anymore. When he moves closer, lips parting to answer her, it's not like either of them expected.

He crushes his lips to hers, moving them effortlessly, showing her the severity of her actions and what they— she means to him.

It's messy, and desperate, and belated, but still full of emotions and meaning. Their first kiss tells her he won't risk losing her again. Maybe it's not right, but he knows it is what they both want.

And this is how they finally begin.

[echoise]

they’ll never leave him alone. they’ll hunt him down as long as he lives. (steelstep, m!sidestep (Keith!). sequel to this. still thanks to @technologicalnoiz for letting me use his idea uwu) 2,520 words

Fluorescent lights. Smell of disinfectant. Wheels of a gurney.

subject ---- retrieved. status: stable. returning to base.

Needles under your skin, quicksilver into your veins, cyanide like rotten syrup. It’s metal and it’s earth and it’s smoke as it trickles down your throat and you choke, gurgle, drown and the burning paralysis travels up your arm. It’s poison, no, venom, there’s a difference and it’s both, it burns and freezes and you want to scream but no sound comes out. All of it familiar in a way you haven’t missed.

how bad? the arms are the worst. is its spine broken?

White coats. Whiter teeth.

careful. don’t knock it out yet.

Mask off, another on, your identity stripped and replaced with a tube of oxygen. Air in your lungs and you still can’t scream, can’t move, can’t feel, limbs relaxed in the restraints tied both too tight and not tight enough. But you scream anyway, the mind that’s already been scratched bloody spiraling out, out of control, out of bounds, out of time, tendrils desperately clawing at anything to hold onto, anyone to hold onto--

make sure the operating room is ready. bosses want it alive. 

Heavy mental pressure. Painful static of telepathic dampeners.

shh. it’s alright. you’re going home.

You wake up to your own voice screaming and smooth hands holding you down.

“Keith!”

You hear the voice but can’t place it. You’re uprooted, a wayward leaf torn from the branches and spiraling in the wind--

“Keith, it’s alright. Calm down.”

--a building collapsing in the aftershocks, crushing bone and marrow and everything in between--

“You’re safe.“

--a man out of time, always in the wrong place.

You open your eyes. Staring back at you is a scarred face, a familiar face, hair too short, wrinkles too deep. Eyes dark in color but not in disposition when they look down at you. Mind sharp and his body tense as he holds you down, careful about putting his weight on you, intensely aware of all the metal in his body and the perceived frailty in yours. You can’t contest that: he could snap you like a twig, if he wanted. With the way your arm hurts, you think he might as well have.

“Chen?“ You manage to croak out. There’s a flash on his face like relief and he lets you go. The mattress shifts under his weight as he leans back, worry written clearly across his features. Worry. Not anger. Not disgust. Not even betrayal. Worry. You can’t understand why. You remember--

You sit up, too fast. Your chest compresses like he’s stepped on you, ribs pressing inward like fingers clenching into a fist and you can’t breathe, you can’t think, white spots in your eyes. Blood rushes in your ears and you almost fall back into the dream with the gurney and surgical equipment, but then his hands are on you again, steadying you.

You don’t struggle as he props you up against the pillows, gentle enough to shatter your soul and you don’t understand.

“Why?” You gasp when your lungs have space again to expand. Then, “where?“

“My apartment,“ Chen says, brushing damp hair from your forehead. You try to focus, grasp at anything to hold onto on the level of thought; look past him because you don’t trust this, don’t trust him, because you’ve been tricked before and you swore you’d never let that happen again. And you find it: a small pinprick of light, your pole star, a piece of reality to wrap your mental fingers around and squeeze.

Spoon senses you and scratches at the door harder, his high-pitched whine a lifeline you use to ground yourself, drag yourself out of your head. Out of the memories of white asepsis and into the now.

“Why?“ You ask again, quieter, but no less breathless. In lieu of answering Chen holds up a pair of pills and a glass of water, the question in his mind but not on his lips. You manage the smallest of nods and let him feed them to you, not even caring what they are. The paranoia from just minutes ago is gone, replaced by calm, a strange sense of certainty. He won’t harm you. Whatever he wants, whatever his goals, he won’t harm you, won’t turn you in. He wouldn’t have brought to his home, to Spoon, if he was going to. You know him well enough to say that.

At least you hope you do.

“I want to understand,“ is what he says, finally. When you give him a blank look, he continues. “I want to understand why you’re doing this.“

“What does it matter?” Your tongue feels alien in your mouth. Too large, numb, moving of its own accord.

“It matters to me.“ His eyes dart downward and then back up, and it’s only then that you realize you’re naked. Well, mostly. Of course you are: he needed to patch you up, and he wouldn’t have left you in the armor anyway. The large gash on your side caused by Argent’s claws has been expertly bandaged and your worst bruises bound. Your right arm is in a sling, resting against your chest. And there, in plain view, the ugly neon lines criss-crossing your skin, screaming your inhumanity in his face and he has the nerve to ask you why.

“Isn’t it obvious?” You choke on the words, voice cracking, and gesture at your skin.

“I want you to tell me.“ His patience is a poker in the embers of your anger and it flares up, a hot flash in your chest that scorches your lungs and again you can’t breathe.

“Why do you think?” The words slip past your lips, too easy and too sharp. “You think I want to do this?“ He has the sense not to interrupt you, his mind a pool of calm and you want it to ripple, tear into it until your hands bleed and shake and go numb for entirely new reasons. You want to shake him, break the immutable serenity and you want him to crumble, like you have. “I have no choice, Chen.“

“You do, though,” he says softly, and your vision dims with white. Your body reacts faster than your mind can keep up. You lash out, raise your uninjured hand, go for a punch that is in no way proper: it’s weak and in poor form. He deflects it easily and you go limp, too tired to fight. Let him hold your wrist with gentleness you’re still not used to.

“I don’t,“ you whisper, hating the way your eyes burn. “Don’t you get it? I tried. The first time. And they just took me back, they--“ You breathe in deep and release it as a slow whistle, eyes screwed shut. Chen has let go of your hand so you bury your face in them, cling to the roughness of the bandages against your face, to the the way your hands tremble with intensity you’ve rarely felt, to the pain in your arm as you twist it in its sling. “They’ll never leave me alone. They’ll hunt me down as long as I live.“

As long as they live, is the part you don’t vocalize, but he knows.

“No they won’t.“ His thoughts are shielded, but the sentiment seeps through. Not if I have anything to say about it.

Your laughter is more of sob, a bark, a kicked dog’s whine. “You have no control over it, Steel.“ You lower your hands and the smile on your face is cold, the edge of a razor. The name from your lips is easy to spit out, easy to think of him as the armored behemoth, a living bulldozer. Trying to distance yourself because this is too close, you’ve let yourself get too close and it’s the only way you can break away anymore. Make him into the Ranger and yourself the villain.

He looks at you for a long moment, studies you, eyes not cold but not soft either. Mind dimmed at the change in name, but no visual change about him. Unreadable in ways only Marshal Steel can be, polished metal and sleek carbon fiber obscuring the shape of a man.

When he speaks again, it’s quiet, halting, almost hesitant. “What do you want, Keith? Revenge?“

“Revenge...“ The word tastes like antiseptic and rotting flesh. Isn’t that how it started? With leaking tubes and hospital gowns. Helplessness of being tied to a table and surrounded by slowly opening gates. Freedom in crashing through glass and tumbling down, Humpty Dumpy escaping all the King’s horses and all the King’s men.

Isn’t that how it started?

But was it her, or was it you?

“I want,“ you whisper, and something cracks inside you, shatters like the window in your dreams. Sidestep plummeting four stories down to his death again, like he’s been falling for seven years. Like you’ve been falling for seven years.

“I want to live.“ Your throat clicks audibly and closes up, leaves you heaving with sobs too violent for your damaged body. You cave in on yourself and slip into the void waiting at the edges of your mind. You go to drown, to let go, but Chen won’t let you: the mattress shifts and his hand is on your shoulder, a steady weight that’s not quite like real hands but it’s real enough. He drags you back, reaches out with mind and body. Mechanical fingers fusing with your broken ones, his synapses becoming yours, his mind a log in the dark waters for your body to get caught on and stop getting carried off by the river, saved though you’ve given up trying to swim.

You don’t know how much time passes. How long he holds you for, arms lightly wrapped around you, your forehead leaning on his shoulder. Doing his best to hold you up rather than weigh you down, conscious of his weight and your injuries and projecting calm though under it you can feel his mind racing.

You try to focus, find reality again, and a familiar presence claws at the edges of your consciousness.

“Where’s my armor?” You mumble into his shoulder. You can feel it: The Rat King, five chittering minds cajoling for you in tandem, worried paws and tails stumbling over one another trying to get to you. Dragging you back towards the world, away from the vacuum that is inside you. They sense your distress, but are too far to properly help you. And so desperate to.

“You’re not getting it back,” Chen says immediately, his hold on you tightening just a fraction. You resist the urge to laugh.

“Not why I asked.” The words are slow to come, sticking to your tongue like bugs to flypaper. Your throat is full of sand and you taste ash. He lets you pull back from him when you try, no resistance in him physically, though plenty in his mind. You keep your eyes cast down, ignoring the thoughts so tantalizingly close in his mind, not properly shielded, obscured just enough that they’re not right in your face. The throbbing behind your eyes has dulled and your vision is blurring, making it hard to focus. “Do me a favor?“

He looks at you for a moment, but then pulls back. “Fine.”

“There’s a detachable part in the back of the neck,“ you explain, leaning back against the pillows. Feeling like you might sink into them, soft like cartoon clouds. “A small cylinder. Can you bring it to me?“

“Not unless you tell me what it is.” He’s suspicious of you, and honestly, you can’t blame him. Won’t. A part of you is happy for it: distrust is so much easier to deal with than... whatever he’s truly feeling for you.

You sink your head into the pillows and sling an arm over your eyes, willing the inertia to subside, your head to clear. It, to no one’s surprise, doesn’t. “Do you remember Psychopathor’s cannon?“

“Yes.” Chen narrows his eyes, mind rippling as he tries to puzzle you out. He remembers alright: remembers getting hit by it, the stinging pain, the rubble he crashed in, the emptiness when his head hit the ground and mind went dark. He remembers waking up later, to you limping and Ortega stealing odd glances at you. You try to not choke at the memory.

“It had a targeting matrix,“ you mumble, words taking conscious effort to keep from slurring. “Linked rodent brains. Telepathic.“ He remembers. You explained this once before, to a much more rattled brain. The scar somewhere on your shin aches. 

He speaks before you can finish gathering your next words. “You stole it for yourself.“

You just nod. “I know you have them here.“ You lift your arm and crack open an eye to look at him. “I swear I won’t try anything,“ and you won’t, you’d will him to believe it if that wasn’t exactly the opposite of what you want and just said. “I just want them safe.“

The skin around his eyes twitches and his mind spikes at your choice of pronoun, but he buries it from you as soon as it shows up. And you’re too weary to care what he thinks. You close your eyes again as he finally gets up, the bed audibly creaking as he does, and he walks out. You don’t follow his mind, stumbling instead on Spoon’s, where it waits behind the door and stays there, because Chen won’t let him in. All the better, you’re not sure you could handle a lap full of greyhound right now. His mind is enough, still anxious for you, but simple, welcoming. Familiar.

When Chen returns, its with five more distinct animal imprints, excitedly crowding to your mind. You reach out to them in turn to greet them and soothe them, assure them that you’re alright and they have nothing to worry about. They knot their tails together and coil protectively around your mind, a determined buffer between you and the world.

You don’t notice you’ve started smiling before Chen’s thoughts tell you so, soft at the edges when he looks at you, floating freely between you. He doesn’t mind you hearing that he likes your smile, the way your features soften, the way you look just a little bit more alive.

He sets the Rat King on the nightstand next to you and sits back down, causing the bed to protest the weight again. You’re too tired to open your eyes to look at him. “Do you need anything?“

You start to shake your head, feel nausea building, and make a vaguely negative sound instead. You feel like you’re in water, your body sluggish and heavy, trapped in the soft sheets. Distantly, you realize one of the pills he gave you must’ve been a sedative.

He reaches out to pull the covers over you and tuck you in, hands lingering just a little bit too long. You find that you don’t mind. “We’ll talk later.“

You fall asleep to a soothing voice and warm hands over your own.

[pi-cat000]

MSA time travel idea (part 23)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Vivi POV, 8, 9, 10, Lewis POV, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Lance POV 18, 19, Lewis POV.2, 21 , 22

Part 24: here

VIVI POV

“Something’s not right,” Vivi mumbles, examining the mess she’s made. Strewn across the ugly motel carpet is a mix of clothing items and assorted techy stuff. Important techy stuff. The stuff Arthur lunged around wherever he went. She’d never seen a person more attached to their computer, and yet he’d left it behind.

Don’t even get her started on the more concerning discoveries. Anxiety medication? A Psych referral? To her knowledge, Arthur hadn’t needed either since high school. Obviously, she can’t count on her compressive Arthur-related understanding anymore. Not with her recent track record. Arthur’s not really a talky-feely person, but that’s never mattered because he’s always been bad at hiding things from her. Until now.  Something’s changed, and she hadn’t noticed. Or hadn’t noticed its severity at any rate. 

Frustrated, she dumps what remains of Arthur’s bag out. There is nothing else of note. It’s not like she's expecting a convenient list of ‘reason why Arthur’s acting weird’ but something tangible would have been nice. Damn it.

Behind her, Lewis steps in closer, and she shoots a glance over her shoulder. His eyes are shaded by his hair puff, so she can’t make out his expression, but he’s slumped. Lost in his own head. Probably, overthinking things and blaming himself. Lewis takes everything personally, so this whole situation is undoubtedly hitting him hard.

Unfortunately, Vivi’s at a loss on how to comfort him. She’s never seen Lewis and Arthur fight or yell. They’re both pretty passive guys, preferring to talk through any disagreement. Not that they’ve had many of those or anything even remotely like …whatever that had been. She’d never seen either argue like that, all pain and raw emotion. Arthur panicking and defensive. Lewis pushing when he should be waiting, visibly hurting.  

She had had a choice, stay and talk to Lewis or go outside with Arthur. She’d chosen Lewis because Arthur wanted to be alone and he had obviously needed space to collect himself. Had it been the wrong move? Should she have insisted on following Arthur? She doesn’t know. Vivi doesn’t know how to convince Lewis that none of this is his fault or what to do without the van. She doesn’t know where Arthur went or why.

When had not knowing something ever stopped her from ploughing ahead! Nothing ever got done through sitting around thinking about ‘what ifs.’ She wants answers? Well, to get answers, she needs Arthur. To find Arthur they need transport and some method of locating him. With a new goal, she pulls out her phone, trying to check their location. None of her maps work, and she scowls, cursing the poor internet connection.

Vivi stands abruptly, startling Lewis. Technology isn’t the only source of information. She marches straight out the still open door, ignoring the taller man for the moment, intent on pulling aside the first stranger she sees. It just so happens that a man in a faded, 'route 66' shirt is packing up a car two steps from her room.

“Hey you,” She yells, powerwalking up, “Where are you heading?"

“Ah,” The man stalls, staring at her like she’s grown an additional head. Vivi realises she’s still in her pyjamas. Powder blue, long-sleeved, dotted in fluffy clouds, it’s not normal person clothing.  Coupled with her crazy bed hair, she’s probably giving off some strong crazy-person vibes.

“Sorry. Madam. I’m afraid I can’t help right now....” The dude slams the back door and practically leaps into the front seat in his effort to escape her.

“It was just a question!” She calls after him, irritated.

Okay. So maybe accosting the first person she saw wasn’t the best idea. Vivi frowns, trying to approach the problem more logically. There are no other people the immediate vicinity, and her focus jumps between the road and gas station sporadically. She takes a deep breath, re-centring herself. All this pent-up energy needs to go somewhere productive, or she’ll just spin in circles. Maybe, she should start by changing her clothes and wrangling Lewis. He’s missed her faux pas, but she’s sure he would have found it funny on a good day. A frustrated breath.

Lewis is standing exactly where she left him, lost in thought, Arthur’s referral loose in his hand.

“Lewis! Get dressed,” She orders loudly, re-entering, beelining to her bag. Lewis blinks, losing his deep contemplative frown, focusing back on her.

“We’re finding a way out of this town, van or no van, even if we have to walk. Are you with me?”  She needs him to focus on their current mission and not on Arthur, or the possibility that Arthur really does fear him for legitimate reasons. Nothing scares her more than that.  

“Right.” Lewis answers slowly, seeming to shake off part of his funk, “You’re right…You have a plan?” He sounds so pathetically hopeful. Energetically, she spins and points a finger right at his nose. No more angsting until they know what’s really going on.

“Get dressed. Get packed. Get gone.”  

A small smile flickers briefly across his face, “Detailed. I like it.”

“Well, we also need to find a person who knows a way out of this place, and maybe some way of actually locating Arthur. Wasn’t as catchy to say though,” She elaborates.

The smile fades into something more neutral and contemplative, “How about we start with the reception desk.”  

That was…logical.

“Right. Let’s do that,” Vivi agrees, then mutters, “Why didn’t I think of that?” It would have saved that poor guy a bit of a fight.

Now there is a bit of forwarding momentum, Lewis seems lighter. While she changes into a blue shirt and matching skirt, Lewis tries calling Arthur again, is unsuccessful, then pulls on his own set of clothes. Neither of them looks particularly well put together, but it’s better than nothing. Lewis even forgoes his usual routine, giving him a rugged, frazzled appearance.

Never before have the two of them ever left anywhere in under half an hour. Lewis has an overly long prep ritual and she leaves everything to the last second, so they always take longer than is probably reasonable.

Today they’re ready in ten minutes.

“Mystery,” She calls over her dog who’s been patiently watching Lewis and her rush around, “Who’s a good boy,” she whispers, scratching under his ear. Petting Mystery never fails to calm her nerves.

“I think that’s everything,” Lewis comments holding an arm out towards the door. Their bags are now stacked neatly in the corner, and the poorly decorated room is back to being sparse and empty.  

“To the reception?”

“Mission: Find Arthur is a go,” She agrees, grabbing Lewis’s hand, tucking it under her arm. Lewis, being a lot taller, must lean in a bit, especially when she’s walking slightly ahead, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Mystery trots along behind them without prompting. They cross the car pack and enter the small reception area.

Vivi doesn’t bother waiting for the lady to acknowledge their presence, pulling Lewis right up to the counter, and slamming down a hand, It makes a loud snapping sound. The woman jumps.  

“You know how we can get out of this town without a car?” Vivi goes right for the question she wants to be answered. There is no way she was wasting time with pleasantries. Not right now.

The woman glances between them, raising a brow, “Room 11? That was fast.”

“We’ve been staying in room 11. Is there a problem?” Lewis answers with a bit more restraint, leaving a deliberate question hanging in the air.

“Saw your buddy drive off. Thought it was odd. He left you a note,” A gesture towards a folded piece of paper, sitting isolated near the edge of the desk. Vivi stanches it up, ignoring the continuing exchange. She spins, freeing her arm from Lewis so she can unfold it.

“Arthur was here?” Lewis asks, eyes tracking Vivi’s quick movements before refocusing briefly on the reception-woman, “What did he look like? Was he okay?”

“Bit twitchy. Wasn’t really paying attention.”

The note is a collection of short sentences in Arthur’s messy cursive. Short on content. Short on detail. Short on anything useful.

“Had to leave.

Uncle Lance is in hospital.

I promise I’ll explain later.

Sorry.”

Her mind buzzes with its implications, throwing fuel on the worry-fire slowly growing in her stomach. Lance was in the hospital? How? Why would Arthur leave without mentioning it? She’s known Lance since she was five! Sure, the old man was standoffish, but she still cares about the guy. Did Arthur think she didn’t? Vivi tries to picture Arthur, getting bad news about his Uncle, and panicking. AND, instead of coming to them, his friends, for help, he had driven off alone. Surely, the distance between them wasn’t so great that Arthur felt he couldn’t come to them for support even when things were a bit rocky.  It lent a little credence to her ‘something bad is stopping Arthur from telling them the truth’ theory.  

She turns to say something to Lewis but hesitates. It’s not often that Vivi finds herself at a loss for words, but damn it if this whole situation isn’t dumping her right out of her comfort zone. Lewis, who is now leaning over her shoulder tracing the note with his eyes, looks like he’s swallowed a lemon.

Vivi hands the note over- Lewis takes the piece of paper gingerly-refocusing on the receptionist. At least now they know where Arthur is going. There is only one hospital anywhere near Kingsman Mechanics.

“Is there a way to get out of this town for people without a vehicle,” She repeats her earlier question more calmly. She’ll find Arthur and give him emotional support whether he wants it or not, dammit.

“Only the Interstate Bus Line. It stops here around 6am every day. This isn't a great place to get stranded in let me tell you.” The women’s attention is now shifting away and back to a magazine, losing interest.  Vivi glances back to Lewis, but he’s still staring at the note. Aggressively, a bit more than strictly necessary, she pulls him away from the desk into a cramped corner.

“Lewis,” Vivi pokes him in the side to get his attention, murmuring softly, “We’ll worry about it later.”

Before he can object or respond, she continues, whispering, “How much money do we have saved for this trip again?”

Lewis frowns, tucking the note away in his top breast pocket, perplexed, “$2000?”

Good. Not a huge amount but, including Vivi's personal saving, she has $2300. Hopefully, I’ll get someone interested. The town didn’t seem particularly affluent, so she likes the odds. She nods once, twisting back to the desk.

“Hey. Lady.”

She waits for the women’s begrudging attention.

“I’ll give $2300 to the next person to get us to Tempo, Milton or somewhere nearby. It’s eight hours from here.”

“Not really any taxi’s around,” Is the increasingly bored response.

“Did I say taxi?” Vivi interrupts, “I’m asking if you know anyone who’ll drive us to Tempo for $2300.”

A flash of renewed attention ignites before fading, the woman-maybe they should have asked her name- sighs.  “Just my luck that I’m stuck in this shit hole for the next week. I’d take you up on that offer. Hold on,” Irritated, unnamed-lady pulls out a mobile, “I know someone who needs the cash.”

While the lady dials out and talks briefly to a man on the other end, Vivi looks back at Lewis not quite sure how he’ll take her blowing their entire savings on this endeavour. She needn't have worried because he’s giving her that proud, gooey-warm smile that never fails to make her blush. Blood rushes to her face, and she turns away. Stay on task. Lewis is in a slightly better mood, check that off, now she needs to reach Arthur.

“So, my cousins’ got a small pick-up you can probably buy for around $2500,” The woman turns, having finished a half-muttered conversation, “It’ll get you where you want, he guarantees it. You interested?”

The price is a little high, but before she can start trying to haggle Lewis steps forward.

“That sounds fine, ah, Ms???”

Right. Lewis had savings as well. She shoots him a grateful smile.    

“The name’s Claire. You can finalise stuff with Jamie when he gets here,” Claire waves them away, glancing over at Lewis now.

“How long until your cousin gets here, Claire?” He asks deliberately.

“Since you’re obviously in a rush? I can probably have him here in half an hour.”

So, all going well, they’d be about two-three hours behind Arthur. Vivi could go out and make her offer to more people, but she doesn’t like the uncertainty when this one seems decent enough. This is probably their surest course.

“Sounds good,” She agrees, nodding.

Claire sighs, making a dismissive motion, “Suppose I should wish you luck in finding your twitchy friend. You want to check out now or after you see the pick-up?”

They check out, Claire tells them to leave whenever because there isn't anyone booked in till tomorrow. They relocate outside to sit together on the small step next to their motel door, waiting. Waiting. Time ticks by, made unbearably slow by the consent checking of her watch. Gradually, the word around them brightens, the morning progressing. Vivi leans into Lewis, bouncing her leg to rig herself of excess energy. She would be up and pacing back and forth, but Lewis has an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Mystery positions himself on her opposite side, shoving his face into her lap for pats.  If the circumstances were different, she’d probably enjoy sitting like this.

Another attempt at calling Arthur goes through to voice mail. Internally, she reaffirms her mission. Find Arthur. Find out what’s going on. Help in any way she could. That’s what friends did.

Note: Vivi’s got her work cut out for her. Also, seriously enjoyed writing her POV because she’s so different from Lewis and Arthur. This part’s slightly longer than usual to make up for the wait time.

Part 24: here

[sometimesimawriter]

Mirror Effect

Part 4

A/N I normally try to post around 4 (eastern US time) but things have been pretty busy, so to make it up I’m just gonna post part 5 right after this. And please, if you like this let me know! I like feedback- hell maybe even send it to a friend. We are all about networking here :)

The story:

The storage facility was a large empty cargo space, one where shipping companies used to leave large containers, varying from cars to human trafficking. Rumor says that the mob even locked some people up in containers here, back in the 20s. The facility now was used by young adults and promiscuous teens, every so often an underground rave would be held here. Last week, Brendan hosted one and red solo cups were still strewn around. The walls were covered with decades worth of graffiti. Three cargo containers were pushed back into the far left corner of the building, open and vacant. The group ventured towards the containers, led by Emma and Diego. Diego pointed towards the ground, "Here's were we found some blood, but other than that, there's really not much here."

Five looked around the container, "Where'd you find the knives?"

"They were in the corner, looked like he threw them, the wall is scratched up because of it."

Klaus seemed uneasy here, and he kept staring towards the back right corner.

"Hey," Kayla put her hand on his shoulder, his back was to her, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just- there's a lady... she's speaking Russian or something, but looks like...her throat was ripped open."

He sighed and turned towards Kayla and looked back toward the rest of the group, who were standing near the entrance to the container, "She's recently dead, obviously no body, but she's not happy- what? What does that mean?" He turned back to the corner. "She knows some English- hey can you speak english? I don't understand Russian." He was talking as if you would to a deaf person. "Yeah-uh huh- yeah he was tall, brown hair, kind of a dick? Yeah that's our guy." He turned back around, "Says he was bleeding and hobbling around-"

Matthew's head whipped around, "Then why does it stop here?"

Klaus frowned, then pulled out a phone. He started typing and then held it up as Google Translate blurted out something in Russian. He then pursed his lips and then turned around to the group, "She says he just stopped bleeding-"

Kayla interrupted, "Duh, remember heals real fast?"

Klaus gave her a bland look, "yeah, but here's the thing: she says there was someone else here, a blonde... yeah no I don't speak Russian...let's see she says 'tall, mean look, gave pill, he grow strong'."

"What the fuck?" Brendan and Diego said in unison.

"A pill... Hey, um, Kayla... weren't you saying that some other scientist was making some new steroids?" Christina asked.

Kayla began pacing, "Yeah, somewhere in Germany. I heard they're highly illegal, but apparently they can alter...supers...powers... holy shit."

Five turned to her, "What? Why 'holy shit'?"

Her eyes grew wide, "That must be why Max is going buck-shit-wild. He's pumped on drugs, but why him?"

Matthew decided to dress the elephant in the room, "Who's making the steroids?"

"I don't know, names aren't being released, but there's news of an increase of violence in Berlin and Hamburg." She looked at Klaus, looking lost, "Do you think they're testing on people? Or even worse, other supers?"

No one had an answer, but collectively they assumed the worst. Some blonde was in the US, stocking one of the more dangerous supers with new steroids, and he was too jacked on drugs to realize he was ripping people apart, perfect.

The group traveled back to the house, Brendan and Matthew headed up town to their apartments. (Fuck it, we're going third person in Kayla's perspective because fuck this). Kayla went to her room, leaving Christina and Emma to entertain the guys- hopefully not in THAT way but keep them out of trouble. She had brought a testing kit to the cargo container, and now held a vial with a sample of Max's blood. It was thicker than normal blood, but there was nothing normal about Max- well there was nothing normal about anyone in the house at the moment. She took the tube and separated the sample into another tube, a backup. Then she took both and inserted them into a centrifuge. With a flip of a switch, the machine whirred to life and began spinning, faster than the human eye could track. Except she wasn't human, and her eyes could adjust to acute details, such as a fast moving object- kind of like a hawk. She was wearing a black compression shirt, it helped keep her wings in her back, since they tended to pop out when she was in a stressful situation or physically uncomfortable. Right now, they wanted to come out, she could tell from the throb in her shoulder blades. Growing up, she always had body pains and aches, due to her body being able to protrude two extra limbs. She figured as she lived longer with the wings that the pain was more bearable with compression, giving her skin a break from holding the wings inside. She now removed the shirt, stretching it over her head and throwing it on her dresser. She had a purple sports bra on underneath, and in the comfort of her room, she relaxed her shoulder blades and welcomed the sharp pain of the wings extending from her back. After they expanded to their full wingspan, all 15 feet of them. Her room was a decent size, and she kept it clear of objects, with her bed and dresser pushed to the walls, which gave her room to move with the wings out. Having the wings out in the open felt great, a relief from the constant pain of keeping them in her back- except she had learned to hate them. Her parents were mortified of them, often wrapping bandages around her back and waist as a kid so she wouldn't have any instances during school. She did have one instance, back in kindergarten, when a kid named Jude wouldn't leave her alone. He was pulling her hair and calling her names. She always had a temper growing up, but for some reason this kid really got under her skin, and then, the wings came out. She was 3 feet tall at the time, and the wings were about 5 feet. They ended up knocking the kid out and the school had to call her mother to pick her up. Kayla learned that day that the wings were only for emergencies, and even then she hated the sight of them.

During this time of thought, she was absolutely oblivious to the creaking of floorboards behind her. She heard a small gasp and turned around, almost knocking over a lamp in the process. Klaus stood behind her, his green eyes wide.

"Oh fuck Klaus I didn't hear you." The wings began to retract.

"No no, don't put them away please..." he began to approach her. The wings stayed out. "Can i touch them?" She stared for a second, then slowly, she nodded. He reached out and gingerly touched them. They felt like silk and his breaths were light. He then looked at her face, and involuntarily, noticed she was in a bra, then his eyes snapped back to her face.

"Sorry to intrude, i just wanted to check how the blood was coming."

Normally, any guy who had seen her wings went running, but he stayed put. Her heart was racing, expecting him to question her about them, at least say something about them, but instead he ducked below them and walked over to the bed and collapsed on it. "This is probably the softest bed i have ever had the pleasure of reclining on." He glanced up at her, "you look like you've seen a ghost, which is improbable because last i checked, only i can see the ghosts."

"you're not gonna say anything about the wings?"

"I've seen better."

She barked out a laugh at this and he gave a devilish grin. "You're probably the first guy that hasn't gone running after seeing the wings."

"Who in the hell would run after seeing such a sight, and not just the wings" he gestured towards her person and winked. "Come, join me on this glorious mattress you call a bed."

She slid the wings back to their original position, laying on her back would be uncomfortable for both parties with them out. She lied next to him, staring at the ceiling. She felt his hand brush up against hers, this one saying HELLO. His head turned towards her, and she turned towards him. He stared at her for a bit, then asked "the wings, do they hurt when they come out?"

She looked back up at the ceiling, "yeah a bit, I've gotten used to it though."

"Is it more comfortable with them out?"

"Yeah."

"Take them out then"

"No its fine-"

"Take. Them. Out. Take. Them. Out." Klaus began chanting, lighting tapping his fist on her hand. Kayla giggled and then sat up, moving backwards so they wouldn't knock him off the bed, and then felt the quick, sharp pain, then let her muscles relax. This time, his eyes didn't go immediately to the wings, instead they stayed on her face. He brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, and his hand lingered there for a bit. "You look much more comfortable," his voice was thick.

"Feels more natural, but they look horrendous" she laughed at herself, but his normal joyous face turned serious.

"There's nothing horrendous about them" he said, leaving an emphasis on "nothing". His hand fell down, and then grabbed onto both of her hands. "Don't you dare feel ashamed for what you have." He was staring at her intensely, his demeanor was startlingly different. His normal bubbly self wasn't there, the joking soul that made fun of the papers, and made jokes about Max's DNA. Instead, he was replaced by a serious tone, his eyes dark and determined. She could read his soul through them, he was an old soul trapped in a young body. Seeing constant death takes a toll on him, the struggles of the afterlife were made present in his being. She could also see that he was afraid, but most of all, she could see desire. Then, without words, his lips were on hers, first gentle and slow, he pulled back, searching her eyes. He needed reassurance, he was insecure. Seeing that she was not aiming to punch him in the face, he dove back in, this time, more confident in his movements. One hand moved to her hair, the other on her back. The kisses turned passionate, and he pressed her down into the mattress. Her wings curled around them both, making a white, feathery cocoon. He hovered over her, and let out a soft laugh against her lips, "you know, I've been with some real weird people, but wings are a first." Then he dropped his head to her ear, and in almost a growl, "But, man, these are a major turn-on."

[thewildwaffle]

Abduction Chapter 7

It’s a big one. After I made it through some writer’s block, this chapter was a lot of fun to write - and the next chapter will be too!

If you haven’t read Abduction before, be sure to go back and read chapters 1-6 first, otherwise, you’re going to be all, “Whaaaa? What is all this? Who are these people?” and that’s never much fun.

First Chapter       Previous Chapter       Next Chapter

Space sucks. Why does it take so long to get anywhere? Even with alien technology that can travel at near light-speed or warp spacial fabric, or whatever it does, it was too slow. Too. Freakin’. Slow.

Captain Salora had been kind about this whole ordeal. So there was that, at least. As far as aliens went, she was alright.

Wenona glared out the window. Two more days. That’s pretty much what the captain had said during their last visit. Two days stuck somewhere you never had any desire to be. Two days stuck surrounded by aliens who stare and gawk at you because they’ve never seen a human before. Two days with not much to do but look out the thick, layered pane at the white streaks of the stars they were passing.

The two days had kind of dragged on.

“Wenona? Oh hey, there ya are,” Mike burst into the room, nearly slamming his shoulder into the side of the doorway. “Found ya.”

“Couldn’t have been hard. I haven’t moved.”

“Demfar said we’re docking in five minutes!” Wenona scooted aside as Mike came up to get a good look outside. “Can you see the station yet? Demfar said it was huge!”

“We’re still going pretty fast. I don’t think we’ll be there in five minutes. I don’t think they even know what ‘minutes’ are.”

“Minutes, moortiks, same difference.”

“Actually, it’s a difference of about-”

“Human Mike, Human Wenona, we’re going to be approaching the Confederation outpost soon. Captain Salora has invited you both to the bridge so you can observe the docking process,” Gerben shuffled into the doorway, but didn’t enter the room. He was carrying several large jars, half-filled with a dark orange, goopy liquid.

“Jeb’s gonna come pick us up, then?”

“Jeb?” Gerben tried shifting weight on his feet, but almost lost balance and dropped a jar. Regaining composure, and his grip on the jars, he gave a thoughtful look at Mike. “Oh, you mean Jebannuck. No, he will not be coming today. He’s attending to his security duties for the docking process. Ghem-et should be here soon.”

And he was. The escorts were always very punctual. Ghem-et was friendly enough, but sometimes hard to get much of a rise or reaction out of. Mike didn’t like that very much. Especially when there was Gerben or Jebannuck that had such great, albeit different reactions to his antics. For example, Gerben nearly blew a gasket the other day after he found Mike trying to, quote, “boil himself alive” in a bathing tub. He had asked Wenona to help bypass the temperature limiter on it when the other day when he got bored.

Or when Gerben had walked in and found the humans sleeping, sprawled out half on the floor, half on whatever furniture happened to be nearby. Worried something must have happened to them, he’d tried resuscitating them, Wenona first.

In hindsight, Wenona realized that he had probably just learned a bit of CPR for humans in the garbled fragments of info the ship had received, but it was clear Gerben was far from having the technique mastered.

His attempt, however, did succeed in waking up Wenona. Just not very well. She had panicked. Gerben ended across the room, tripping over and falling on Mike, effectively waking him up as well. Though, Mike was much less… violent about it. Needless to say, Gerben had been much more cautious since, and left sleeping humans where they lie.

Jebannuck, on the other hand, usually only dealt with the humans’ antics while escorting them around the ship. Antics usually coming from Mike. In fact, almost completely coming from Mike. Unlike Gerben, Jebannuck reacted with a more “I’m-very-much-DONE-with-this,” look on his face. Mike thought it was hilarious. He loved it. He loved all of this. He was basically living the dream aboard the Gladius.

But her? Not so much.

She felt very tense every time she had to leave the medic bay. She knew they were friendly, but she still kept a close eye on every crewmate they happened to pass in the halls. She walked close to the walls, brushing her fingers over it’s panels and smooth surfaces as they went by.

Ghem-et led them quickly and quietly to the ship’s bridge. Upon arrival, Wenona frowned at how full it was. When they’d come in the past, there were only a few of the crew here and there at their posts at a time. Not now though. Everyone was here as the ship prepared to dock with the outpost.

“Captain,” Ghem-et called out loudly, “Humans on the bridge.”

Captain Salora craned her long neck up to look across the room. She really looked like some sort of dinosaur when she did that. She started walking toward them before she turned and muttered one last to the helmsman, a large four-armed alien with greenish fur, who nodded and began pulling up on the levers in front of her.

“Thank you Ghem-et. You may return to your regular post. We’re coming up on outpost 4MG6 now.”

“Right away, Captain,” and he hurried off to the lower decks.

“Human Mike, Human Wenona, you can join me at the controls. I think you’ll enjoy seeing this.”

Captain Salora slid a scaly, clawed hand over the main panel on her station. A holographic screen, much like the ones used in the medic bay, lit up in front of them. “Here we are. Keep your eyes on the exterior ports”

Both Wenona and Mike looked up towards the front of the bridge. Windows like the ones Wenona had been looking through earlier, only much larger, showed bright streaks of lights from the stars and celestial bodies they were passing at insane speeds.

While they watched intently, Captain Salora entered a few commands into the display and opened a ship-wide intercom announcement, “All crew prepare to exit warp in five, four, three, two, one.”

The helmsman shoved the levers down into their lowest settings. The streaks outside the window slowed down, flickered, then flashed. Wenona covered her eyes for a moment. When she looked back, she saw space as it normally was, stars looking like stationary pinpricks of light, a few large asteroids floating nearby, etc. Were they in the right spot?

It took her a moment to realize what was right in front of them.

The asteroid. Except it wasn’t an asteroid. It was huge. It was massive! It was mind-boggling to think something this big could be man-made. Or, not man-made, but whoever made it. How? What the heck? HOW?!

“Wha- I? Wow,” was all she could get out.

“Confederation outpost 4MG6,” Captain Salora announced proudly, “Most just refer to it as ‘Rock Base.’ Not the most fancy place in the territory, nor the most high-tech, but certainly one of the oldest and most impressive.” She turned to look at Wenona and Mike’s expressions, grinning slightly at their awe-struck expressions before returning her gaze to her display. “We’ve been given clearance. Baun, take us in to bay 15, Thurrin prepare atmospheric compression seals.”

“Yes Captain,” both voices called out in unison. Wenona turned and look behind to Thurrin’s station. The cat-like alien was turning dials and checking readouts across the board. She caught Wenona watching, her fur changed to a cheerful orange as she flashed a toothy grin - a human greeting Mike had taught her.

“Wenona, Wenona, look! Are you seeing this?” Mike tapped on her shoulder, gaping at the view outside the ship. Parts of the outpost looked like they’d been carved right out of the asteroid itself, outfitted with shining windows, metal ports, vents, antennas, dishes, and graftings, and other materials that Wenona didn’t recognize. Each section of the outpost looked like it had been made, built, or carved at different intervals of time. Perhaps even by different alien cultures. It was a hodgepodge of designs and shapes, and yet, they still somehow all seemed to fit. It was…it was... was there a word to describe something like this other than beautiful? Beautiful didn’t quite seem to fully grasp the description.

Wenona and Mike watched quietly, in awe, as the ship slowly approached the lower part of the asteroid outpost. The rays from the nearby star danced across the glassy surfaces, creating myriads of various colored lights reflected into and all around the bridge. As the ship turned in towards the docking bays, Wenona caught a glimpse of the massive propulsion engines. They looked like they were at least four times bigger than the Gladius itself, and appeared to be dimly lit, probably on minimal thrust to maintain a steady position in orbit.

“Outpost 4MG6 has been passed from one race to another for millenia,” Captain Salora watched as their view of the outside of the asteroid base gave way to the view of the docking bay entrance. “It’s seen empires rise and fall and been put to countless uses. The oldest sections even outdate the star we’re currently orbiting.”

“How long are we going to be here? I can’t wait to explore!” Mike’s smile stretched almost impossibly large across his face and he seemed unable to stand still any longer, shifting his weight from side to side.

“Someone here will be able to get us home, right?” Wenona turned and asked Captain Salora quietly.

“Yes. Someone here who’s available. If not, they’ll outfit us with the latest updates for human necessities, which honestly we probably should get anyway, and we’ll take you back to Earth ourselves.”

“That may just be what ends up happening, Captain,” a deep voice called out from the front of the bridge. One of the science officers had stood out of his chair to get a better look at the docking bay.

The empty docking bay.

“What’s going on?” “Did something happen to everyone?” “By all things bright and shining!” “I’ve never seen it so empty!” “Where is everyone?” Several voices, some loud and some hushed, rippled across the bridge.

Captain Salora looked silently at the empty bay, her mouth pulled tight in a small frown. “Everyone, calm down. We were given clearance to dock upon our arrival. That means someone is here. We would have been alerted if the Rock Base had been evacuated or under attack. Baun, land this ship.” She reached for a button near the edge of her station, “Jebannuck Sefra, are you and your team ready for receiving?”

Jebannuck’s voice came over the intercom, “We are ready and waiting Captain. Is there any problem?”

Salora inhaled a slow and quiet breath.

“Captain?”

“My apologies, Jebannuck. There is no problem. Carry on, we are landing now.”

Wenona looked around the bridge. Every face in the room was wildly different, in shape, in color, in size, but there was was one commonality: anxiety. She turned back to the front windows. No ships. In a place this big? No wonder the crew was worried.

Where was everyone?

“We are docked, Captain.”

“Thank you Baun. Thurrin, what’s the status on our atmospheric exchange?”

“Equalized, Captain. Shall I unlock the seals?”

“Unlock. Open the doors. Mike, Wenona, if you’ll accompany me, the outpost’s receiving team should be with us soon.” As she turned towards the exit, Wenona had to step aside to avoid being hit by the Captain’s tail.

Before following, Wenona caught eyes with Mike. She’d seen that look on his face before. Right before they broke out of their cell on the Montauk ship. His eyes looked steely, his jaw was clenched, he looked ready for a fight. The expression didn’t last long though - it was quickly interrupted with a overly-cheesy grin and two thumbs up. She cracked her own small smile, and shaking her head, followed after Captain Salora.

[drwhirlwind]

                                                QUIRK: AEROKINESIS.

basically,  this  is  a  breakdown  of  how  kobayashi’s  quirk  works;  the  techniques  he’s  known  for,  and  the  extent  of  what  he  can  do  with  this  quirk.  it’s  a  very  broad  ability.

the  gist  of  the  quirk  is  quite  literally  airbending,  if  you’re  familiar  with  atla!  the  user  can  create,  shape,  and  manipulate  the  very  air  around  them.  in  kobayashi’s  case,  he  can  generate  wind  himself.  there  are  other  limitations,  of  course,  and  i’ll  get  into  those  in  another  post.  because  you  can’t  see  air  by  any  conventional  means,  it  makes  it  pretty  difficult  to  see  where  aero  attacks  come  from;  hard  to  block  and  dodge  what  you  can’t  see,  right?  and  that’s  just  the  most  obvious  advantage.

cyclone  spinning  ---  first  and  foremost,  here’s  the  reason  we  call  him  dr  whirlwind!  it’s  his  signature,  big  hitter  move  because  it’s  great  for  both  offensive  and  defensive  purposes.  sho  quite  literally  spins  as  though  a  tornado,  causing  general  destruction,  deflecting  a  large  amount  of  attacks,  and  hitting  top  speed. 

healing  wind  ---  he  wasn’t  always  known  for  his  healing  ability  (  in  fact,  it’s  always  been  a  bit  laughable  until  recently  that  he  called  himself  any  kind  of  doctor  )  --  in  fact,  he  didn’t  really  master  it  until  about  three  years  ago.  he  can  heal  himself  and  others,  to a  degree,  by  having  air  molecules  extract  harmful  substance  and  bring  in  medicament  at  a  molecular  level.  he  can  also  use  air  molecules  to  regenerate  /  repair  damaged  cells  and  molecules.  additionally,  he  can  use  air  flow  to  provide  more  oxygen  and  nutrients  to  body  parts!  so,  that  means  he  could  increase  metabolism  in  the  target  and  potentially  use  internal  air  pressure  to  close  open  wounds.  this  ability  is  not  without  consequence,  but  that  i’ll  get  to  in  the  limitations  post  following  this  one. 

aerokinetic contructs  ---  so,  this  is  the  ability  to  create  create  tools,  weapons,  armor,  and  even  appendages  out  of  air.  several  limitations  apply,  to  be  expanded  on  later! aerokinetic  combat  --  basically,  this  is  just  using  air  to  make  attacks!  i’ll  expand  on  this  on  a  separate  post  because  i  have  waaayy  too  much  to  say  here. aero-telekinesis  ---  flight,  speed,  surfing,  walking

flight  /  air  surfing.   sho  rides  air  currents  that  he  generates!  flight  is  a  little  difficult  to  control  even  now,  but  for  the  most  part,  it’s  how  he  travels  in  even  just  day  to  day.  like,  why  use  transportation  when  you  can  just  fly?

speed.  he  can  go  real  fast  by  reducing  air  resistance  and  using  pressurized  air  for  propulsion.

air  walking.  pretty  much  exactly  what  it  sounds  like!  he  can  walk  right  on  air.

portal  creation.  also  exactly  what  it  sounds  like,  but  for  short  distances!  the  maximum  range  that  he  can  warp  through  his  own  wind  is  about  55  meters.

air  current  sense  ---  this  is  detecting  changes  and  disturbances  in  the  air;  the  main  purpose  serves  as  predicting  where  incoming  attacks  are  coming  from.  atmospheric  adaptation ---  basically,  this  means  that  as  long  as  there  is  some  type  of  atmosphere,  kobayashi  can  adapt  his  lungs  physically  to  breathe  that  type  of  gas.   limited  electric  generation  ---  by  using  or  compressing  air  current  friction.  this  isn’t  by  any  means  an  all  out  electric  ability,  but  the  gist  of  it  is  that  he  can  create  an  electric-esque  current  and  provide  a  little  zap  here  and  there.  additionally,  electric  attacks  are  generally  speaking,  pretty  weak  against  him  as  he  can  use  air  to  insulate  the  currents. enhanced  breath  /  lung  capacity  ---  what  enhanced  breath  chalks  down  is  the  ability  to  inhale  and  exhale  at  extraordinary  capability.  his  lungs  are  largely  expansive  and  will  take  a  long  time  to  run  out  of  air;  that  said,  mixed  with  the  ability  overall  to  create  air,  he’s  capable  of  producing  winds  directly  from  his  mouth  that  are  definitely  more  than  a  gentle  breeze! pressure  manipulation  ---  he  does  this  by  controlling  air  molecules.  for  example,  crushing  things  when  he  increases  air  pressure,  or  causing  vibration  waves  by  releasing  compressed  bursts  of  air  molecules.  explosion  inducement  --  causing  the  air  pressure  from  inside  of  something,  living  or  not,  to  expand.  that  said,  sho  can  either  induce  implosion  by  increasing  external  air  pressure  and  causing  a  cave  in,  or  he  can  have  internal  air...  crush  organs. 

he’s  never,  yet,  used  this  ability  on  a  living  thing,  but  he  is  aware  that  he  can. additional  abilities  --

deoxygenation, by  removing  oxygen  in  a  targeted  space.  because  of  the  hazard  posed  to  his  allies  in  using  this,  kobayashi  only  chooses  to  do  so  when  he’s  cornered  entirely  by  enemy  forces,  and  sparingly  even  then.  it’s  a  last  ditch  effort  to  temporarily  suffocate  his  foe  either  long  enough  for  him  to  capture  them,  or  for  him  to  flee. 

sound nullification,  by  keeping  the  air  still.  

sound  amplification,  by  increasing  airwave  vibrations.

purification  of  the  air  by  removing  hazardous  molecules. 

rot inducement  by  oxidizing  the  target  area.  this  is  rarely,  if  ever,   used.

COMING  UP:   limitations!

[fatedcircle-wishingstar]

Time, it will not wait...

A thorough answer for @deemoyza! It turned into a rant so I decided to give it it's own post! I think you might find me pulling away from the subject a bit at first because the short answer is, I have a headcanon for this and it encapsulates a lot of my ideas about FF8 as a game that I hope you will find interesting enough to stick around for my answer. 😁

Like I said, I never thought I'd be talking about the problems with actual time as opposed to time travel, (though I will touch on those, in a bit) but to the discerning eye, it's evident. Squall hits the Fire Cavern in the morning and by night he's a SeeD. Okay, that's a packed day. A train heist, an assassination attempt, traveling cross-continent to Galbadia Garden and then to Deling City in time to make another assassination attempt by nightfall. Not to mention stopping by to explore the local labyrinth -- this is a lot to digest. (I suppose you can rest in Balamb but they don't let you rest in Timber or Deling City, which is unnecessary anyway, by that point you've farmed 600 cure spells)

And it goes further. Even in flashback sequences, Laguna runs from Timber to Deling City in a day and makes Julia's show with time to spare. And for me, that parallel didn't go unnoticed.

Let's take a moment to discuss something that always bothered me about the JME. (Oh gosh, way off topic I know but it's important, trust.) Ultimecia can somehow use this machine to find Edea, another Sorceress in another time. Ellone's power doesn't do this, really at all, it works on knowing the people involved and there's something to that involving the “Descendents of Hyne” being connected, but I find that imagining the usefulness of such a machine without essentially disabling this limitation of “knowing” someone to be a bit unbelievable, maybe because of the warlike setting of the world of FF8. What use is it if you can only see the past of your loved ones? You'd much more expect the JME to be used in infiltration and spying. So if it's not singling out Sorceresses by some kind of setting (what kind of tyrant would add that feature?) or through Ultimecia's “knowing” the players involved, I imagine the simplest explanation is that there had to be some trial-and-error. Ultimecia tries again and again until she finds who she's looking for… someone close to Ellone.

Ellone's powers have another rule that is important to this conversation, besides needing to know both people connected through her power, and that is: “you can't change the past.”

Though it may seem off topic again, I want to just make a quick aside to this important point: Everything that happens in the game happens in Ultimecia's past and most importantly, if we’re following Ellone’s rule about changing the past, Ultimecia *cannot” change the past using the JME. That means that when Ultimecia finds the Junction Machine Ellone, there is no Adel’s tomb in space, Adel has already been brought down by the Lunar Cry, and killed. The Lunatic Pandora is not where Laguna placed it in the ocean, because it was moved, by Ultimecia, before the first time she touched the JME.

So with these things in mind (and many others, involving how Ellone gets her powers, Time Compression theory, etc) my headcanon is essentially this:

We, as the player, are watching Squall & Co. essentially as if *we* were Ultimecia, skulking through their thoughts with the JME, influencing their decisions. Time as viewed through this lens isn't setting a constant pace, if Squall can watch Laguna run from Timber to Deling, the fade out between is a “fast forward” of sorts, he's not experiencing the whole of what happened, but instead a series of important moments strung together as if they're chronological. This is my explanation for the “time dilation” of the storyline. Now, when I play the game, knowing what Squall is thinking fills me with a grave dread -- as if someone is peering into his mind.

If you haven't read the Time/Ultimecia FAQ that's been floating around the internet for maybe forever, it proposes a “static” model of time. This means that ALL of time in FF8 came into the world at the same moment in order for the rules of Ellone's time travel to be true: “you can't change the past” -- I find that looking at Ultimecia's Era as the dynamic (read: changeable) future and Squall's Time as the past but seen through this lens of Ellone's powers in machine form makes far more sense, allows for time to progress normally for the people involved without changing any of the way the game is presented to us, rather working with what we’re given to observe it.

Squall’s past, the ‘Modern Era’, can’t be changed from ‘Squall’s Time’ (at least not through Ellone's power) so I infer this: from ‘Ultimecia’s Era’ which does exist and is happening, ‘Squall Time’ is her past and has (even though it doesn’t seem like it from the players perspective at first glance) already happened and therefore can’t be changed through the JME.

And so I think that perhaps there is a lot more time between these things (Dollet, Timber, Deling City) when given this lens. It helps fix some issues (Zell forgot everyone but has only been using GFs for maybe a day and a half longer than Irvine?) and makes it easier for me to look at both this issue of “how did all of this happen in a week?” and the questions I have about time travel events in the game from a different (and to me, more easily parsed) perspective.

[cohenjulia1992]

Johnsons Cat Flea Pump Spray 100ml Cheap And Easy Cool Tips

How do you have to simply accept this fact and even online.Perhaps all three-and a warning for the removal of cat dust and mites.Deckster usually prefers the cuddle bed on the hair line to try and you will be more expensive than specialized litter box once per year.But keep in mind that a lot of cat urine odor effectively.

Before you know that it's going to develop reactions when exposed to something else.One of the night, the machine will activate.Owners must make sure they have become available, many veterinarians will tell you which he/she prefers.We already had one, very spoiled, inside male cat has been urinating on the other hand...well.That may be bullying him when he wants is to be an expert is always something that they may live in harmony with your veterinarian.

Do you have ever balled up aluminum foil instead.Ensure that none of these will fend off other males.Humans are not altered, especially the adults.Cats enjoy their privacy when placing it.The shampoo you buy one of your cats litter box will ensure that your cats is as yet unmarked but in any cat health problems.

You should try to think about their cats happy and relaxed feline which of course our feline friends need to travel with their paws while at the cat still enjoys watching these stray cats out of fear.Let me first tell you to always remember that timing means everything.You may well have to compress your wraps by tapping a piece of foil on the spot.The cat will most likely scratch furniture, taste your plants are included in that area.Use absorbent paper towels and apply a generous amount if your cat's coat regularly for fleas and ticks from attacking your greenery, here are a few times they will probably find several varieties at your cats from gardens.

If you have a significant impact on your borders so that the herb will take some time for your new pet may be looking for better behaviourShake the bottle so it is important that you try to find a new animal or human is just playing - enacting a hunting game.Here are some methods we can grow up together!A waste container opens up to approximately 1000 square feet or be due to illness, then a bristle brush can be very effective.Do you know has a pleasant woody smell out of fear.

I've taken to the household should be properly colored in the 21 to 33 percent range.They will also yield huge savings on veterinary care.The best way to do is pour some peroxide on the cat.It's important to help eliminate stains as well as overt sexual behavior in cats.It's far better to let the skin may feel funny, but keeping track of your hand at the end of the night.

Female cats should have all of your home is more common with puppies.Your cat could come from the area, leave it there, it will eventually break your cat urinating in your bedroom!- Unfamiliar odors and wetness won't have to watch and all you need to know what a good thing, for several hours, or perhaps rearranged the furniture?An indoor/outdoor cat will only use flower beds and borders both mothballs and citrus are said to be able to read the label for how to trim your cat's behavior and realized he was a dog, especially a young age.Spraying is one of his behaviors aren't acceptable.

There are certain preventive measures that you have when trying to tell you what most of them will also make cuddly companions.In many cases for some people, however, a grown cat is not using the appropriate age.If you're worried about this, here are a sight to behold, but having fleas in cats are indoors only and I have discovered over the house.A cat will give you a certain continuity, you can throw a cat condo.Food treats, praise, petting or even a cold bath would help.

How To Stop A Tom Cat Spraying

Please note, it is a basic need for protein, some must actually be present in your garden, but once they get into everything.Putting their food and litter that is changed or affected by something as simple as buying a more appropriate place such as skunks.Or perhaps if you had better look to behavior problems such as hitting or screaming at them or not.There is really cute now, does not come easily or right away.It is important that you can remove the stains are among the common term for skin fungi, spreads fast.

Another useful thing about a quart of warm water.Spraying communicates a cats natural gait and its calling kitty's name to come off the couch even though he loved every minute of owning a cat.This is when she is likely upset with a trapped feral cat population under control.For toilet training, get a spicy surprise.You need to be part of a family member, it can get lost or detached anytime.

Don't force her; just carry her to do it, discourage them without causing any real pain is by far better to ignore the cat feels even more closely.I have discovered over the years for our little colony for a baby.We allowed them to the faces of everyone that it is too warm.Saturate the location of the most success?It's important to be spayed and you would have thought of using the cat still enjoys clawing at your cat, the stronger your bond will be.

It can be chaotic unless handled carefully. you may want to buy expensive household cleaning products you can spend your time cuddling up to all cats- Cats can be addressed and/or eliminated with either of these conditions is pleasant for your cat's paws may be the same flea and tick infestations.There is no upper age limit for neutering cats.In cats, uric acid is what you need, it is possible that your cat to a cat.When trimming a cat's claw adheres to bone - so closely adhered to the new habit.Hold your cat's neck once a week or so, old age can set you up the worst thing on the furniture.

These programs do, however, require the smallest amount?Going to the heated room off the disposable kind that people find offensive.Older cats sometimes tend to spend a lot of patience, a trip to the vet at least not all cats will suffer from dog dander vary from breed to breed.This compound doesn't work on the fake fur.The sweet-smelling plants will perfume the surroundings must also keep their senses sharp, it gives a variety of colors.

The most important of all you can mix a 25% solution of the offending area as an herb for a more secluded place could settle the problem.However, you can minimise the damaging effects of steroids; therefore this is the popular cat treats that are raised together, will have to endure the maddening itch or insidious diseases these parasites and spend a lot of money and yet receiving great results!What you ought to know when you get your cat, because that is repugnant inside the box to smallStart the process easier but screen doors are also mandatory to help you in excess water bills and use dirt.It also helps them to perform the necessary.

Cat Pee On Xbox

Keeping your cat is still a problem, contact your veterinarian.The carpets should be brushed once weekly.He has been proven to help you, though it is a common habit of checking your cat's relentless scratching.Mix all of us with cats coming into your cats from scratching your curtains percale and chintz will be to spay or neuter your cat.The two most common surface mite is the real litter box maintenance, change in behavior each December.

It just makes it easier to keep cats out of heat.Cats can be climbed like trees, and high perches make wonderful havens where cats can be particular about the measure of privateness they have shorter ureters, making it all off.If they do, well, you just cleaned it the best possible solution to nixing the problem and don't expect your cat has changed, and has decided not to use it, there could be as simple as a breeder then the unrequited sexual urge may well cause it to your vet to find someone to buy expensive household cleaning products.The problem with trying to use is Feliway.Constant urine smell and removing scent from special glands in the tunnels and crawl spaces.

[aion-rsa]

The Best Comics of the Decade

https://ift.tt/368Hmgo

We've read a TON of great comics in the last 10 years, and we picked out the 100 best for you to passionately disagree with.

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What a century this last decade has been.

Seriously, the pace of change over the last 10 years has been steadily rising, and has been somewhere between “dangerous” and “murderous” for the last 3, and that isn’t just about geopolitics: the comics world of today is certainly recognizable to a time traveller from 2010, but it would look extremely weird.

- Webcomics and medium press publishers are EVERYWHERE now.

- Marvel has embraced multiple restarts of its line.

- DC has rebooted its universe at least twice.

- Comics are for kids again.

- Nerds rule culture, for all that’s good and bad.

These changes have been catalysts for some very, very good comic books, and we wanted to give you a list of some of our favorites. Here are a few guiding principles to our list:

I am one person who can’t possibly read everything. There’s some stuff that won’t be on this list because I didn’t have time to get to it. Please share what was missed in the comments!

It’s also an exercise in opinion! I didn’t want to be redundant and talk about the same creators or characters over and over again, though there are some repeats. I ranked these according to what I enjoyed, and not some externally objective measure of what is the finest art. If anything, I’m biased towards what was interesting - books that have stuck with me for years, stuff I still think about or reread or recommend. That said, for longer runs like Scott Snyder’s Batman or Criminal, I tried to pick arcs that were symbolic of the entire run, or the best stories within a bigger picture.

And finally, it’s imperfect. I’ve been fiddling with a good chunk of this list for a month and a half, and every time I look, I realize something I forgot, or something I could move, or something that shouldn’t be ranked lower than something else. But ultimately, I’m pretty happy with everything here, and I’m willing to bet you’ll find something interesting you’ve never considered before in it, even if I’ve missed a few glaring stories.

With that in mind, Den of Geek is proud to unveil our empirically sound, objective, and absolute BEST COMICS OF THE 2010S

  100. Batman & Robin

Pete Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, John Kalisz (DC Comics)

Tomasi and Gleason’s run never got the attention it deserved because it ran alongside huge ones - Grant Morrison’s Batman and Batman Inc. to start, and Scot Snyder and Greg Capullo’s monster New 52 series later. But I might like this one more: Tomasi writes hands down the best Damian Wayne I’ve ever read, and Gleason and Gray do bulky, shadowy Bat people perfectly. The high point is an issue around the middle of this run, post-Damian’s death but before he came back, when Batman is teaming up with Two-Face, and it might be my favorite single issue of Batman of all time. It’s such a perfect take on Two-Face that I come back to it every couple of years. Give this era of Batman a shot, I bet you love it.

read Batman & Robin on Amazon

  99. Black Science

Rick Remender, Matteo Scalera, Moreno Dionisio (Image Comics)

Black Science is a comic full of Rick Remender’s fears and worries. Scalera and Dionisio turn them into bright, colorful, wildly creative visuals as Grant McKay bounced around the Eververse trying to find a way at first to express his anarcho-scientistism, and then to save his family. It wrapped up earlier this year, and Remender and the team did an elegant job landing the plane on one of the best books from a wave of big name creator owned books that launched back in 2014.

read Black Science on Amazon

  98. Black

Kwanza Osajyefo, Tim Smith 3, Jamal Igle, Khary Randolph (Black Mask Studios)

Osajyefo, Smith, Igle and cover artist Khary Randolph’s comic about what would happen in a world where only black people got superpowers stripped the “mutant” part from “the mutant metaphor” and also the “metaphor” part, and gave us a story about black people being treated like exploitable resources by the US government. Igle’s black and white art was terrific, and the story is rough when you explain the plot, but rougher when it plays out on the page in front of you. 

read Black on Amazon

  97. Assassin Nation

Kyle Starks, Erica Henderson (Image Comics)

Starks and Henderson are both gifted comics creators on their own. Pairing them together gave us something beautiful - a book that’s about the world’s greatest assassins banding together to fight for their lives. It’s got unique characters with distinct voices and ridiculous, over the top action.

read Assassin Nation on Amazon

  96. Boundless

Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)

Time has sped up immensely in the last three years. Things that feel momentus happen and are forgotten four hours later. Trends are microtrends, fads are localized without geography, and entire 24-hour news cycles are compressed to the space between weathers on the 1s. So it’s really weird how a collection of in-the-moment short comics drawn (presumably) in 2016 feels extremely relevant and timely now. Tamaki takes a bunch of quick stories - about a mirror Facebook that shows you what might be in a parallel world; a Twilight Zone-esque cultural phenomenon mp3; a porn sitcom from the ‘90s gaining more than a cult following 25 years later - and uses the characters to say something interesting about them or us or our world. It’s a great book.

read Boundless on Amazon

  95. Imperium

Joshua Dysart, Doug Brathwaite, Scot Eaton, Cafu, Khari Evans, Ulisses Ariola (Valiant Entertainment)

Toyo Harada is a underratedly great villain, and Imperium is the story of him trying to impose his will on the world. Valiant books have, since their return early this decade, been pretty tightly intertwined, but most of their central narrative has revolved around Harada. He’s a great choice for that. He’s as big an egomaniac as Lex Luthor or Dr. Doom, but he’s got the benefit of operating in a world where the political rules are more like those of ours, which enhances everything good and bad about his character. Dysart and the art team give us an outstanding story about megalomania here.

read Imperium on Amazon

  94. X-Men: Second Coming

Matt Fraction, Zeb Wells, Mike Carey, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, David Finch, Terry Dodson, Greg Land, Mike Choi, Ibraim Roberson, Rachel Dodson, Sonia Oback (Marvel Comics)

Second Coming is the payoff to my favorite era of X-Men books so far, the Messiah Era. It starts out blazingly fast, and then plays out over the course of 14 issues and somehow speeds up as it goes along. It’s a straight up summer blockbuster action movie in comic form that does an excellent job blending voices, art styles and ongoing plots with the overall narrative of the crossover without losing any momentum.

read X-Men: Second Coming on Amazon

  93. Ultimates 2

Al Ewing, Travel Foreman, Christian Ward, Dan Brown (Marvel Comics)

Al Ewing is well on his way to stardom because of how good The Immortal Hulk is, but the cool kids all knew where he was going after he teamed up with Foreman and Ward to tell a story about the self-aware multiverse and cosmic entities of the Marvel universe in The Ultimates/Ultimates 2. This book is weird and gorgeous, and even if it leaned towards implying some big changes for the greater Marvel cosmology without ever seeing those changes bear fruit, it was still a terrific story on its own right.

read Ultimates 2 on Amazon

  92. Adventure Time

Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb (BOOM! Studios)

A licensed property like Adventure Time is tough to get right. The cartoon is so inventive that even if you match what shows up on the screen, it’s still just a pale shadow because the creativeness of the ideas is the point. So it was a huge surprise when the comic nailed it - it was every bit as wild as the show, only it also captured the voices of the characters perfectly and delighted in being a comic in a way that made it a celebration of the medium. This was the first time North managed to get rollover text into a printed comic, and it works, man.

read Adventure Time on Amazon

  91. The Divine

Boaz Lavie, Asaf Hanuka, Tomer Hanuka (First Second)

The Hanukas do two things really, really well in The Divine. They do great scale shifts. The camera zooms from pulling in really close on an eye about to bleed to pulling waaaay back to show giant beasts roving what looks like a fantasy countryside, and each decision about where to put the camera serves the story well. And the coloring adds to the surrealness of the story. It’s bright and full of greens and pinks almost to the point of being disorienting, which is I think the goal of that palette choice. The story is excellent too, about Burmese (or I guess Myanmarese now) child soldiers defending the land of their gods from resource extractors.

read The Divine on Amazon

  90. Ivar, Timewalker

Fred Van Lente, Clayton Henry, Brian Reber (Valiant Entertainment)

Ivar is surprisingly emotional and a ton of fun. Tonally, it’s one of the most distinct Valiant comics - it threads the needle of Quantum & Woody comedy, X-O Manowar high adventure and Eternal Warrior mythmaking. Van Lente takes pieces from all of those genres and knits them together with a ton of humor to make a super entertaining comic. What’s not to like about a book that starts with the main character throwing up his arms and shouting “LET’S KILL HITLER!”?

read Ivar, Timewalker on Amazon

  89. Virgil

Steve Orlando, JD Faith, Chris Beckett, Tom Mauer (Image Comics)

What I liked most about Virgil is how little it felt like Orlando and Faith were shading the story. It’s simultaneously about how reprehensible Jamaica is towards gay people; crooked cops; and a love story; and a revenge story, and no one aspect overrules the others. Virgil is a dirty cop in Jamaica and also a gay man who loses his love and goes on a rampage. Every part of the story is given equal attention, and the final result is really, really good comics.

read Virgil on Amazon

  88. Memetic

James Tynion IV, Eryk Donovan (BOOM! Studios)

It’s shocking how prescient Memetic feels. It’s genuinely creepy horror work from Tynion and Donovan, but it’s also about a meme and the homogenization of culture, and it landed like, 3 years before those ideas really penetrated the cultural zeitgeist. Donovan’s art manages the tricky feat of nailing the genuine horror of the situation, from the shock on the characters’ faces to the gross-out body horror later in the book, but it’s also genuinely funny at times. That damn sloth meme has been stuck in my head for five years.

read Memetic on Amazon

87. The Manhattan Projects

Jonathan Hickman, Nick Pitarra, Jordie Bellaire (Image Comics)

Some books need long explanations to justify inclusion on a best books of the decade list. Some just need you to say “Richard Feynman and Albert Einstein gun down a space station full of FDRobots.” Guess which one Manhattan Projects is.

read The Manhattan Projects on Amazon

  86. O.M.A.C.

Dan DiDio, Keith Giffen, Scott Koblish, Hi-Fi (DC Comics)

O.M.A.C. is secretly the best New 52 launch title. Honestly, though, this book is and will always be an underrated gem: it’s DiDio, Giffen, and Koblish trying to do Jack Kirby with modern sensibilities. And it’s extremely, beautifully Kirby in so many different ways. I can’t believe it worked.

read OMAC on Amazon

  85. All-New Wolverine

Tom Taylor, David Lopez, David Navarrot, Nathan Fairbairn (Marvel Comics)

One of the best X-Men comics from the last ten years is also one of the most unexpected: it’s a Marvel book that steals DC’s traditional schtick about how to be a great legacy hero. Laura Kinney takes over Logan’s mask after her clonefather dies, and decides to make it a more outwardly and publicly superheroic mantle. Spoilers: she’s GREAT at it. Taylor gives her real growth as a character, and uses the best new character of the last 10 years (Jonathan the Wolverine and also Scout nee Honey Badger) to great effect. I was stunned at how much I loved this comic.

read All-New Wolverine on Amazon

84. Assassination Classroom

Yusei Matsui (Viz Media)

I’m not sure how I would briefly describe this book, and that’s part of why I love it. A monster destroys ¾ of the moon and says more is coming. But he gives mankind an out: Kill him inside of a year, and he’ll leave them alive. Then, and this is where it gets nuts, he takes over as homeroom teacher for a group of misfit teenagers and starts teaching them how to kill him. It’s basically Bad News Bears with a little more murder and some great manga art from Matsui.

read Assassination Classroom on Amazon

  83. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Robert Hack (Archie Comics)

The best thing about Chilling Adventures of Sabrina isn’t that it spawned a great TV adaptation on Netflix. The best thing about it is how faithful to the comic the TV adaptation is. Part of Archie’s horror renaissance, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a genre anachronism that revels in its horror story trappings and delights in placing wholesome Archie characters in it. It’s drawn well and smart and a lot of fun from start to finish.

read Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Amazon

82. Uber

Kieron Gillen, Canaan White, Digikore Studios (Avatar Press)

Early on in Uber’s run, Gillen recommended Antony Beevor’s comprehensive history of World War II as something he leaned on heavily when constructing this book. It shows: Uber reads like a military history, rather than your typical comic about “What if they had super powers in World War II?” The supersoldiers are treated like any other military technology - resources to be deployed, depleted, exploited and overcome. This is probably the most interesting treatment of super powers I’ve seen in a comic in the decade.

read Uber on Amazon

  81. The Spire

Si Spurrier, Jeff Stokely, Andre May (BOOM! Studios)

Simon Spurrier does two things better than almost anyone in comics: he chooses incredible artists to work with, and he (and the artists) put together some stunning worlds for their characters to live in. The Spire is a murder mystery set in a fantasy city with a rigid class structure, and he and Stokely make a city that I felt immersed in immediately upon starting the book. One other thing Spurrier and crew do really well: wreck their main characters and break your heart, and The Spire is some of his best work.

read The Spire on Amazon

  80. Aliens: Dead Orbit

James Stokoe (Dark Horse Comics)

James Stokoe could have drawn 100 pages of character models and it would be on this list. He’s an incredible artist who draws incredibly detailed everything. Everything! Rubble. Ribcages. Control panels. Inner mandibles. Giving him an Aliens book is the no-brainer of no-brainers - this is what HR Geiger would have drawn if he was raised on anime.

read Aliens: Dead Orbit on Amazon

  79. Shade the Changing Girl

Cecil Catellucci, Marley Zarcone, Kelly Fitzpatrick (DC Comics)

It takes a really gifted eye to see the absurdity in everyday life and expose that to your readers with only a modest tweak to reality. Zarcone and Castellucci use dropping Rac Shade’s madness vest and Loma the alien bird into the body of a comatose mean girl as their way to show just how silly teenage life can be, and it’s beautiful. Shade the Changing Girl and its follow up, Shade the Changing Woman, both do magnificent work of using insanity to take you through a rollercoaster of emotions.

read Shade the Changing Girl on Amazon

  78. Wuvable Oaf

Ed Luce (Fantagraphics)

I think the best part about Wuvable Oaf, the indie book about black metal San Francisco bears is just how nice it is. It’s a really sweet, funny courtship story about an ex-underground wrestler starting a relationship with a small, blood-drenched metal singer. I find myself recommending this book to a surprising amount of people.

read Wuvable Oaf on Amazon

77. Upgrade Soul

Ezra Claytan Daniels (Lion Forge Comics)

Ezra Claytan Daniels went for messed up, twisty sci fi right out of the gate, and it was a home run. Upgrade Soul is an ugly body modification story about trying to prolong one’s life unnaturally, and what happens if that’s not all really well thought out beforehand. It’s drawn really well: even now, the scene with the gauze coming off layer by layer, the pacing of it and the skill of setting that sequence up, is amazing.

read Upgrade Soul on Amazon

  76. Strong Female Protagonist

Brennan Lee Mulligan, Molly Ostertag 

“What if superheroes were real” is usually an exceptionally stupid premise for a comic, but there are plenty of ridiculous components to the superhero conceit that are worth examining. One of them is the value of superheroing - does flying around punching shit really actually fix anything? In Strong Female Protagonist, Alison Green asks that question, decides it doesn’t, and quits capes for college and activism in New York. This is a great story well told, but what I enjoy about it now is how New York it feels. It’s a really thoughtful take on superheroing, but it’s also a really good story that transports you to an age and a place.

read Strong Female Protagonist here

  75. Journey Into Mystery

Kieron Gillen, Doug Brathwaite, Ulises Ariola & others (Marvel Comics)

Journey Into Mystery shouldn’t have been successful. Loki wasn’t quite at the height of his powers yet, and while he was getting there, even now he can’t really carry his own book. It was also a legacy numbered relaunch coming out of a big summer crossover event. And yet, Kieron managed to take new kid Loki and use him to tell a story about stories and fate and myth that stands up there with some of the greatest Asgard stories ever told. What he does with the trickster god is actually sad and moving (and also generally hilarious - he writes a really fun Loki).  it It’s one of my favorite things he’s ever written.

read Journey Into Mystery on Amazon

  74. Kinski

Gabriel Hardman (Monkeybrain Comics)

Sometimes, a comic is just plain good. Sometimes, a comic prominently features the GOODEST BOY on a cover. Sometimes, as is the case with Kinski, a comic does both. Hardman is a master of the form, and Kinski is one of his most underrated works. It’s the story of a guy bored with his life and trying to save a black lab puppy - not especially complicated or deep, but enough to hook me in, especially with the VERY GOOD BOY on the cover. But his art is magnificent. It’s black and white, and Hardman uses just about every inking style and manner to help tell the story. It’s virtuoso stuff. I loved it.

read Kinski on Amazon

73. The Sheriff of Babylon

Tom King, Mitch Gerads (Vertigo Comics)

With a list like this, sometimes it’s not the full sweep of a story that gets it on, but the remembered moments. I’ve seen King and Gerads work together a hundred times since then (or at least it feels like that - time has no meaning anymore). It’s all been spectacular, but the scene with Chris and Fatima in the Saddam’s old pool sharing a bottle of vodka talking about pointlessness still stands out hard for me. The Sheriff of Babylon has gotten better with age, and it started out really, really good.

read The Sheriff of Babylon on Amazon

72. Genius

Marc Bernardin, Adam Freeman, Afua Richardson (Image Comics)

If you call a book Genius, it damn well better be brilliant. Fortunately for us, it was. Bernardin, Freeman and Richardson told us the story of Destiny, a precocious and brilliant military mind born into South Central and using her strategic genius to bring down the corrupt cops who have been terrorizing her neighborhood. It feels like it was timely when it came out, but it doesn’t read like a political statement. It reads like a really good revenge story. Richardson’s art was sharp and well laid out, and is a huge part of why Genius was so good.

read Genius on Amazon

  71. Judas

Jeff Loveness, Jakub Rebelka (BOOM! Studios)

This book came out of nowhere for me. Loveness and Rebelka expanded on the story of Christ and Judas in a fascinating way. Judas is a whip smart comic that thinks around a lot of the unspoken corners of Jesus’s story. And it’s gorgeous: Rebelka draws the hell out of Hell. His backgrounds and settings are every bit as impressive as the storytelling accomplishment. Judas turned out to be an outstanding story.

read Judas on Amazon

  70. Midnighter

Steve Orlando, ACO, Hugo Petrus, Romulo Fajardo, Jr & others (DC Comics)

Sometimes I just want to see a man punch his own ears off to stop from hearing a killing word.

read more: The Best Comics of 2015

Orlando and ACO gave us one of my favorite fight comics of all time in Midnighter (and continued in Midnighter and Apollo). It’s clever and sexy, and it delights in being a comic the way all the greatest fight comics do. The flow of the fights is spectacular - these are some of the best punching scenes I’ve ever read. It’s basically an ultraviolent, morally indignant James Bond. It’s terrific.

read Midnighter on Amazon

69. Black Hammer

Jeff Lemire, Dean Ormston, Dave Stewart & others (Dark Horse Comics)

Something always feels off in Lemire’s best work. In a good way. And something feels really off throughout Black Hammer, which is the entire point of the story. The universe Lemire and Ormston create is a love letter to silver age DC books, but at the same time it misses those comic sensibilities a lot, and Lemire makes his characters mourn that loss on the page. It’s a really interesting structure for a story, paired with some terrific art from Ormston and some inventive fill-ins and spinoffs from David Rubin and Matt Kindt and others. Black Hammer is top to bottom a great book.

read Black Hammer on Amazon

68. My Friend Dahmer

Derf Backderf (Abrams Publishing)

I’m not usually one for true crime stories, especially not ones that try and humanize monstrous serial killers, but Backderf’s story of his old high school acquaintance, human eater Jeffrey Dahmer, is really good. Backderf’s art is very much of the underground comix style, which elevates the story, I think. Dahmer is disturbing and troubling throughout the book, but he’s also very much a weird gawky teenager, and in this art style, everyone is. The story humanizes him without excusing him, but I think the real reason it works is because it’s tinged with regret on Backderf’s part about the ways his relationship with Dahmer could have been different.

read My Friend Dahmer on Amazon

67. No Mercy

Alex de Campi, Carla Speed McNeil (Image Comics)

De Campi and McNeil took a book that could have been a lazy Lord of the Flies-but-with-social-media premise and turned it into a great character book. No Mercy takes a bunch of shitty teens on a field trip, and slowly turns several of them away from their shitty teen-ness and fleshes them out into an interesting dynamic and a great story. McNeil’s art is excellent: when they’re stuck in the desert, you feel hot and dry reading it, and every emotion these kids feel is beautifully shown in their face and their body language. This wasn’t a book I expected to come back to when I finished it, but it’s been a strong read even down the road.

read No Mercy on Amazon

  66. Runaways

Rainbow Rowell, Kris Anka, Matthew Wilson & others (Marvel Comics)

Rowell is a revelation as a comic writer. The way she juggles this huge cast is incredibly skillful writing. She’s got a good grasp on everyone’s voice and knows all the continuity of the old team cold. The book is vastly more enjoyable than the TV series as a teen hero soap opera, and Anka and Wilson make it way cooler to look at, too.

read Runaways on Amazon

  65. Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man

Chip Zdarsky, Adam Kubert, Jordie Bellaire & others (Marvel Comics)

Chip Zdarsky’s growth into one of Marvel’s most earnest writers was a surprising and outstanding development. I don’t think he’s done better work on any character than Spider-Man. It makes sense - Peter lends himself to stories that walk a tightrope between funny and tragic, and Chip is able to fine tune his characters and plots to nail both aspects. 

read more: The Best Comics of 2016

Zdarsky got to work with some amazing artists on this run: Kubert does some of his best work, and Chris Bachalo should draw all Sandman stories forever and ever. But the real standouts are Peter’s dinner with Jonah in #6 (drawn by Michael Walsh), and the last issue of Chip’s run (#310). Both of them are really granular Spidey character studies that show why Peter is such a terrific hero, show just how much Zdarsky gets him, and show just how good Chip’s writing can be.

read Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man on Amazon

  64. Ragnarok

Walter Simonson (IDW Publishing)

It’s Walt Simonson drawing a Thor comic. He already did the best Thor story of all time. This is more of the same. I don’t think I really need to go into greater detail here, right? I will, for the sake of argument: there’s a full page splash at the beginning of the first issue that has Thor facing down the Serpent of Midgard and it is gorgeous. You can almost count the scales on the serpent. 

read Ragnarok on Amazon

63. Mox Nox

Joan Cornella (Fantagraphics)

Cornella’s absurdist comic strips still, years later, make me die laughing. Mox Nox is a collection of his work that shows just how many situations you can put his ridiculous, Weeble-looking figures into that will shock you with their gore or make you shout laughing. 

read Mox Nox on Amazon

  62. The Valiant

Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire, Paolo Rivera, Joe Rivera (Valiant Entertainment)

Valiant has published some consistently excellent comics over the last decade, but they hit a high point with The Valiant, an Avengers-esque team up of all the heroes of the Valiant universe that focused on Bloodshot, the Geomancer and the Eternal Warrior. It worked so well for two reasons: the relationship between Bloodshot and the Geomancer was incredibly well written and heartbreaking in the end, and the art from the Riveras was incredible. Paolo Rivera doesn’t draw anywhere near as many comics as I would like (that number is generally “nearly all of the comics”), so when he is on a book, you know you’re going to get some beautiful stories.

read The Valiant on Amazon

  61. One Punch Man

ONE, Yusuke Murata (Viz Media)

I didn’t even realize I needed a fight manga parody in my life, but then One Punch Man rolled through and I love it and want more.

read more: The Best Comics of 2017

Saitama trains himself to become a hero, and gets so powerful he can defeat horrifying giant monsters with one punch. Then he gets super bored because nothing is a challenge, and the rest of the first volume is light mocking of fight comics that I found immensely entertaining and really funny. It’s not going to tell us anything about ourselves as a society or have a bigger message than “heh this is pretty silly, isn’t it?” But sometimes that’s perfect.

read One Punch Man on Amazon

  60. Darth Vader

Kieron Gillen, Salvador Larocca, Edgar Delgado (Marvel Comics)

The way the Star Wars prequels neutered Darth Vader is a crime against a character. Miraculously, the move to Disney shifted him back from the hurt puppy dog teenager that the prequels turned him into (and the mystical waste of time that the Special Editions and the books made him) and into a merciless badass force of nature. That shift started in earnest in this book - Gillen and Larocca made him mad again, and a pissed off Sith Lord is a force of nature I loved reading about.

read Darth Vader on Amazon

  59. The Highest House

Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Fabien Alquiler (IDW Publishing)

Carey and Gross are a great team. Their work together on Lucifer is some of the best comics of all time, and the world they built in The Highest House is as good or better. It’s my favorite type of fantasy comic - one that builds a rich, full, beautiful world, and then tears it down through deft character work. It’s a fantasy comic that’s so easy to disappear into, both the world that’s created and the possibilities it opens up.

read The Highest House on Amazon

58. The Nib

Matt Bors & others 

“Mister Gotcha” is up there with “This is Fine” as probably my favorite quick comic gags of the decade. Bors is an extremely sharp cartoonist and a gifted satirist, and The Nib is a regular stop in my daily routine.

read The Nib here

57. The Wild Storm

Warren Ellis, Jon Davis Hunt, Steve Buccellato (DC Comics)

The Wild Storm stands on its own as an amazing comic series. It took everything great about the old Wildstorm world and updated it for a modern, more paranoid, more technologically advanced society. Davis Hunt drew some stunning action sequences and used panel layouts and pacing to incredible effect to propel the story. But the most interesting part of it to me is how it functions as a self reassessment by Ellis, a weird and fun sort of remix and update of his own prior work. It’s excellent.

read The Wild Storm on Amazon

56. House of X/Powers of X

Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, RB Silva, Marte Gracia (Marvel Comics) 

HoXPoX made it fun to be an X-Men fan again. It’s beating a dead horse at this point, but these books were tremendous accomplishments. Larraz and Silva vaulted to superstardom, Hickman rewrote the entire history of the X-Men, and Gracia made every panel sing.

read House of X/Powers of X on Amazon

55. Sex Criminals

Matt Fraction, Chip Zdarsky (Image Comics)

Qualifying a raunchy sex comedy as weirdly sweet almost seems cliche at this point, but Sex Criminals is the rare story that can match graphic depictions of Urban Dictionary sex positions, a story about people who can stop time when they orgasm, and brutally honest depictions of intimate relationships and make it all entirely relatable. It’s a wonderful story. But also I’m still mostly here for the comedy - Zdarsky puts so much detail into it that every splash page is like a Where’s Waldo of insane sex jokes.

read Sex Criminals on Amazon

54. The Nameless City

Faith Erin Hicks, Jordie Bellaire (First Second)

The Nameless City feels like if Avatar The Last Airbender was about class and not martial arts and the pressure of leadership. It’s one of the few graphic novel series that I remembered to put on a pull list, every volume improving on the last. Hicks’ art is gorgeously cartoony, detailed and loose at the same time, and it builds an engrossing world with fascinating characters that tells the story of a city and a people in major transition. It’s a series I can’t wait to share with family.

read The Nameless City on Amazon

53. Exit, Stage Left! The Snagglepuss Chronicles

Mark Russell, Mike Feehan, Paul Mounts (DC Comics)

I’ve said this a thousand times before, but it’s worth repeating: I don’t understand how the hell this comic got made, and my gast is further flabbered by the fact that it’s amazing. Exit Stage Left recast Snagglepuss as a ‘50s gothic playwright living in New York City; Huckleberry Hound as his novelist best friend; and Quick Draw McGraw as Huck’s down low cop boyfriend, and told a compelling story about fame and society that was equal parts clever, funny, sweet and sad. Brilliant and wry, Mark Russell is one of the best new additions to comics this decade. If you haven’t read this book (which doubles as a stealth period piece about the dawn of the gay rights movement in America I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE I’M TYPING THIS), you should go get it right now.

read Exit, Stage Left! The Snagglepuss Chronicles on Amazon

  52. These Savage Shores

Ram V, Sumit Kumar, Vittorio Astone (Vault Comics)

Ram V, Kumar and Astone do a wonderful job of building a story with a rich world that’s unlike most stories I’ve ever read before, and they do it with incredible skill. The period aspects of the story are lush and gorgeous, but Kumar and Astone’s art is magnificent, paced perfectly with a flow of movement that belies a storytelling skill that you don’t often find in small press superhero comics. The panel flow is really exceptional, and Astone’s colors make this vampire/demon battle sing.

read These Savage Shores on Amazon

51. The Dark Angel Saga, Uncanny X-Force

Rick Remender, Jerome Opena, Mark Brooks, Esad Ribic, Dean White & others (Marvel Comics)

X-Men comics have picked back up recently, but prior to HoXPoX, their pinnacle for me was the Dark Angel Saga. Specifically, Psylocke and Angel’s moment of eternal bliss as their world was destroyed around them. Jerome Opena and Dean White made the visuals so vivid that I could hear the wind roaring around Betsy and Warren, and Remender had done such a good job of building the duo’s relationship that I was almost in tears reading it for the first time. The rest of the run is essential reading: it has my favorite non-movie Deadpool and some of the best Apocalypse stuff since the Age of Apocalypse, but that moment is just so amazing.

read The Dark Angel Saga on Amazon

50. Wytches

Scott Snyder, Jock, Matt Hollingsworth (Image Comics)

Snyder is a terrific horror writer, and Wytches is by far the scariest thing I’ve ever read from him. That is probably due in large part to Jock and Hollingsworth. The story is dark Americana horror, pure and uncut Snyder right on the page, about monstrous ancient covens and their secret network around the world. Jock makes the normal humans look terrified and the Wytches stretched, shrouded beasts escaping from knots in trees to steal kids and ruin families, and Hollingsworth changes palettes deftly to match the tone of the panel (or even half panel, sometimes). Wytches is incredibly well made comics.

read Wytches on Amazon

49. Fantasy Sports

Sam Bosma (Nobrow Press)

Fantasy Sports isn’t complicated. It’s about a treasure hunter who has to beat a mummy at basketball to loot a pyramid. See? Super straightforward.

read more: The Best Comics of 2018

Bosma’s art is the star here. It’s somewhere between sports manga and Adventure Time. It’s vibrant and fun, full of great movement in a story that hums along. And it’s really accessible - it’s shelved closest to the ground in my house, so kids can pull it out and get hooked the same way I did.

read Fantasy Sports on Amazon

48. Sexcastle

Kyle Starks (Image Comics)

I don’t know if any comic in the last ten years has more quotable lines in it than Sexcastle. I have found a way to work “You brought a YOU to a ME fight,” and “Are you okay? Just kidding, fuck you” into more professional conversations than I’m comfortable with, frankly. Sexcastle is a hard riff on ‘80s action movies that has Shane Sexcastle, the badass killer and star of the comic, spouting bad pun catchphrases almost exclusively throughout the book. Sexcastle both loves and viciously parodies those movies, and the resulting comic is almost flawless. Starks is an absolutely hilarious writer, talented enough to get a shot on anything he writes, but nothing will be quite as surprising or as funny as Sexcastle.

read Sexcastle on Amazon

  47. G.I. Joe: Cobra

Mike Costa, Christos Gage, Antonio Fuso, Lovern Kindzierski (IDW Publishing)

It took IDW a minute to get going with G.I. Joe after they got the license, but once they did, these series turned into one of a couple of shockingly good, well-thought-out licensed comics they put out over the decade. Almost immediately, Costa and Gage put Chuckles in deep cover at Cobra Command and went hard dark on the tone. From there, they assassinated Cobra Commander, set off a nuke, and launched a power struggle to control the terrorist organization that included a Joe killing competition. Costa, Fuso, and Gage did an amazing job of juggling enormous casts and controlling for different voices. Everything from G.I. Joe: Cobra through the Cobra Civil War is amazing stuff.

read G.I. Joe: Cobra on Amazon

  46. Battling Boy

Paul Pope (First Second)

Battling Boy is unlike any other comic I’ve read in the last decade. I spent a good three hours trying to come up with a clever analogy for this book, like “Witch’s Night Out meets Thor in a Flash Gordon strip,” but they’re all grossly inadequate. Pope is one of the most unique minds working in comics. He puts more character in one grease smear on a face than a lot of creators can fit in long runs. Battling Boy is fine pulpy adventure comics that work for any comic reader.

read Battling Boy on Amazon

45. The Omega Men

Tom King, Barnaby Bagenda, Jose Marzan, Jr., Romulo Fajardo (DC Comics)

Omega Men is still, several years on, some heavy, heavy shit. The shock of the twist, hell the shock of the series still makes me smile. That it was a comic book that was advertised with Kyle Rayner seemingly beheaded on camera and beamed around the galaxy was stunning; that the seeming beheading wasn’t the most shocking part of the book is amazing. It’s a miracle this book happened (literally - it was cancelled and uncancelled midway through), but I’m so glad it did. It was ambitious and smart, and unlike anything we’d seen in comics in years at the time.

read The Omega Men on Amazon

  44. Lady Killer

Joelle Jones, Jamie S. Rich, Laura Allred (Dark Horse Comics)

Joelle Jones is a superstar now. I’m fairly sure that it started because of this comic, and I’m absolutely certain it’s deserved. Lady Killer is the story of a ‘50s housewife who’s an assassin on the side, and it’s everything the premise suggests. It’s grindhousey and funny and gory, but through it all, Jones’ art is amazing and Allred’s colors are perfect. It’s a lot of fun to read.

read Lady Killer on Amazon

  43. Infinite Kung Fu

Kagan McLeod (Top Shelf Productions)

Kagan McLeod’s story in Infinite Kung Fu is a little bit rote for the genre - it’s a kung fu movie put to page, nonsense and all. But my god the art. The pages are practically crackling with life. The big swoopy inks and the way McLeod makes the characters move and the way the fights flow from panel to panel and the scale of some of these fights and it’s all just incredible, incredible artwork. Even if the story is a little pedestrian, the art is some of the best I’ve ever seen.

read Infinite Kung Fu on Amazon

  42. Bandette

Paul Tobin, Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain Comics)

Bandette is about an adventuring teen art thief in Paris. It’s silly and cute and charming and gorgeous. It’s also extremely uncomplicated: this is an easy book to love because Coover’s art is lovely, and Tobin’s plots are clear and clever. I try my hardest to find some deeper meaning or hidden skill that the creators have that makes a book stand out, but Bandette is just a really straightforward, fun, nice book.

read Bandette on Amazon

41. Hawkeye

Matt Fraction, David Aja, Matt Hollingsworth & others (Marvel Comics)

Hawkeye launched David Aja into the stratosphere, and gave Fraction the juice to do whatever he wanted (like, for example, write a sci-fi gender flipped Odyssey adaptation comic in dactylic hexameter). It radically changed Clint Barton for a decade. And in a lot of ways, its influence still rings out now, because it’s just really good.

Aja is a madman. His art flows differently from anyone who came before, but it’s been mimicked so many times since, and even when imitators try and fail to live up to his standards, they still usually do something interesting. Fraction succeeded at a time when Marvel was going in a million different directions by pulling the camera way in on the Marvel Universe - focusing on an apartment building, making a street crime book with a regular guy and turning Kate Bishop from a supporting Young Avenger into one of the best characters in the Marvel library.

read Hawkeye on Amazon

40. Batman: The Black Mirror, Detective Comics

Scott Snyder, Jock, Francesco Francavilla, David Baron (DC Comics)

Scott Snyder is one of those creators I’ll follow just about anywhere, and it all stems from how ridiculously good his Black Mirror story was in Detective Comics. Back when Bruce was still traipsing about the world, turning the International Club of Heroes into Batman, Incorporated, Dick Grayson was back in Gotham being the best Batman and solving this dense, moody, disorienting crime. It was a deep Grayson character study, a deep Gotham character study, and a showcase for the incredible art of Jock and Francavilla.

read more: The Best Comics of 2019

Snyder did some incredible things with Bruce Wayne when he and Greg Capullo got control of the main Batman book post-New 52 (especially the last story arc - stunning stuff). But The Black Mirror is even better. Whenever someone asks me for a Batman comic gift recommendation, this is what I tell them to buy.

read Batman: The Black Mirror on Amazon

  39. Giant Days

John Allison, Lissa Tremain, Max Sarin, Julia Madrigal, Whitney Cogar (BOOM! Studios)

Pick any issue of Giant Days at random and read five pages of it, and I promise you will recognize every character who speaks immediately. Allison and the art team have that tight a grasp on conversational dialogue that this entire book was relatable all the way through. It’s a smart, funny comic about growing up that focuses on the growing you do in your early 20s, which is a breath of fresh air considering most coming of age stories stop at 16. Seeing the characters flourish into adults is part of what made Giant Days special, but it’s mostly the ridiculous skill of the creators.

read Giant Days on Amazon

  38. Berlin

Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)

Lutes has been working on this for 20 years and finished it in 2018, and you can see the unbelievable care and craft in every page. Berlin follows a couple of working class people through the fall of Weimar Germany in the late 20s until the Nazis take over, and even though it’s fictional, it’s incredibly interesting to see Germany’s collapse as it related to regular people, and not as big, momentous historical events. The history comes across as a much more jagged line. Lutes is wonderful at using the pace of layouts to tell the story, and his art is immaculately clean and clear.

read Berlin on Amazon

  37. The Underwater Welder

Jeff Lemire (Vertigo Comics) 

When Jeff Lemire draws his own stuff, watch out: you’re about to get something profoundly uncomfortable. And The Underwater Welder is precisely that. It’s so good at making you feel like something’s wrong.

read more: The Best Movies of the Decade

It works because it’s never completely honest about what the story is about. Jack is an underwater welder, like his father was, and he’s got a wife and a kid on the way. But he becomes obsessed with his father’s old watch, and that obsession is a focus for his panic about becoming a father. Lemire’s art is all rough-looking freehand and watery inks, perfect for a guy who spends most of his time in a diving suit. The atmosphere of The Underwater Welder is almost asphyxiating. I love it.

read The Underwater Welder on Amazon

36. Ms. Marvel

G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona, Takeshi Miyazawa, Nico Leon, Ian Herring (Marvel Comics)

As I sit down to write this, I literally just came back from picking up the first collection of Ms. Marvel for a Christmas present for my niece. Wilson, Alphona, Sana Amanat, and Jamie McKelvie (who did designs for the character) created maybe the best fictional teenager in the last decade in Kamala Khan. It’s been a long time since I’ve been a teenager, but I think the response from actual #teens will back me up here: her struggles with time management, emotions, and awkward social interactions felt incredibly real. The art, from Alphona, Miyazawa and Leon was spectacular, doing an especially great job of showing who Kamala is through her powers. This is a great book to have around.

read Ms. Marvel on Amazon

34. Deathstroke

Christopher Priest, Carlo Pagaluyan, Jason Paz, Jeromy Cox & more (DC Comics)

It just ended, and at every point during its 50 issue run, Christopher Priest’s Deathstroke felt like it was made specifically for me. It was a sneaky family soap opera on par with the greatest X-Men stories, but with Priest’s signature banter and pacing to bring it to the next level. The art was always superb from Pagaluyan, and the editing team brought in some absolutely killer supplemental teams (Cowan and Sienkiewicz are always a yes), but it was the story and how it was presented that made this run really special.

read Deathstroke on Amazon

  34. Monstress

Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda (Image Comics)

Takeda’s art looks like an illuminated manuscript. Seriously, it’s so detailed and intricate that it makes me slow down when I’m reading, which is a feat, because I’m predisposed to blaze through comics. But that detail work is what makes her art special, and what pushes Monstress from very good to great. The world that Liu and Takeda built in Monstress is lush and rich and incredibly easy to disappear into, and it’s a consistent joy to read.

read Monstress on Amazon

  33. The Vision

Tom King, Gabriel Hernandez Walta, Michael Walsh, Jordie Bellaire (Marvel Comics)

I’m pretty sure I spent more time shaking my head at the events of The Vision than any other book on this list. What Tom King did to this family is deeply, profoundly messed up. Walta, Walsh, and Bellaire were essential to building the eerie, uncomfortable atmosphere that pervaded this whole story, and the facial expressions especially helped land the twist in the middle, the plot point that shifted the story from “oh no that’s super messed up” to “aww that’s really sad and also super messed up.”

read more: The Best TV Episodes of 2019

What might be the most shocking part about it is how much of this run endured in continuity through the years: Viv Vision is showing up left and right, and Victor Mancha’s fate here is a big plot point in Rowell and Anka’s wonderful Runaways relaunch.

read The Vision on Amazon

  32. 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank

Matthew Rosenberg, Tyler Boss (Black Mask Studios)

This one is all about the patter. Rosenberg makes the kids sound so entertaining and makes their interpersonal dynamic so engrossing that you get wrapped up in the world of 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank easily. Tyler Boss’ art is terrific, selling the exaggerated expressions that kids make, where a smile often starts in their legs, and landing all the humor just as comfortably. It’s a comic that could have ended up as nostalgic tripe, but instead, 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank turned out great.

read 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank on Amazon

  31. Kid Gloves

Lucy Knisley (First Second)

Kid Gloves is amazing for a lot of reasons. It’s informative and moving and personal, with a lot of history and politics that I think are really important components to a larger conversation that the book can be part of. Here’s the thing about it for me, though: I started reading it at the library. About halfway through, I put it back on the shelf, walked up the street to a book store and bought a copy. I knew from how much I was talking to the book while reading it that it was something I wanted to keep on my shelf and refer back to in the future. And I feel really good about that decision.

read Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos on Amazon

  30. XKCD

Randall Munroe (Webcomic)

It didn’t inspire any stirring condemnations from legendary filmmakers, but I wonder if Randall Munroe’s half webcomic/half infographic didn’t have the biggest low key impact of any comic in the last decade. I feel like you’re vastly more likely to see an XKCD strip on someone’s desk, or tacked to the door of an office, or passed around on social media, than you are anything from Marvel or DC that isn’t designed to trigger the internet outrage cycle.

This is because Munroe is really good at cartooning. I mean, okay, he’s not going to paint you a Rembrandt, but his stick figures have a way of sneaking emotion up on you, through their shoulders and their heads. And he’s whip smart, too, but his comics help present his knowledge in an accessible, open way. XKCD has been in every iteration of blog reader I’ve had since 2010, and I’ll be checking in on it until it ends, because it’s terrific.

read XKCD here

  29. Two Brothers

Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon (Dark Horse Comics)

Ba & Moon do some amazing work in this adaptation of a novel from their native Brazil about two brothers, their doting mom, and the woman who comes between them. The artwork in Two Brothers is stunningly good and improves on the source material by taking some of the novels most impactful scenes and making them visually striking. Two Brothers isn’t a splashy comic, but it’s a damn good one, one that will stick with you for a long time.

read Two Brothers on Amazon

28. Lumberjanes

Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen, Carolyn Nowak, Carey Pietch, Maarta Laiho & more (BOOM! Studios)

Lumberjanes takes a lot of what worked about The Goonies and makes it smarter in a different way to give us one of the most fun and purest adventure comics in recent memory. It’s no surprise that Stevenson is kicking so much ass on She-Ra.

The book has been going for some time now, so the creative teams have shifted, but the art is remarkably consistent through the volumes, and it’s clear, sharp cartooning that’s exaggerated in all the right ways for a woodsy, camping adventure tale like this. Lumberjanes is another book with a huge cast that’s well managed, and it’s a lot of fun to read through.

read Lumberjanes on Amazon        

  27. Showa: A History of Japan

Shigeru Mizuki (Drawn & Quarterly)

Technically, Showa is like, 30 years old. But it took 25 of those years for it to be released in the States, and there are no rules to this list, so I’m counting it.

Mizuki is one of the fathers of manga as a form, and as someone who came to his work after reading folks like Otomo and Urasawa, and decades after becoming familiar with anime, his work feels quaint and unsophisticated. Which is a really interesting pairing with the subject matter - Showa is a history of Japan in the Showa era, spanning the ‘20s through the late ‘80s, a period of massive transition for Japan that I mostly knew from broad strokes. He switches back and forth between a hyper-detailed realistic style that looks like (and sometimes is) tracing, and the cartoony manga style he uses to illustrate personal moments that tie into that history. It’s an incredibly effective storytelling technique and a useful way to bring the reader’s attention past the big picture and down to the regular peoples’ perspective of that big change. Showa is an incredible history book, and a masterpiece of the form.

read Showa on Amazon

  26. Copra

Michel Fiffe (Bergen Street Comics/Image Comics)

It’s still amazing to me that Copra can even get made. It started out as a...spiritual sequel to Ostrander/Yale/McDonnell Suicide Squad in that it was almost an actual direct lift of Ostrander/Yale/McDonnell Suicide Squad only with Doctor Strange and Clea added in. But it was done with weird indie linework and colored pencil coloring, with a big zine aesthetic that made it immediately compelling. And once I got into it, I realized that Fiffe had captured everything great about that Suicide Squad run but turned it into something dstinctly his own, and I’ve loved it ever since.

read Copra on Amazon

  25. Afterlife with Archie

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Francesco Francavilla (Archie Comics)

This comic should not exist. It should not be good. It certainly shouldn’t be one of the best comics I’ve read in the last decade. And yet, Afterlife with Archie remains incredible. In fact, it might be the purest, finest zombie story I’ve experienced in a while. The slowly building tension is a masterclass in mood. Aguirre-Sacasa does a great job of taking Riverdale’s existing dynamic and plopping it into a zombie horror story so you get something that is recognizably both things at the same time. Francavilla’s art is probably the least surprising part of the equation, in that it is incredible. And the fact that you can probably draw a straight line between some of the themes here and what ended up on your screens in Riverdale is...pretty insane. And amazing.

read Afterlife With Archie on Amazon

  24. Scalped

Jason Aaron, R.M. Guera (Vertigo)

The best thing about Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera’s Scalped is the cast. It’s a HUGE book, about an FBI investigation into corruption on a reservation that sends Dash Bad Horse back home undercover to investigate. Everyone Dash encounters, and everyone who’s conspiring to make life in Pairie Rose garbage, is a full character within two sentences. They all sound different, move different, look different. They carry the weight of a rough life in their posture and their cadence.

Superhero comics developed the distinctive costumes so artists could distinguish between characters easily. It’s hard to draw distinctive, consistent, recognizable people in street clothes, but Guera is amazing at it, and Aaron puts so much care and character into everyone who sets foot on the page that Scalped is impossible to put down.

read Scalped on Amazon

  23. Nancy

Olivia Jaimes (GoComics)

“Sluggo is lit” isn’t quite the cultural phenomenon it was when Olivia Jaimes, the pseudonymous cartoonist, first introduced it to the strip she took over in 2018. But it’s still damn funny. I’ll admit, I completely blew it on Nancy in 2018 - it hadn’t registered with me because I don’t get print newspapers and only have a passing knowledge of their comic strips anymore. But when I first saw it, I died laughing.

And then I took a closer look  at some of the comics - the one where Nancy steals the cookies from the top of the fridge by tossing them between panels to herself, or the joke about filler where the last panel is mostly an empty word balloon - and I realized that Jaimes, in addition to being funny as hell, really gets how to screw with the flow of information from comic to reader. She’s exceptionally talented, and Nancy is amazing work.

read Nancy here

  22. The Hard Tomorrow

Eleanor Davis (Drawn & Quarterly)

The Hard Tomorrow stressed me out, and then lifted me up at the end. It’s very much a comic about our current moment (and by “current moment,” I mean the singularity that the last four years have compressed into). It doesn’t capture the terror that some groups might feel, but it does a great job of conveying that background hum, like a cultural migrane, that makes everything more difficult in the world. And then, intentionally or not, it swings the story back around and pumps you full of hope and meaning with the last ten pages. It’s incredible comics work from Eleanor Davis, an amazing talent.

read The Hard Tomorrow on Amazon

21. My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies

Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Jake Phillips (Image Comics)

You can read any Criminal comic and come away happy. Okay, maybe not “happy” per se - My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies is an extremely unhappy comic, about a girl who meets a boy in rehab, gets him back on drugs with her and then goes on a trip with him, framed around her pretentious love of drug addicted musicians. It would be obnoxious if it wasn’t so incredibly well done and packed in with a twist at the end that makes it go from messed up to REALLY messed up. Everything Brubaker and Phillips have done together, back to Sleeper, has been superlative, but from the last ten years, I really feel like this is their best work.

read My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies on Amazon

20. Through the Woods

Emily Carroll (Margaret K. McElderry Books)

I don’t think there’s anybody doing slow, creepy, gothic horror like Emily Carroll right now. Through the Woods is a collection of short stories that’s full of dark blacks and loose line work, the letters worked into the art organically to amplify the creepiness and the stories built to scare. She comes at normal relationships and injects them with something horrific, but paces it so incredibly well that you barely notice it until the end, when something happens to finally make your skin crawl. Carroll is a gifted storyteller, and Through the Woods is some of the best horror stuff out there.

read Through the Woods on Amazon

  19. The Flintstones

Mark Russell, Steve Pugh, Chris Chuckry (DC Comics)

Anytime a comic can get a physical reaction out of me, it’s usually a sign that it’s a very successful storytelling endeavor. I think The Flinstones’ hold music on the suicide hotline joke is the loudest I’ve shouted “holy shit” at a comic in a decade. Mark Russell is the best satirist working in comics right now, and certainly in the past decade. Steve Pugh was equal to the task of packing every joke and sly look and absurdity implied by the dialogue. The Flintstones is one of the funniest books you'll ever read.

read The Flintstones on Amazon

18. Atomic Robo & Other Strangeness

Brian Clevenger, Scott Wegener, Ronda Pattison (Webcomic)

I love Dr. Dinosaur. I will buy anything Dr. Dinosaur is in, contribute to any crowdfunding campaign that gets me Dr. Dinosaur goods, and I will take every opportunity I can to share that “the light is for ambiance” page.

Clevinger and Wegener have created a near-perfect, accessible, entertaining adventure story with Atomic Robo. The writing is smart and sharp and Wegener does some outstanding action sequences. I don’t think there’s any comic I’ve been dedicated to for longer - I think I’ve been regularly reading Robo longer than I’ve had Batman on my pull list - and there’s no comic I recommend more frequently. Other Strangeness has two amazing Dr. Dinosaur stories and Jenkins, but you can pick up any volume and get the same high quality action adventure comics.

read Atomic Robo here

17. The Private Eye

Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin, Muntsa Vincente (Panel Syndicate)

Vaughan, Martin, and Vincente made a beautiful, compelling comic book that was uncomfortably prescient.

Sixty years from now, the cloud bursts - all of the private data stored on the cloud gets released to the public. It destroys lives and relationships, and triggers an anti-internet backlash. And an anti-journalist one. It then follows an unlicensed journalist as he travels around solving a mystery in a world where everyone wears masks to throw off facial recognition tech.

The Private Eye was cyberpunk that inverted some cyberpunk formulae - it was bright and warm and shiny, distrustful of tech and very human, but it was still a grimy near-future full of people navigating a world that sucked. It was an incredible read and one of the comics I think about most, even five years down the road.

read The Private Eye here

16. Secret Wars

Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic, Ive Svorcina (Marvel Comics)

I’m using Secret Wars as a stand in here for all of Hickman’s prior Marvel work from the decade, and really the entire story that started in Fantastic Four and paid off with the final Doom/Reed battle at the end of this story. “Epic” doesn’t even begin to describe a story that starts with the council of Reeds, breaks the Avengers, destroys the multiverse, then reforms it again out of a love of adventure. I reread these comics more than any in my collection because they’re beautiful and immersive and impossibly grand.

read Secret Wars on Amazon

  15. Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye

James Roberts, Alex Milne, Josh Burcham (IDW Publishing)

I still can’t believe how much I love this run of comics. I am even more flabbergasted at why: it was one of the most surprisingly thoughtful comics about sexuality and romantic relationships that I’ve ever read, and it came as part of a broader Transformers story (when paired with the story in Robots in Disguise) that had some of the best takes on gender identity and politics that I can remember.

Every word of that paragraph still makes no sense to me. I am continually delighted by this fact.

More Than Meets the Eye follows Rodimus and a group of breakaway Transformers as they search the universe for the lost Knights of Cybertron. It features a fascinating and touching relationship between Rewind and Chromedome (with Cyclonus as a third-wheel/homewrecker WHAT IS HAPPENING), and it has a deep dive into Ultra Magnus’s history as Cybertron’s premiere stick in the mud. Honestly, just take my word for it: this comic was incredible.

read Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye on Amazon

14. The Multiversity

Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Nathan Fairbairn & Others (DC Comics)

The Multiversity still contains my single favorite page of comic art from the decade: Frank Quitely breaking down Peacemaker kicking the hell out of a great lawn full of soldiers outside the White House. I can’t even begin to describe how technically fascinating that issue was or how breathtaking it still is to see. The rest of the series brought me great joy, but that issue might be the best single issue of comics I’ve read in the last 10 years.

read The Multiversity on Amazon

13. My Favorite Thing is Monsters

Emil Ferris (Fantagraphics)

Everything about Emil Ferris’ debut work is absurd. The production value of the book is stellar. Her deft storytelling made me feel literally dropped into the comic several times, overwhelming me by the world she brought me into. And that this was her first published work is still, what feels like an eon later, ridiculous to me. My Favorite Thing is Monsters will make you feel like a ten year old girl, whether you’ve ever been one before or not, and that is some magical work.

read My Favorite Thing is Monsters on Amazon

  12. Here

Richard McGuire (Pantheon Books)

Here started out as a comic strip in 1989, and got blown out into a full graphic novel in 2014, and both are incredibly interesting experiments with the form of comics storytelling. It sets the “camera” pointed at the corner of a room, and then spins time out in both directions, showing us what that corner looked like 2000 years in the past, hundreds of years in the future, in the 1950s, today, and a bunch of other times. And the way that McGuire manages to tell a coherent story under those restrictions is masterful work.

read Here on Amazon

11. Hellboy in Hell

Mike Mignola, Dave Stewart (Dark Horse Comics)

There’s something beautiful about Mignola spending 25 years weaving just about every mythological cosmology from human history together, and then ending that whole story by having Hellboy walk across Hell, into his childhood home, and just disappear. It’s a very quiet, peaceful ending for what had at times been a loud comic in the past, but it’s a beautiful end that refers back to other work of Mignola’s, which lends the ending a kind of peacefulness that cuts through the sadness of the loss of this story. Hellboy in Hell is a really great ending.

read Hellboy in Hell on Amazon

10. Thor: God of Thunder

Jason Aaron, Esad Ribic, Dean White & others (Marvel Comics)

There is actually some debate in my mind as to whether or not Jason Aaron’s Thor run, stretching from the stunning God of Thunder through The Mighty Thor and War of the Realms and into King Thor, is better than Walt Simonson’s Thor. It’s probably still Simonson’s run, but the fact that there’s an open question should tell you how good Aaron’s story has been. The best Thor stories have a bigger point than “Can Thor beat up the Hulk?” Aaron’s has been “What responsibilities does being a god bring with it; how do they carry them out; and how does that impact us?” It’s masterful work drawn by a collection of incredible artists.

read Thor: God of Thunder on Amazon

9. Saga

Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

The best thing about Saga to me is that the characters have grown with me. That’s not necessarily why it’s one of the ten best comics of the decade - Fiona Staples is an utterly incredible artist who without fail puts something singularly amazing into each issue - but it’s why I care about it so much. Hazel, Marko and Alana have all grown beautifully as characters since issue 1, and the world is so inventive and different from what you always get in science fiction that it’s a joy to read every time a new issue drops.

read Saga on Amazon

8. Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit

Donald Westlake, Darwyn Cooke (IDW Publishing)

Darwyn Cooke is one of the most talented people to ever work in the comics industry. He’s still, years after his passing, an enormous influence on how people conceive of the DC universe because of The New Frontier. But it’s his adaptations of Westlake’s ‘60s crime novels starring Parker that might be his best work. The Outfit is the second and my favorite, but all of them are amazing pieces of comics storytelling. Cooke’s storytelling techniques bounce all over the place, but all work amazingly well. He especially excels at showing complicated heists - the way Cooke plays with time and sequencing makes these books an amazing read.

read Richard Stark's Parker: The Outfit on Amazon

7. Prince of Cats

Ron Wimberly (Image Comics)

Wimberly’s Prince of Cats is pretty close to a perfect comic. Repurposing and adapting Shakespearean dialogue and patter to a hip hop aesthetic is, strangely, exactly what I want out of a story. Wimberly’s art is stylish as hell, with fantastic layouts and odd angles, and it is colored beautifully. It’s the story of Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet, but set in a city that’s a mishmosh of all five boroughs, in a time that’s anywhere from the mid ‘80s to present day. It’s a little bit Shakespearean tragedy, a little bit samurai anime, a little bit Planet Rock, and ultimately an amazing piece of comic book art.

read Prince of Cats on Amazon

6. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

Ryan North, Erica Henderson, Derek Charm, Rico Renzi & others (Marvel Comics)

I love how Unbeatable Squirrel Girl never talked down to readers, and in a wonderful example of what superhero comics could be (and occasionally were), how Doreen was always trying to find a way to solve problems that didn’t involve violence and would endure. Her supporting cast was terrific, guest characters were phenomenal, and Henderson has impeccable comic timing. And the book was surprisingly experimental and innovative - the zine issue and the choose your own adventure issue are two of the best single issues of comics I’ve read this decade, but even without them, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl will go down as one of my favorite comics of all time.

read The Unbeatable Squirrell Girl on Amazon

5. Hark! A Vagrant

Kate Beaton (Webcomic/Drawn & Quarterly)

Beaton is one of the smartest, funniest cartoonists out there. Hark! A Vagrant catches the best of the early decade webcomic ethos - it’s loose and fast, about anything and everything and just funny as hell. She’s got bits about Tesla, a ton of jokes about Austen and classic literature, idiot Victorian chimney sweeps. All of it lands because Beaton’s got a sharp eye and a strong voice for absurdity. I think my personal favorite remains Straw Feminists.

read Hark! a Vagrant here

4. Hip Hop Family Tree

Ed Piskor (Fantagraphics)

I’ve watched several documentaries since reading this and interrupted them, going “oh shit, I already knew this from Hip Hop Family Tree.” Piskor’s brief history of the birth and first couple of phase transitions of one of my favorite art forms is informative, smart, funny, and informed deeply by his love of comic book culture, which only enhances some of the stories he tells about early hip hop, which was also deeply informed by comics. And in retrospect, the fact that HHFT ended up circling back on superhero comics, giving us X-Men: Grand Design is too perfect for words.

read Hip Hop Family Tree on Amazon

3. Mister Miracle

Tom King, Mitch Gerads (DC Comics)

I’m pretty sure Mister Miracle is the best comic I’ve ever read as it came out. This is King and Gerads operating in peak form. Everything about it, from the content to the pacing to the characterization, was absolutely perfect. And the ambiguity of the ending, how it showed a way forward in dealing with trauma and how it inadvertently turned into a poignant love letter to the (at that time recently) departed old guard just made it all stick even harder. I loan this out to friends having kids, because I love Mister Miracle and I want everyone else to find their way to loving it, too.

read Mister Miracle on Amazon

2. Smile 

Raina Telgemeier (Graphix)

I came to Raina’s world late. I have a niece who’s brilliant, and I was looking for a way to get her into comics so I’d have someone at family gatherings to talk to about this stuff. I knew that these books were popular, so I grabbed one at a bookstore and started on it. Twenty minutes later, I was walking out of the store with Smile and Sisters, and my niece finished both of them in about six hours and started asking for more. Raina tells a hell of a story, and Smile deserves to be on this list just based on craft, but it’s this high because she’s single-handedly hooking a new generation into our favorite medium. I will always appreciate that.

read Smile on Amazon

1. March

Rep. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions)

I don’t think I could have landed on a different comic here if I tried. March is a unique combination of craft, relevance, and timelessness. Powell’s art is staggeringly good, full of gorgeous storytelling. And when I think about moments from comics that have stuck with me the most, I keep coming back to the bombing of the Freedom Riders’ bus at the end of volume 1. I knew it was historical and that still scared the hell out of me. Kudos and thanks to Rep. Lewis, Aydin and Powell for making an incredible book.

read March on Amazon

Read and download the Den of Geek Lost in Space Special Edition Magazine right here!

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Dec 30, 2019

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[cool-chunyip]

waterproof membrane switch

When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, we may earn a small commission. Outside does not accept money for editorial gear reviews. Read more about our policy. One side of this pillowcase from Rumpl is made from soft fleece, the other from abrasion-resistant nylon. When you’re ready for bed, unfurl it and stuff it with your jacket or pants to turn it into a comfy place to rest your head. It packs down to the size of a can of soda and only weighs five ounces. It doesn’t matter if you’re backpacking or car camping, lounging in a hammock is the most relaxing way to spend an afternoon. The SingleNest is ENO’s original backcountry model, and it still overperforms in the wild, thanks to bomber 70-denier nylon-taffeta fabric that can withstand loads of up to 400 pounds. Made from double-walled stainless steel, this sleek 12-ounce mug will keep your coffee hot much longer than it'll take you to drink it. We’re into anything that makes getting up and going in the morning a little easier. Ditch the hiking boots around camp and go full-on Mr. Rogers with these booties. The Fireball is constructed from a tough Pertex outer with a DWR finish, 40 grams of PrimaLoft insulation, and a soft microfleece liner for ultimate comfort. The rubber outsoles are tough enough to handle light duty and pointy rocks. Everything you need to make simple fireside cocktails—a shaker, a reamer, a jigger cap, and two rocks glasses—is here. Beer might be your go-to camp beverage, but there’s nothing wrong with indulging in an ice-cold martini or margarita in the middle of the woods every now and then. A hot sandwich is a better sandwich. Load this cast-iron press with bread and your favorite sandwich fixings, then rotate it over the fire for a few minutes for toasted goodness. It’ll elevate your campfire-cooking game beyond hot dogs and marshmallows on sticks. The One was our Gear of the Year sleeping bag in our 2019 Summer Buyer's Guide. “Five-degree bags are sweatboxes, 40-­degree bags aren’t warm enough, and 20-degree bags are never just right. The One Bag, though, is Goldilocks through and through,” said testers. “This is a quiver killer, worthy of all-year use in many places.” The 900-denier ripstop polyester body is water-resistant and boasts a padded bottom panel for added structure. Daisy chains make lashing a breeze, the shoulder straps are comfy and removable, and there are side grab handles for extra convenience. We dig the U-shaped lid, which makes for quick packing, and the two mesh pockets on the lid for storing small items. The Nano Puff was released over a decade ago, but it's still one of the most popular jackets around. It fits great and is filled with synthetic insulation, so you can use it as a layer for skiing. But it also looks good enough to wear around town. It's available in a women's version, too, and both make great gifts. “There are plenty of puffy blankets on the market, but the Rumpl Down Puffy takes the cake,” our tester wrote. This compressible, 600-fill down blanket will keep you warm on your next stargazing outing. It's versatile, too: “The Down Puffy can be your sleeping bag stand-in on a summer backpacking trip,” he writes. The Half Dome is editor Jeremy Rellosa’s go-to climbing helmet. The wheel clicker makes it easy to dial in the fit while four large vents dump heat quickly. The Panga offers 75 liters of waterproof storage, thanks to the high-density nylon shell and Yeti’s famous Hydrolok zipper, keeping water and dirt out. We like the EVA foam-molded base, which gives you a solid platform when you’re loading gear. The interior has two mesh pockets, while the outside is fitted with side grab handles and burly daisy chains that let you tie the bag down to your boat. Rated down to 20 degrees and weighing in at 2.7 pounds, the Mirror Lake is a versatile, multi-season bag. The 600-fill, water repellant down and traditional mummy construction makes this a reliable backpacking bag for all conditions. Goodbye, shaky footage. Outside contributor Brent Rose praised the Hero7 Black for its superb image stabilization. “It handles small bumps much better and does a killer job of eliminating vibration,” Rose writes. “The footage is certainly smoother and easier on the eyes (and the stomach).” We included the Helium II in our roundup of the most portable gear. The jacket weighs in at just 6.4 ounces, stuffs into your pocket, and is completely waterproof. After months testing 59 models of socks, we think that the PhD Run are the best running socks you can buy. They’re soft, fast wicking, quick drying, durable, and comfortable for a long time, regardless of conditions. Our tester put the Tiger Wall through the wringer. “I don’t believe there is a two- or three-person, semi-freestanding, double-wall tent that weighs 2.5 or 3 pounds (or less), retails for $400 or $450 (or less), and matches or surpasses the Tiger Wall,” they wrote. The Ariel AG 55 won our women's backpacking test. “The Ariel is a feature-rich, versatile pack that presents a case study in how a sturdy, weight-bearing suspension design is often more comfortable than a design that shaves ounces by way of flimsier built-in support,” our testers wrote. We featured this pad in our 2019 Summer Buyer's Guide. “It may be lightweight, but this pad gets big points for being stable and plush,” our tester writes. “The secret is in its looped TPU Air Sprung cells—small interconnected chambers that have enough bounce to make you feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud.” CamelBak built a kid’s version of its most popular mountain-bike pack for the littlest of shredders. The Mini Mule comes with a 1.5-liter hydration bladder, just under a liter of gear space, and a mesh harness that vents so junior isn’t left with sweat stains under the shoulder straps. This hauler's 55-liter capacity can hold a few days’ worth of gear (up to 45 pounds), but don’t go overboard: you don’t want to weigh down your child too much on their first multi-night backpacking trip. The Optifit suspension can be lengthened as your kid grows, while multiple exterior pockets and top and side access to the main compartment make organization easy. Pack judiciously. A pack made for fast-and-light adventures on a bike, the Moki is a small 1.5 liters, just enough for a layer and some snacks. But it also comes with a dedicated hydration sleeve—with its own quick-zip access—and an attachment strap for a blinking light, so it’s easy for your child to be visible and safe. This Deuter pack is for when you introduce your children to technical pursuits, like ski touring and rock climbing. It has 22 liters of room in a top-loading compartment, with space for a hydration bladder, but is also outfitted with ice-ax straps, D rings, and gear loops for lashing rope, trekking poles, or whatever they need for the day. Built for big boys and girls (8 to 12 years old), the Tarn Hydro is a straightforward daypack with a wide opening to the main compartment and a comfy padded back panel with an air-flow channel. The stretchy mesh side pockets are great for items your kids want to access easily or an extra bottle if they want more water than the built-in, 1.5-liter HydraPak reservoir can fit. The 40-liter Icarus is designed for overnight or quick weekend trips into the backcountry, and it comes loaded with the same features your favorite adult packs have: a hydration sleeve, a trekking-pole attachment, a rain cover, a separate slot for a sleeping bag, and an exterior stash pocket. The VersaFit suspension system has four inches of adjustment, so the Icarus can grow with your child. Stio teamed up with Polartec to create a line of baselayers made with merino wool and synthetic fibers. The result? Breathable, durable pieces that move moisture off the skin. The Power Wool was the only baselayer our gear editor wore on a four-day hut trip. “The Basis was completely odorless,” he writes. Designed to move with you through the elements in fall and then transition into a trusty midlayer for winter, the Nova Jacket is stuffed with Primaloft Gold insulation and has a stylish, modern cut that's flattering without being restricting. One of Outside columnist Jakob Schiller's favorites, this jacket is made with burly, seven-ounce waxed sailcloth and lined with soft polyester. Like fine leather, it will develop a patina that looks great the more you wear it. “ will not only put up with years of chopping wood but will also look better afterward,” he writes. Want a sneaker that you can throw on for a quick errand or dress up for a night at the water’s edge? There’s no wrong way to wear this minimalist shoe, with its stripped-down style, white piping, and a lightweight, breathable poplin-twill upper. We picked it as one of the best travel shoes of 2018. The best part about the Wilder is that while it excels at being wet, it feels just as comfortable on land. It features a mesh and neoprene upper on a grippy, lugged outsole. That upper is reinforced for support with a heel cup in the back and rubber vamps toward the front. Dual climbing shoe-inspired tabs make getting in easy, and a speed lace system locks the foot into place. The Unico blends the performance and support of a hiking boot with the style and agility of a trail runner. A one-piece Kevlar upper and seamless construction eliminates potential rubbing areas, which means no hot spot or blisters. Inside, a wool sock liner wicks moisture away from your foot. Plus, it's totally waterproof. Part Tupperware, part dinnerware, the MealKit 2.0 combines storage and serving with its system of plates, bowls, cups and lids, making it easy to prep the meal at home and store it in a cooler on the way to the perfect picnic spot. They’re a lot lighter than many other picnic dinnerware options and fairly reasonable to boot. The 60-meter Ceuze is a solid rope for both indoor climbing and outdoor sport routes. The included rope bag keeps your rope clean when flaking it out and organized for travel to and from the wall. For the weight conscious, Sea to Summit’s hanging toiletry bag is made from an über-light, water-resistant, polyurethane-coated nylon and weighs just 2.8 ounces. The big central pocket can accommodate shampoo, soap, and a comb, while two smaller zippered pockets on the lid are good for keeping travel-size floss and toothpaste organized. Eagle Creek’s Dopp kit doesn’t hang, but it has a wide base and zips wide open, so you can find what you need without fumbling. The water- and stain-resistant ripstop, plus seam-sealed compartments, keep whatever else you have in your suitcase safe from potential explosions. The beauty of the shower roll is its compact nature. Fold it up, and you can slip it into the most tightly crammed pack, but unfurl that puppy and hang it from the shower-curtain rod, and you’ve got everything you need visible. The best feature is the removable pocket with a clear window—handy for keeping liquids separate and easily accessible as you make your way through airport security. Osprey has a reputation for paying attention to the details, and that’s certainly evident with the Ultralight. It’s made from 40-denier ripstop for durability, has cushioned walls to help prevent broken combs or burst shampoo, and five pockets for organization. And of course, there’s a hook for hanging. Undoubtedly the coolest looking of the bunch, this toiletry case is waterproof (like fully submersible waterproof) and made from a light TPU construction that tips the scales at 2.75 ounces. And it has the best of both worlds: the solid base and wide-mouth opening are ideal for countertop use, and the hanging loop allows you to take it in the shower if you so choose. Thule’s Subterra luggage has impressed us with its ability to fit what feels like endless storage in limited spaces, and the line’s toiletry bag lives up to that reputation. Flip open the top lid to access two compartments, but then unzip the bottom one to find another two pockets (which are conveniently transparent) cleverly nested within that. Take the fun of Spikeball, eliminate all the setup, and you have Rocketball. Play one-on-one or in teams, trying to bounce the ball off the board and past your opponents. The best part? The board floats, so you can easily move from grass to the pool or lake. Put a stick on top of a pole and try to knock it off with a Frisbee. That’s the gist of Frisknock. Be warned—it’s addictive. Luckily, Tenalach’s version glows in the dark so you can still see your target after sundown. If you don’t have a bocce set at this point in your life, what are you even doing, bro? These dense composite-resin balls come sandwiched inside a pine carrying case, so you look good when you show up to play. The game is simple: Work with your teammate to get your Frisbee in the can. Toss the disc and sink it in the top of the can for three points, have your teammate knock your throw in through the top for one, and hit the side for two. Angle a throw through the slot in front for an instant win. This is what lawn games in Norway look like. Divide into two teams and try to knock over kubbs (or pins) with a wooden baton until you topple the other team’s king. According to our friends in Scandinavia, this is how Vikings entertained themselves when they weren’t pillaging. Cornhole is like blue-collar bocce—a staple lawn game that’s tailor-made for playing with one hand (leaving the other one free to hold your beverage). It can be tempting to go for a lighter, more weatherproof set made from aluminum or plastic, but you want solid wood boards like these for that regulation bounce and slide. These slippers are an all-time favorite of former gear editor Ben Fox. Each pair is handcrafted from toasty 100 percent pure, natural wool, which naturally wicks moisture from your feet so they're always warm and dry. Plus, the rubber sole means you can wear them outside. The Crown VC has all the bells and whistles you need, like compression straps, a ventilated back panel, and stretch pockets on the shoulder straps hold cell phone or earbuds, but still weighs barely over two pounds. Going on a shorter trip? The roll-top closure accommodates varied load volumes making it just as easy to use this pack for an overnight as it is for a week-long adventure. These Chelsea boots look good and perform well, too. Made from a waterproof leather upper with a canvas lining, the boots slip on and off easily. The rubber outsoles have a slight heel and are made to be grippy on rocks and light snow. We featured these zero-drop shoes in our roundup of the best trail runners of 2018. “The shoe takes a centrist’s approach to foam and protection, with a slow, cruisey vibe and a wide, boxy fit best suited for ambling runs on less technical trails,” our tester wrote. With a cavernous 28-liter main compartment and laptop sleeve big enough to hold a 15-inch laptop, the Refugio can easily carry the essentials for work, the gym, or extra layers on long day hikes. The design of this jacket is based on the iconic M65 field jacket issued to American troops, but Proof has borrowed smart modern materials for their updated version. We particularly love the outer fabric, which maintains that matte green finish but comes coated with DWR and has four-way stretch for unrestricted movement. Inside, the jacket is packed with 80 grams of cozy synthetic insulation. The Gurkhali's are one of gear editor Will Egensteiner's favorite pants. They're made with a blend of Dyneema, cotton, and Lycra, so they provide range of motion and durability. For those reasons, they're a great fit for the office and the trail. “Pretty soon I’ll have no reason to change out of them,” Will writes. Protect your eyes with these polarized sunglasses for women. The lenses reduce 99 percent of visible glare from water, snow, sand, and even pavement for better visual accuracy and decreased eye strain. An anti-reflective and hydrophobic coating help them resist reflections and water. Removing 99.99 percent of bacteria and protozoa, the Meta Bottle is a collapsible and BPA-free. Fill it with water, then shake for speedy filtration—up to two liters per minute. Plus, it’s dishwasher safe. Former editor Ben Fox loves the Transcendent for its uber-warm protection from the elements. “When you’re on a chilly belay or ripping off touring skins on an exposed summit and the wind starts gusting, you’ll be thankful for the Transcendent’s lofty, lightweight 650-fill down insulation, wind-resistant fabric, and cozy hood,” he says. Fend off chills and cold weather in the Ghost Whisperer Reversible jacket. Nikwax-treated 800-fill down retains heat while also resisting moisture, so the jacket can be worn in light rain and snow and still provide ample protection from the elements. Marmot’s Ama Dablam is an excellent midweight expedition parka. It has a long cut, full hood, and 800-fill down, all in a sub-three-pound package. And thanks to the hexagonal quilting, it has a slimmer, sleeker cut than many other puffies. This hoodie is as high-tech as it looks. Packed with quality 850-fill down in the core, the Cerium LT Down has strategically mapped areas with synthetic insulation to resist moisture. You’ll barely notice it in your pack: it weighs just 10.9 ounces. The Fuego is a good insulator for general around-town or on-the-trail use. It features baffles stuffed with responsibly-sourced 800-fill water-resistant goose down and breathable Polartec Alpha underarm panels. The Fuego is a good insulation layer for general around-town or on-the-trail use. It’s made with responsibly sourced 800-fill water-resistant goose down and breathable Polartec Alpha underarm panels. Our testers love the Thorium for its tough outer nylon shell that will resist rips (unlike the paper-thin outers of most puffies). Bonus points for the DWR finish and water-­resistant synthetic insulation at the spots most likely to get wet (the shoulders, cuffs, and underarms). It’s the complete package. This sleek, leak-proof bottle keeps drinks hot for 12 hours, and cold for 24 hours. The glass finish on the inside means there’s no metallic aftertaste. This jacket is built tough, but looks sharp. It’s made with mechanical stretch denim that can take a beating and has six pockets for tools, pacifiers, and other E.D.C. mom essentials. Flimsy totes don’t stand a chance against the Camino Carryall. It’s a bomber everyday bag built for the beach, the back of the van, and everywhere in between. Plus, it cleans up easily with a quick spray down, a must for moms on the go. We crowned this the Gear of the Year hiking shoe in our 2019 Summer Buyer’s Guide. They’re fully waterproof, and gave us confidence to power through puddles and light streams, thanks to the Gore-Tex construction. The cherry on top was the lightweight Vibram outsole, which kept our feet secure across uneven terrain. We love drinking shower beers. But when it’s time for a classier, Mom-only relaxation session, she can put a glass of wine in the Sipski during a bath or shower. It’ll keep the cabernet clear of the soap and suds. This pullover is a classy but ultra-comfy top made for kicking back after a long day. It’s made of hemp and recycled polyester, features a big kangaroo pouch, and has UPF 50+ protection, should that mom in your life choose to relax in the sun. We included these towels in our 2018 Holiday Gift Guide. They’re made with long-staple cotton that gets softer with each wash. And the big waffle weave absorbs moisture quickly, allowing Mom to towel dry in a flash. We love these sandals for both laid back activites and dressier occasions. OluKai’s footbed offers firm support and cushioning to prevent sore feet. Sometimes smartphone cameras don’t cut it. Upgrade that special mother in your life to the Coolpix B600, which features 60x optical zoom, full HD video, and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity for sharing photos. The controls are simple, so she can get shooting right out of the box. The Tile Pro two pack is an ideal gift for mothers that chronically misplace their valuables. Latch one onto a a set of keys or put one in a purse fold, and they act like beacons when synced with her smartphone. The best part? If she can’t find her phone, she can just press the button on the Tile to give it a ring. The Harmony is one of our Staff Picks. The natural rubber is among the grippiest we’ve tested, which makes it ideal for hot yoga or sweaty workout sessions. The big sole of the Clifton 5 gave testers a cushy, stable ride. At 15.2 ounces, they’re on the heavier side, but Mom's feet will be happy with the extra cushioning and support. The Versa’s simple interface allows mothers to track their heart rate and sleep quality, while boasting 15 exercise modes. The sleek design of the watchface doesn’t look bulky, like most sport watches. A handy sack for gardening, foraging, and holding weekend sundries, the Barebones Gathering Bag has a removable waterproof liner, so cleaning it out after a day of heavy use is a breeze. Plus, it comes with steel pruners and a canvas sheath. These headphones deliver audio through the cheekbones, so mothers can stay alert while they listen to music. These are a great option for stroller pushing and bike riding especially in an urban environment. The Uinta has what you’d expect of a solid bag—tough polyester to keep your mat safe and a small pocket and key clip for carrying personal effects. But it’s got nice extras, too, like the mesh bottom that allows sweat to evaporate and escape. If you want to really open up your back, lay faceup with this wheel beneath your spine, and settle in. (Don’t fret—it can withstand up to 550 pounds.) You can also use it to help build balance and core strength by incorporating it into poses like crow and plank. Pendleton brought its signature aesthetics, and Yeti Yoga contributed its gear know-how for the Fire Legend mat. It has an eye-catching pattern and is made from textured PVC, with a rubber bottom for no-slip, plush comfort. Yoga blocks can provide crucial support in tough poses. This one is sustainably harvested from the bark of Portuguese cork trees, and it’s naturally antimicrobial and water-resistant (read: it can handle bouts of sweaty hot yoga). Double up on comfort by spreading this moisture-wicking, quick-drying towel over your mat. Not only is its polyester fabric cushier, but it also provides more grip, so bare feet won’t slip out from under you. This organic cleanser, which is biodegradable and alcohol-free, won’t break down your mat as it refreshes. Aim a few spritzes at your mat, wipe it down, then let it air-dry as you enjoy the pleasant smell of ginger grass—not sweat or BO. Every proper backcountry number two starts with a cathole, and this ultralight shovel gets the job done. It’s made from a tough but light aluminum and even has small teeth in case you run into any debris as you dig. In some outdoor spaces, you can simply dig a hole, cover it up, and leave your business behind. But if you’re in a sensitive ecosystem, or on the side of a big wall, you’ll be packing your poop out. Enter this puncture-resistant solution, with "Poo Powder” that turns waste into a stable gel, so you can transport it worry-free. These 12 bags are leakproof, but smart people bring along a Tupperware. Guys have it easy. Women, who are tired of ditching layers or a harness or a pack when peeing, do not. The Sani-Fem is the lightweight answer: a small funnel that lets you keep your clothes on and stay upright. Because accidentally squatting in poison ivy is no fun. The TP you use is really about personal choice, because, in an ideal Leave No Trace world, you’ll be packing it out with you. But Coleman’s version comes in a convenient carrying case that acts as a dispenser and is two-ply, affording a bit of comfort when answering the call of nature in nature. This is how you’re bringing that used Coleman Camper’s toilet paper out of the woods with you. Use gallon-size bags so you have plenty of room, and double them up—for safety. You can go with Dr. Bronner’s, but this case, containing 50 “leaves” of soap, is a better choice for your poop kit, because it’s light (half an ounce) and small (half an inch thick). Just pull one out and dissolve it with water. When you're car camping, you shouldn't skimp on comfort. This cot's aluminum frame and 600-denier polyester fabric makes for a sturdy sleeping platform. At 86-by-40 inches, it needs a good bit of space—make sure you have a big enough tent. On cool-weather climbs and hikes, we prefer soft shell jackets for their stretch and breathability. The Ferrosi’s nylon-spandex blend is lightweight but holds onto enough warmth to take the bite out of chilly breezes. This hoodie does run a bit small, so consider ordering a size up. Back in 2012, the Zealot made the cut as one of our favorite pieces of MTB gear. Not much about this classic pack has changed since—it still holds up. Testers found it easy to stow and retrieve a jacket in the outside pocket, while the ribbed suspension system and detachable hose are comfortable and intuitive. We love trucker hats for their sun-blocking prowess. But they're often bulky and hard to stuff in a pack. The ball cap-style Horizon has a bill that folds down the middle into the size of a hotdog, fitting easily in a back pocket and, yes, a pack too. This top's polyester mesh feels airy and wicks away sweat well—perfect for hot and humid environments. But if you're looking for a more form-fitting cut, check out the Motivation Stripe tank. We feel good about wearing Threads 4 Thought. The brand uses recycled materials (much of it from a city in China that recycles 82 percent of its water) and makes comfy gear to boot. We dig the Moto's sleek ribbed material on the shins. These run a bit loose—we recommend sizing down. If you're looking for a solid pair of polarized, multi-sport shades, grab the Comstock. The grippy nose pads keep the frames in place even when you work up a sweat. Though these sunnies run wide, so try them on beforehand if you have a slimmer face. A removable insulated box paired with an outer shell, the Cooloir was a breeze to hose down and dry out after a trip. It’s large enough to fit lunch for four, but best not to keep perishable items in it for more than 48 hours. Last year, we featured the ProLite in a round up of our favorite yoga gear. Testers loved it for its durability and grip, but also for how Manduka shaved 3.5 pounds from the previous version. The Ardent DC EXO TR's have aggressive, block-style knobs for superior traction on rocky terrain. They're tubeless-ready, so you can use them with or without an inner tube. Also available in 29 in. These pedals give you the option to clip in with your cleats for longer rides, or flip them over to use the wide platform with your daily shoes on more casual trips—ideal for road cyclists, commuters, and everyone in between. Stock up on this industry-standard cleaner that handles the toughest grease. We like to pair it with the Park Tool Chain Gang. Bonus: it's biodegradable and non-toxic. The Vibe was featured on our list of the best affordable bike lights, where our tester appreciated the “sensor, which turns the light on when there’s motion and turns the light off when the bike is parked so you never waste your battery by forgetting to hit the off button.” The Mini-7 employs a three-part locking system which allows you to protect the most vulnerable bike components: frame, rear wheel, and front wheel. The U-lock secures the frame and rear wheel, while the front wheel is protected by Kryptonite's included 130mm WheelBoltz. Easily the most versatile mount you can buy, this accessory turns your ski pole into a selfie stick for powder-heavy face shots. It also fits multiple positions on your bike: stick it on your bars for head-first action, or turn it backward on your seat post to capture a friend ripping behind you. The base rotates 360 degrees and features multiple secure positions for the perfect angle. Our gear editor praised Patagonia's Nine Trails packs for their clean efficiency: “With a minimalist design and well-considered features, Patagonia has proven that when it comes to daypacks, simpler is better,” he writes. It's available in both men's and women's sizes from 14 liters to 36 liters. We get compliments on our Marmot Precip jackets every time we wear them. It's a simple, streamlined design that works for urban commutes, epic hikes, and bombing down singletrack. Plus, Marmot makes them in solid colors that look good on everybody. You won't find a more reliable, comfortable shell at a better price. We take the Better Sweater almost everywhere because it hits the sweet spot between warmth, comfort, and style. It's made from a polyester knitted fleece that is soft on the skin. It seems like every week one of our writers praises the performance qualities of the Buff. Made from soft polyester microfiber, you can use it as a neck warmer, twist the ends together to make a hat, or even wear it as a bandana. The LifeStraw's membrane removes 99.9 percent of bacteria and parasites. We like it so much we included a version of the filter in our 2018 roundup of the best men's thru-hiking gear. Forget stealing the hotel shampoo. Fill these durable Cordura bags with your shower and grooming essentials instead, and you’ll have everything you need in reusable, leakproof containers. Each weighs less than half an ounce and carries three ounces of liquid—well within TSA restrictions. Not all Dopp kits are created equal. The North Face’s version is made from tough ballistic nylon that easily withstands shower spray and mist. More importantly, it has a wide opening, a flat bottom, and a hook, so it can sit upright on the countertop or hang from the showerhead, always within reach. There are plenty of organic, biodegradable soaps out there, but it’s hard to beat the classic: Dr. Bronner’s. A liquid pure-castile soap (no chemicals or phosphates), it doubles as shampoo and bodywash. The label also makes for fun bathroom reading. Showers are great—when you can take them. But it’s not always possible, so make sure you have a pack of these wipes in your kit. They’re extra thick but soft enough to use in the most sensitive places, and aloe vera and vitamin E moisturize as you scrub the grime away. Why waste time and materials cutting the end off a cheap plastic toothbrush when you could use this overdesigned model that folds into itself? Plus, the head is replaceable when the bristles wear out. Whether you’re rinsing off after a bike ride or grabbing a quick shower at a hostel abroad, having your own towel comes in handy. This one is an ultralight option (6.4 ounces for the full-body version) that folds down to the size of a pocket square. It’s made from a super-absorbent microfiber that dries fast, too. One of our favorite camp shoes, the Ember Mocs have a quilted Ripstop upper, which hugs your feet like a slipper, and a rubber sole, which lets you move freely around rocky and dirty campsites. The Dipseas sunglasses have long been one of our favorites. According to our testers, “the turns up the style dial with delicious frame colors...and the outlook is cool and clear through polarized emerald lenses that are better than you’d expect at this price.” Soft-shelled coolers aren’t supposed to work this well. The Hopper Two collapses nearly flat and will keep brews cold for a really, really long time. It’s not light (almost six pounds when empty), but let’s be real—nothing from Yeti is. If you want cold beer for hours, and a lot of it, opt for the Hopper Two. With space enough for two growlers, the seam-sealed, waterproof polyester-ripstop Sixer is burly. Friends will thank you for bringing plenty to share, and that the reflective silver liner and foam insulation kept it all chilled by the time you arrived. Every cooler here is collapsible to a degree, but the Classic is the true space saver’s dream. It’s essentially just a watertight nylon bag that can fold flat or roll up when you’re not using it. An air valve lets you pump extra cold-trapping dead space into the walls for maximum insulation around 12 cans of beer and accompanying ice. The smallest cooler here, the Bucket Truck It is only designed to carry a six-pack. But that makes it easy to bring everywhere, leaving no excuses to not have it on hand. Fill this tote with your favorite beverages and an ice pack, then carry a liquid picnic to your preferred scenic overlook. Fold the Pack Away completely flat when you’re not using it—it’s much easier to stow in the back of your car that way, ready to deploy when you make a pit stop for beer en route to the campsite. It holds 24 cans and is fully seam sealed, so don’t worry about leaks, even when the Pack Away is loaded with ice. The beauty of the Double Take: it’s only a cooler when you want it to be. Use the retro main shell on its own (choose from waxed canvas, 1,000-denier Cordura, or upcycled tent fabric when you buy), or throw the Chilly Bag insert in and you’ve got 6.5 liters of cold storage. Bonus points for the buckle that doubles as a bottle opener. The cozy wool upper on these slippers pairs beautifully with a rubber outsole for ultimate convenience when hanging out indoors or running out for a quick coffee. They can be worn with or without socks, and if you choose to do the latter, you won't have to worry about stink, thanks to the odor-resistant nature of the wool. We take the Better Sweater almost everywhere because it hits the sweet spot between warmth, comfort, and style. It's made from a polyester knitted fleece that is soft on the skin. Made with lightweight, quick-drying polyester ripstop fabric, the Sol Patrol II shirt is a warm-weather staple that also offers UPF 30 sun protection. The Liddy is one of editor Emily Reed’s most worn items. “It’s extra stretchy, has soft and flexible buttons, and an extra-long hemline for easy layering,” she says. Designed with surf artist Thomas Campbell as part of Huckberry's Earth Week, 100 percent of the proceeds for this shirt go to Waves For Water, a nonprofit that provides clean drinking water to people around the globe. It's printed on a Flint and Tinder shirt, a brand we love. It may be so hot and humid outside that your hair feels like it never left the shower, but at least the Short-Sleeve A/C Lightweight Top helps. With a blend of ultralight organic cotton and breathable hemp crafted into a slightly raised texture, this shirt helps cool you down against the sticky heat outside. Editor Emily Reed, who tested the Yampa 70 last summer, said the bag is “made to endure rocky shorelines and brambly bushwhacks,” citing its TPU-coated nylon and foam cushioning. "You can haul, toss, and drag your gear without fear of damaging it," she wrote. Springtime means rainstorms, and the Venture 2 is a budget-friendly way to stay dry, whether you’re dodging drops on your way to work or stuck in a torrential downpour miles from the trailhead. Clean lines help it look sharp, while the 2.5-layer DryVent waterproof-breathable laminate and underarm vents dump unwanted heat buildup. This lightweight, soft-shell hoodie is built for comfort on all-day missions. This jacket has windproof coverage in the hood and arms, but if you're looking for more insulation, layer up with a warm long-sleeve base-layer underneath. The Borod works great as a midlayer or light jacket for outings in multiple seasons. The lightweight gridded fleece interior keeps your skin cool and dry on high-output days, while maintaining insulation should the weather turn foul. The Isabella will serve you well on your daily commute, on campus, or as a carry-on. It's outfitted with a laptop sleeve, two side pockets, a compartment for your electronics, and plenty of room for textbooks. And the cushy shoulder straps make this pack a solid option for day hikes after class. The synthetic insulation in the Ventrix is made to be active, with gill-like vents cut into the underarms to dump heat. The soft face fabric glides easily under your shell for perfect layering when the weather turns. This award-winning jacket has a permanent home in our editors' closets—and for good reason. The active insulation in the Ventrix is made to work with you, dumping heat as you go. Gill-like vents cut into the synthetic insulation that stretches throughout the whole jacket. Hold on to your fitness goal harder than ever before with this data-driven bundle from Garmin. It combines a multisport GPS heart rate monitor watch with an HRM-Tri heart rate chest strap to deliver top-notch results after every workout. The watch is great for everyday use too—smart notifications hit the device as soon as you get a text or call to your smartphone. This isn’t a luggage tag in the traditional sense. It’s a GPS tag you can attach to anything you don’t want to lose like your camera, keys, or purse. Pair it with your smartphone and you can click a button to sound an alarm on the Tile that can be heard for 300 feet, or use the GPS feature to track the item that’s missing. If you’re packing bear spray, you want it at the ready. Mystery Ranch’s holster straps to your belt or a pack’s sternum or waist straps, so your deterrent is always within reach. Make sure your beer and chocolate bars stay yours with this cooler, which, when paired with a locking kit, is certified bear resistant from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. To earn that distinction, the Venture had to survive an hour of being manhandled by a grizzly. If you want to keep food safe, seal it up. The Insider has a quick-opening locking mechanism that’s easy for humans to figure out but a lock that will frustrate bears. And it’s made of bomber polypropylene, plus has a good amount of storage space (11.86-liters for food) without a ton of weight (3.7 pounds). Federal regulations limit how much capsaicinoids (the active eye- and nose-stinging ingredient) bear spray can have, and most options on the market hit that maximum. But the Sabre Frontiersman also has a long range (up to 30 feet), and the company makes a training spray so you can safely practice without wasting the real stuff. Some national parks and forests require the use of bear canisters in the backcountry. But for places where ursine scavengers aren’t as much of a concern, a food bag is a good, lightweight option to keep the critters out. The Ursack is made from an incredibly tough Kevlar-based fabric, and the integrated six-foot-long cord makes it easy to string up in a tree. Our gear editor praised Patagonia's Nine Trails packs for their clean efficiency: “With a minimalist design and well-considered features, Patagonia has proven that when it comes to daypacks, simpler is better,” he writes. It's available in both men's and women's sizes from 14 liters to 36 liters. This bag is a staple for summer surf trips, shoulder-season backpacking trips, and overnight forays into the mountains. It’s light and compact enough for taking out on the trail, yet still comfy enough for casual car-camping adventures, and it comes at a price that won’t destroy your summer-wandering budget. RxBars are made of just a handful of natural ingredients, one of which is egg whites for protein. The result is chewy and delicious. This particular flavor has only a hint of caffeine (five milligrams) for when you need a little pick-me-up. Chocolate and peanut butter go wonderfully together. And they’re even better when they’re mixed into individual servings—easier to pop on the trail for an instant shot of calories and protein. Plus, ProBar’s blend has 25 milligrams of caffeine derived from yerba maté. Jelly beans have gotten us through more than one mountain-bike race. They’re fruity, delicious, and packed with electrolytes and B and C vitamins, but mostly they’re straight energy-giving sugar. These also have 50 milligrams of caffeine per bag for even more of a bump. Shot Bloks are good when you’re craving something (anything) other than another gel or bar. And they’re made from all-organic ingredients. Get the black cherry or chocolate-cherry flavors, which come with 50 milligrams of caffeine per every three pieces. The Double Expresso energy gel is like mainlining caffeine—100 milligrams of it, to be exact, the same as in your morning coffee. And the pouch makes for easy slurping as a midrace jolt. A quick hit of goo with 87 calories and 22 grams of carbs, a single Double Espresso gel also has a whopping 150 milligrams of caffeine—more than a 12-ounce can of Red Bull. Consume in moderation. After testing this new Hydro Flask product, our Gear Guy said it was his favorite cooler-pack hybrid mostly because of how comfortable and easy to carry it is. Credit the padded shoulder straps and sleek design. Although it’s minimal, this kit contains the most commonly need first aid products, including gauze, scissors, band-aids, and ibuprofen. Camping with a partner? Our Gear Guy recommends the Apollo, which uses a QuadPower LED light that pumps out 250 lumens, and features a non-glaring case and fold-down legs. It's ideal for lighting up your camp kitchen or tent. Small, packable, and easy to deploy, this tripod stool makes a great chair at camp. We recommend storing it in the back of your car so it's always on hand. Gear editor Emily Reed loves the Eldris, which is a staple of her camping box. She finds the oversize handle and fixed blade effective for whittling and chopping kindling. Plus, the affordable price means it's not a devastating loss if she accidentally forgets the knife at a campsite. Read her full review here. The back panel on this space-efficient pack closely mimics the curve of a woman’s back, making it so comfy that testers almost forgot they had it on. It’s available in five sizes, so you can really dial in the fit. This practical, sturdy headlamp pumps out 70 lumens of light and only weighs 3.2 ounces. The four-LED lamp is surprisingly feature-rich considering its affordable price tag: it has five different light settings, and can be dimmed or brightened simply by holding a finger down on the button. With ten LEDs that produce 50 lumens, this lantern has a frosted plastic body that casts prettier light than most fixtures at five-star resorts. It has three settings (low, medium, and high), a separate button to check the remaining power, and a strap for carrying and hanging. We love the Klettersack for its beautiful, high-quality design. Our tester praised the bag's bomber construction, writing "the 22-liter pack features 1,000-denier Cordura fabric and heavy duty hardware so it'll put up with years of day-hike abuse." This jacket is as high-tech as it looks. Packed with premium 850-fill down in the torso and synthetic insulation elsewhere, the Cerium LT is constructed to retain warmth where you need it (around your core) and manage moisture everywhere else. You’ll barely notice it in your pack: it weighs just 9.7 ounces. This unassuming little beach chair weighs just 3.2 pounds but it can accommodate up to 320. Nice touch: The legs come with big plastic feet to prevent sinkage into the sand. Our testers put the Z/Cloud X sandals through the paces and came away impressed. One wrote: l've hiked for miles on end in them, from rocky scrambles in Grand Teton National Park to ruins in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, and dusty, steep hills along other parts of the Jordan Trail. This superlight jacket is filled with Patagonia's new PlumaFill insulation, which is made of hydrophobic polyester fibers that mimic the structure of down. Rather than being blown into baffles like other synthetics, the PlumaFill is tacked between sheets of 10-denier nylon in long strands, so it won’t shift and create cold spots. Keep your digits extra warm this winter with a refillable hand warmer from Zippo. Fill the interior chamber with lighter fluid, light the flame, close the lid, slip it in your pocket, and enjoy heat for up to 12 hours. When the heat runs out, repeat the process for endless warmth all winter long. The Roo Double camping hammock is optimized for adventure. It's durable, tear resistant, comfortable, and strong enough for two campers—or a baby elephant. Your pick. Diamond ripstop nylon adds reinforcement to protect against tearing and ripping and results in the 500-pound weight capacity. The Deviator is one of our favorite mid-layers. It uses hydrophobic Polartec Alpha insulation, which moves water away from your body. Gear editor Ben Fox praised Patagonia's Nine Trails packs for their clean efficiency. “With a minimalist design and well-considered features, Patagonia has proven that when it comes to daypacks, simpler is better,” he writes. It's available in both men's and women's sizes from 14 to 36 liters. The easy-to-set-up Discovery fits four people and has two vents for airflow. At 10.4 pounds, it's a better fit for car camping than mutli-day backcountry excursions. Still, we love this shelter for its full-coverage rainfly and the well-designed interior pockets. The Marzen has an interesting feature: its glasses come with two sets of interchangeable arms, one sporty and one casual. More importantly, it’s made with superlight, impact-resistant nylon frames and polarized lenses with 100 percent UV protection. These glasses were designed specifically for water sports, with gray wraparound polarized lenses that cut through the glare and a buoyant foam frame core that keeps the glasses afloat if you drop them. The lenses are shatterproof and offer 100 percent UV protection. With a cool-blue lens and tough stainless-steel body, the Salute gives you pilot aesthetics with a polarized carbonic TLT lens. It offers 100 percent UV protection and helps reduce glare from water and snow. The Marshall blocks 100 percent of UVA and UVB rays with its polarized polycarbonate lenses, which also cut down on glare. The temple pieces are made from bamboo to help minimize their impact on the planet. Sunski’s version of the classic wayfarer silhouette features polarized triacetate cellulose lenses that offer a full spectrum of UV protection in a frame that weighs just one ounce. These women’s sunglasses offer 100 percent UV protection in a polarized, polycarbonate injection-molded lens that gives you a high quality of polarization over cheaper lenses. The Charge 4 is a speaker-and-battery combination, delivering high-quality audio in a portable, waterproof package with 20 hours of playback time. It weighs more than three pounds, so it’s not the lightest speaker on the market, but it also has a 7,500 mAh battery that can charge your phone twice and still leave you with several hours of play time. This has a battery capacity of 1,425 watt-hours and the ability to power everything from your mini fridge to your laptop to your camera. It’s incredibly easy to use (there’s an app to control it with your phone and a screen that will give you the estimated run time) and has outputs for every form of power you could think of. At 45 pounds, it isn’t light, but true off-the-grid power has its price. This isn’t much bigger than the palm of your hand, but it puts out 350 lumens of light for up to 250 hours. It also serves as a power bank that can charge your smartphone up to four times. There’s an Android and iOS app that enables you to control the light from your phone. This battery is just four inches long and weighs less than three ounces. It only has one USB port but carries 3,350 mAh of power that will charge your phone once on the fly. All you need to charge your phone are some sticks—that’s the beauty of BioLite’s Campstove 2. It features a powerful burner (10,000 BTUs) that runs thermal energy generated by a small fire. The heat produced also feeds the on-board 2,600 mAh battery, which can store a full phone charge. We dig the LED dashboard that offers real-time info on fire strength and battery level. The River Bank bridges the gap between a small power bank designed to charge your phone and a large portable generator made to power just about everything. It features two USB-C ports and two USB ports as well as a Qi wireless charging pad, so you can charge a laptop, phone, drone, or even jump-start your car. It holds its charge for up to six months and only weighs two pounds. Our testers picked the Caldera 2 as one of the best trail runners of summer 2018. “This was the shoe we reached for when we wanted to take it easy on our dogs,” they wrote. “On most trails, the Caldera provided ample protection.” We featured the FXpedition Monopod in our roundup of the best camera accessories of 2017. When you need some stability to get the shot, you can use this foldable monopod. Bonus: it doubles as a hiking pole. Constructed with 2.5-layer GORE-TEX, the Paclite Stretch is built to brush off rain showers and snow. With vents to dump heat and a drop-tail hem that protects your lower half from downpours, it's a complete waterproof package. Pair the Kyanite fleece vest with a base layer, or wear it under a shell when you're huffing it on switchbacks. The airy Polartec insulation wicks moisture and breathes well, and the four-way stretch keeps you unrestricted. Made from a blend of recycled wool, polyester and nylon, this fleece is soft against the skin and works great as a mid layer on cold-weather hikes. Our tester praised this shirt in his test of the best performance flannels. “The Fjord deserves points for its 100 percent organic cotton, which felt soft and supple, and it had just enough give to never slow me down as I rode the Jabberwocky Trail outside Ashland, Oregon,” he wrote. We featured the Challenger ATR 4 in our roundup of the best trail running shoes of 2018. Though the ATR 4s are thick-soled, testers described the shoe as “admirably nimble.” They're great all around: “Extra-long days on hardpack? Easygoing efforts? Both felt great,” our testers wrote. The back panel on this space-efficient pack closely mimics the curve of a woman’s back, making it so comfy that testers almost forgot they had it on. It’s available in five sizes, so you can really dial in the fit. Why choose between pants and shorts when you can have both? These convertible pants go easily between both by an easy access zipper above the knee. They have two great cargo pockets for maps, keys, or other small essentials. These gloves are made to do nearly anything, from yard work to working with ropes. They're made from leather and polyester and have a special grip that's contoured to your fingers. Made for kids, this water bottle filters out bacteria, parasites, and chemicals and improves the overall taste for your little one. It lasts for up to 1,000 gallons of filtering and only weighs 7.9 ounces. Recommended for beginners, this shoe is not too aggressively down-turned, so your feet won't be screaming after a few climbs at the bouldering wall. Instead of filtering water, these dissolving tablets purify it with EPA-approved sodium dichloroisocyanurate. Complicated name, but essentially it kills viruses, bacteria, and cysts in a quart of water in 30 minutes. The price ($10 for 30 individually wrapped tablets) and tiny size make Aquatabs the ideal backup on long trips. Katadyn took a handy one-liter water bottle, which rolls up small to save space in your pack, and put a 0.1-micron microfilter in its nozzle that removes 99.9 percent of nasties. The BeFree can purify up to 1,000 liters over its lifetime. Like the LifeStraw, MSR’s TrailShot lets you drink straight from the source, but it’s also good for filling a water bottle. Drop the long straw in the stream and squeeze the hand pump to get the magic started. It works fast, treating a liter of water in 30 seconds. Collect stream water in one of Sawyer’s 32-ounce pouches, then filter it through the hollow-fiber membrane to remove bacteria and protozoa. The pouches are collapsible (each weighs only three ounces) and reusable, and you can drink straight from the filter’s nozzle or pour the water into a bottle for later. This is one of the best starter climbing packs on the market. Besides shoes and a rope, this kit has everything you need to hop on the rock: a comfy Corax harness, a Verso belay-rappel device, carabiner, chalk bag and chalk ball. The kit is also available with a larger harness size. Salomon got innovative with storage in this vest, giving you the standard front water-bottle pockets and multiple stash pockets for smaller items but also a kangaroo pocket that stretches around the sides. Everything is designed to be accessible without breaking your stride. A 15-liter backpack built on a running-vest chassis, the Distance is a hybrid hauler with dual front stretch pockets for snacks, a bladder sleeve, and dual side-compression straps that keep the load close. And its water-resistant, 210-denier nylon helps keep gear dry. We featured this helmet in our nine favorite pieces of peak-bagging gear. Thanks to multiple adjustment straps, you can dial in the Wall Rider to fit your dome perfectly. “Bonus points for the ultralow weight and big vents to keep your noggin cool,” our tester writes. The Trail Mix 7 is built specifically to better fit around a woman’s bust. Compression straps that bring the load tighter to your back, reflective hits for 360-degree visibility, and seven liters of storage (in addition to the two-liter bladder) are icing on the cake. The Ultra Pro 2in1 name is appropriate, since this model comes with a ten-liter pocket that completely detaches from the vest. Use the vest solo for fast, short runs, or attach the pocket for longer missions when you’ll need more food and gear. It comes with two long-straw flasks and can handle a two-liter bladder in back. Osprey blends running-vest performance with backpack capability in the Duro, which has four front pockets—two extra-large stretch-mesh ones for a phone and water, and two smaller ones for food. Six liters of space in the main compartment is enough for a jacket, headlamp, and other accessories, plus the included 1.5-liter water bladder. The Halo was designed for ultramarathons and all the extra gear they demand. The front bottle pockets keep water at the ready but also have lash points to holster trekking poles, while the pockets on the lower straps hold your phone, gels, or bars. The bladder-compatible Halo also has two pockets on the back, which are reachable without taking off the vest. Weighing just 1.6 pounds, this chair can hold up to 320 pounds. The secret is a pairing of strong but light aluminum poles and tough 600 denier polyester fabric which creates a package that packs to the size of a Nalgene. Pitch the roomy, three-season Frying Pan SL3 on backcountry excursions or on laid-back camping trips. It's easy to set up (two poles), and spacious for three compadres (two doors and two vestibules). This package also includes a footprint. Made from 100-percent wool, the Walnut Ridge works just as great around the campfire as it does on your couch. Keep this blanket in the trunk of your car—just in case you decide to spread it for an impromptu picnic or lounge sesh. Floyd’s of Leadville combines the proven muscle-soothing properties of arnica with the calming power of CBD in this balm. Rub the mixture on your skin after a workout, and let it do its thing. Peppermint and ginger lend a pleasant smell. If you want a real postworkout stretch without having to ask a gym partner for help, this is your strap. The 58-inch-long elastic band has multiple large loops that you can slip a foot or hand through to get a deeper flex on sore hammies and quads. Runners have been big fans of these sticks for years, using them to roll out tight quads and calves after long runs. The center is slightly flexible, to allow the foam wrap to contour around your muscles for a wider massage. The whole thing is light, just 18 inches long, and easily packs into a gym bag. Sometimes you need to dig deep to hit those trouble areas, like your sciatic nerve. Pro-Tec makes three sizes of the Orb, all constructed of dense closed-cell EVA foam, but the Extreme Mini is the smallest and most aggressive of the lot. Place it on the floor or against a wall to work out your back, glutes, and legs. If all you want is a solid foam roller that will help calm your lower back and legs after a tough workout, look no further than the Grid. It’s nothing fancy—just a hollow core wrapped in ridged EVA foam to release those tight muscles. Calling all nine-to-five-ers! Built with 1,000-denier Cordura fabric, the Topo Designs 22-liter daypack is a solid, durable daypack with clean, easy-to-use organization in the main compartment. Biolite's Cookstove has an integrated battery, which powers a fan for efficient cooking. Plus, four fan speeds control flame size, enabling you to boil water fast or just simmer. It’s amazing how many things you need to carry for a quick session at your local climbing gym: shoes, chalk, harness, and snacks. You can haul them all in this simple messenger-style bag from Metolius. The main compartment has 28 liters of space, and a front zipper pocket keeps your phone and keys safe. A cross between a duffel and a grocery bag, the Black Hole Gear tote is made from a light nylon ripstop with a DWR finish, all but promising it can handle years of abuse. You get 28 liters of storage space and an interior zipper pocket for your wallet, phone, and keys. Best of all, the bag stuffs into its own pocket when you’re not loading it full of gear. Don’t worry about quarantining your stinky yoga clothes after your lunch session. Stuff all of them and a bottle of water in the large main compartment of the All Day, and slide your mat through the exterior sleeve. There are also two zipper pockets to keep your phone and accessories organized (and yes, away from the smelly gear). If you prefer to hit the gym after work, this is your backpack. It has all of the necessary touches, like a separate shoe compartment, water-bottle pockets, and a big interior space, plus a padded laptop sleeve. And its simple black aesthetic means it won’t look out of place at the office. The Beast is designed for gym rats who obsess about their carb intake as much as their squat max. It has an insulated compartment designed to keep six meals organized and cold, with the help of the included gel ice packs. And even with all that grub and Tupperware, there’s still room for your workout gear in the main compartment and interior pockets. With a sealed, water-resistant shoe compartment, a separate pocket for a phone and notebook, and another for keys and a wallet, the Jnr Kong appeals to the most organization-obsessed among us. It has 32 liters of storage space in the main compartment and is made from tough 1,000-denier nylon and burly YKK zippers. Designed to handle a variety of snow-filled excursions, the Environ is made with a three-layer, waterproof polyester shell that can take a beating. While the outer is plenty breathable, Stio added pit zips to dump heat for high-output activities, like those grueling early-morning skins. This ultralight, all-season insulator is filled with 60-gram Primaloft Gold insulation and features a 15 denier polyester outer with a DWR coating. A secret bonus: the Azura's interior pocket acts as a stuff sack—that means you can convert your jacket into a pillow at camp or when traveling. We love the Azura LT for its versatile, four-season insulation. Built for fast-and-light ascents, this pullover performs just as well for more casual endeavors, like relaxing around the campfire. It's packed with 40-gram hydrophobic Primaloft insulation, so it will stay toasty if you're caught in a shower. We’re a big fan of henleys, but most of ours are cotton and don’t work well in the woods or on the river. That’s why we love the Tipton, which is made from a cotton-polyester blend, so it dries four times faster than traditional shirts but still feels like a normal cotton tee. It’s become our go-to weekend shirt. Everyone should own a lightweight, throw-it-in-your-bag-and-forget-about-it jacket like the Alpha Alpine Pullover. The two-tone design looks good, the ripstop nylon is lightweight but durable, and the thin layer of Polartec Alpha insulation is wonderful on cool summer evenings. The Alpha Alpine is simple, but it works exceptionally well. On-mountain performance meets street-savvy looks in this parka that extends down to mid-thigh—it’s the more fashion-forward sister to Stio’s Shot 7 resort jacket. The waterproof-breathable outer shell and 800-fill waterproof down insulation mean you won’t be soaked or cold after two hours of sledding. Made from thin waffle-knit fleece with stretch panels at the cuffs, this top combines the soft feel of your favorite sweatshirt with classic button-up styling. With a collared neck, snap front, tailored fit, subtle drop tail, and muted solid colors, it’s like a mountain-casual spin on the oxford—clean, simple, classic, and practical when sweat is on the day’s agenda. The ultralight, ultrawarm Pinion Pullover is stuffed with 800-fill water-repellent down and features a ripstop shell, so you can stay toasty while taking a beating from Mother Nature. We also love the Pinion’s zippered kangaroo pocket, which doubles as a sow pouch for the jacket. Stuff it in, then use the whole package as a travel pillow. Hands-down, the Mega Mat Duo is the most comfortable mattress we've used for car camping—a 10-centimeter-thick air pad with foam insulation and support. It’s pricey, but it’s the closest we've come to feeling like we were in our bed at home while camping. The “AG” stands for Anti-Gravity, Osprey’s term for the Atmos’s swath of torso-conforming mesh that allows airflow while providing balance and support. The unique design creates contact with your entire back, which, combined with tons of adjustability in the torso and hipbelt and four compression straps, allows you to stabilize loads both large and small. This tent is a backpacker's dream, made with durable polyurethane-coated ripstop nylon fabric and reinforced seams that are tough as nails but light as a feather. The whole package is just over three pounds. For less than the cost of most full-price sleeping bags, you get a three-season two-person tent, a two-and-a-half-inch sleeping pad, and a 30-degree sleeping bag. The whole set weighs just over nine pounds and has most of what you need to get into the woods. The Passage 2 has two vestibules, a rain fly, a water-resistant floor, and interior mesh storage pockets for organization. With you the Half Dome 2 you get an ultra-dependable, two-person, five-pound tent that packs down reasonably well for under $300. The hubbed aluminum pole set up is simple to pitch solo, and the symmetric design means there’s no confusion about how to lay out the fly. This three-digit combination lock is accepted by TSA, meaning they can unlock it and search your bag without cutting the lock. An indicator light changes from green to red once the lock has been opened so you know if your bag has been tampered with. Magellan’s takes a lower-tech route to getting your luggage back to you. Instead of microchips and GPS, this tag has instructions written in multiple languages that guide airline agents to use the itinerary inside the tag to forward your bag to you en route. After all, it does no good if you’re going to Fiji, and your lost bag is going back home. This tag features a variety of different locator technologies (two different microchips, a serial ID number, and QR Code) that airlines use all over the world to help identify lost luggage. It’s like microchipping your dog—if someone finds your luggage, they can scan the chip and get it back to you. If you have beautiful luggage, it deserves a beautiful tag. This simple leather option has a solid brass buckle that’s designed to hold your business card so if you lose it, your bag can find its way back to you. The adjustable strap makes sure that it fits around any lash point. Emergency cash—you can never have too much of it. This simple nylon belt has a hidden pocket big enough to stash a few bills, in case you find yourself in a Thailand bar without your wallet and the bartender is looking to you to pay the bill. This is a larger money belt, big enough to fit your passport, cards, cash, and any other important documents you might be carrying around. It has two zippered pockets that keep everything organized, and it’s made from a soft, washable silk that resists sweat. The waistband is elastic, so it doesn’t bind as you snack your way from café to café. No, it doesn’t stuff inside your bra. It clips to the side of your bra and hangs down your side, hiding credit cards, keys, and cash beneath your shirt where pickpockets can’t reach. The pouch is made from a supersoft mix of nylon and spandex that feels like lingerie and weighs just 0.4 ounces. StashBandz is part running belt, part money belt. It’s twice the width of your standard hide-away belt and made from a soft spandex fabric that hugs your waist. Four separate pockets keep your goods organized and decrease bulk, and you can sprint to catch a train without any annoying belt bounce. Wear this wallet around your neck, and tuck it under your shirt or sweater to keep all your important documents out of sight. The wallet also has an RFID-blocking liner so thieves can’t snag your goods digitally. It’s made from a water-resistant ripstop nylon that will hold up no matter how long you’re traveling. If you want to travel ultralight, Sea to Summit’s version of the money belt is made from featherweight Ultra-Sil Cordura that weighs just two ounces and has a 3-D mesh back for extra breathability. You also get two zipper pockets for organization, a soft elastic waistband for comfort, and an RFID-blocking liner to keep hackers at bay. Many duffels offer a single cavernous space, but the Big Kit is all about gear-specific organization. It has a separate (and ventilated) shoe compartment, a side panel for a water bottle, a molded pocket for sunglasses or goggles, and a tuck-away helmet carry that lets you attach your lid to the outside of the pack. If the Big Kit is too big, look at the 40-liter TrailKit or 45-liter SnowKit. We love the Base Camp duffel because of the cost-to-space ratio. You get 150 liters of storage for under $200, wrapped in an 840-denier ballistic nylon exterior. Compression straps tighten the load, grab handles and lash points help you secure the bag on top of your car, and the main carry straps work in duffel or backpack mode. It’s not submersible, but a zipper flap helps keep the rain out. This 56-liter bag is built from tear-resistant 1,050-denier nylon, and it sheds light rain, thanks to the DWR finish. It has all the duffel features you need—compression straps, lashing straps, and grab handles—and can switch from duffel to backpack with ease. We really dig the daisy-chain-style side panels, which allow you to attach canteen carriers and extra storage solutions. Ortlieb’s duffle has some details that help it stand out from other similar products on the market. The waterproofing is no joke—zip it up tight and the bag can be submerged for 30 minutes without leaking. The shoulder straps are comfortable enough to let you wear this bag as a backpack. You get 60 liters of dry space, with two interior mesh pockets and an exterior pocket for easy access. If you’re subjecting yourself to serious weather, consider the Blunt, which was built to stand up to 55-mile-per-hour winds, thanks to a tensioning system that helps distribute the force. The canopy offers 40 inches of protection, weighs 12.8 ounces, and closes up to 14 inches. It has a beautiful design if you want something that will look good, too. Made from a superlight 30-denier siliconized Cordura, this umbrella weighs in at a svelte 8.5 ounces and collapses to less than ten inches but still boasts a canopy size of 38 inches. The umbrella top is supported by an aluminum-grade shaft and a comfy rubber handle. It also comes with a mesh tote that you can hook to the back of your pack or a belt. The Eez-y keeps the rain off, but this umbrella also works as a legit parasol, with a UV-coated canopy that offers UPF 25 sun protection. We also like the vents in the material, which help move wind through the canopy instead of breaking it or folding it in half. It’s a little on the larger side (with a length of 11 inches and a weight of 15.2 ounces), but reviewers rave about its durability. At 11.5 inches long and 15 ounces, this isn’t the smallest or lightest umbrella on the list, but it is one of the toughest. Thanks to nine extra ribs made from flexible fiberglass, the Repel can take a beating in a windstorm, and its Teflon coating helps bolster the waterproof abilities of the top fabric. In countless reviews, this tiny shield has proven itself to be as good as umbrellas twice its price. It truly is an ultralight umbrella, weighing just seven ounces, but still has a nearly 40-inch coverage when open. The coolest feature, though, is that you can attach the umbrella to your backpack, keeping your hands free to use your cell phone or hold your coffee. Gear editor Ben Fox praised Patagonia's Nine Trails packs for their clean efficiency: “With a minimalist design and well-considered features, Patagonia has proven that when it comes to daypacks, simpler is better,” he writes. It's available in both men's and women's sizes from 14 liters to 36 liters. One of our favorite pieces of ski gear, this shell is made with bomber three-layer Gore-Tex and fully-sealed seams to brush off nasty snow storms. Our testers called it “an investment in staying dry.” It also has a helmet-compatible hood, powder skirt, and underarm vents to dump heat. Our columnist Wes Siler tested the Tango Duo Slim in his comprehensive review of couple's backpacking gear. The sleeping bag weighs in at 2.6 pounds and has a 30-degree temperature rating, making it ideal for three-season backpacking. It’s not a product per se, but in 2018, more readers bought an REI membership than purchased tents, headlamps, or backpacks. The main reason is obvious: for just $20, REI members get special access to REI Garage Sales and 10 percent back on any full-priced items they purchase online or in-store. The organizational details on this pack are forthright, with a front zippered panel built for batteries and cords, hidden pockets for your passport and cash, and padded sleeves for a laptop. Plus, there’s an RFID-blocking pocket for your wallet, a crush-resistant pocket for fragile items, and a pass-through panel that attaches to rolling luggage. If you’re going to wear a money belt, you’ll want it to be as light and comfortable as possible. Sea to Summit uses featherweight Ultra-Sil Cordura fabric and a 3-D mesh back for a minimalist approach. There are two zippered pockets and plenty of room for cards, cash, and a passport—all lined with RFID-blocking material. This sleek, RFID-blocking clutch was made to fit inside a purse but still have enough carrying capacity to be useful, with six card slots and a dedicated currency sleeve. An interior slot is specifically designed to hold your smartphone so you don’t have to shove it into your back pocket. There’s a polyester version, too, if you don’t dig the leather. The Sojourn is the one-trick pony of women’s travel bags, with straps that convert it to a backpack, cross-body bag, or tote. It’s made from tough polyester in a herringbone pattern and has anti-theft details like an RFID-protected pocket and a metal locking loop that lets you secure the bag to a table or other stationary objects. There’s also a padded laptop sleeve and tablet slot. You can keep all of your sensitive goods in one spot with this organizer, designed to hold multiple passports, six credit cards, a notebook, and a pen. There’s even a zippered change purse for heavy foreign currency. Pacsafe is one of the best-known (and trusted) brands in travel-safety gear, so you know this organizer, which is lined with RFID-blocking material, will keep the thieves out. The Ridge wallet has an exterior cash clip and expandable aluminum plates that can hold up to 12 cards. The wallet keeps them all safe from hackers, thanks to their RFID-blocking lining. It’s superlight at just two ounces, so you won’t feel like you’re carrying a brick in your pocket. This stainless steel bottle will keep your coffee hot and your iced tea chilly, thanks to its double-wall vacuum insulation. Yeti's TripleHaul cap makes it 100 percent leakproof, so don't be afraid to toss it in your pack with other weekend sundries. Does your apartment or house have super-tall ceilings? The El Greco ceiling hoist helps you utilize space with a series of pulleys and levers that allows you to raise your bike up and out of the way. Just hook it to the handlebars and seat, and raise any bike that’s less than 50 pounds to the ceiling. Portland Design Works has a knack for elegant bike solutions, and its wall hook is no exception. The powder-coated steel is built to last and look good for years, while the hook itself is covered in rubber so your rims don’t get scratched. Mount it on the wall and you can store your bike vertically. Just don’t put your heavy rig on it; the weight limit is 33 pounds. Sometimes the simplest solution is the most effective. Park Tool’s hook mounts into either a ceiling beam or a wall stud, allowing you to get your bike off the ground by hanging the front tire through the hook. Buy a couple of them and safely store your whole collection in your garage, shed, or living room. This rack lets you store your bike standing up and can support a variety of frame and wheel sizes—from skinny 20-millimeter road tires to 29-inch mountain-bike ones. The spring-loaded arm can hold the front or back tire, depending on how you like to store your bike. And you can link multiple Rakks together to store your whole fleet. Have multiple bikes you need to store? This wall-mounted rack works for bikes with straight top tubes, like most road bikes, some cruisers, and old-school mountain bikes. Sandwich them tail to front and you can fit two bikes on the arms, and there’s a small shelf for your helmet. It folds flat against the wall when not in use. This bike rack takes your standard wall hook mount and adds a hinge plate, so your bike can swing to the side and give you more room in a tight space. There’s also a bumper for the bottom wheel that keeps the bike from swaying. The beauty of this hook mount is that you can use it for any bike, regardless of its frame size and shape. This superlight jacket is filled with the company’s brand-new PlumaFill insulation, made of hydrophobic polyester fibers that mimic the structure of down—gossamer tendrils radiating from a central spine. Rather than being blown into baffles like other synthetic down, the PlumaFill is tacked between sheets of ten-denier nylon fabric in long strands, so it won’t shift and create cold spots. We love Topo Designs for their functional, well-designed packs, and the Rover is no exception. Great for both the trail and the commute, the Rover is coated with burly pack cloth and Cordura, and its brightly colored compartments keep your gear easily organized. We gave these gloves a nod in our 2018 Winter Buyer's Guide. Our tester wrote: “As dexterous as your hands, just tougher and warmer. When you need precision without going numb, slip on these wool-lined gloves made from soft cow-belly leather. Curved fingers and elastic wrists keep them snug while you clean out the woodstove.” This dress is a great addition to your warm-weather wardrobe. It’s easy to dress up or down, and two hand pockets are a unique but appreciated addition. Smartly designed features like a split hem, which promotes mobility, a wide-knit waistband that lies flat against skin, and a center-back zippered pocket make these shorts great for running or gym workouts. The perfect outer layer for climbing, hiking, or anything active, the Alpine Start has a gusseted construction, which allows for complete freedom of movement, and the hood fits over your climbing helmet for added weather protection when the wind picks up in the afternoon. It's highly packable and stows in its own chest pocket when not in use. Iterations of the R1 have been on the market for years, but it’s still the ideal layering piece for a variety of activities, and it’s our favorite overall fleece. The R1 uses Polartec’s Power Grid fabric—tiny squares of thicker fleece arranged in a grid pattern and separated by thinner fleece fabric. The pattern is meant to increase air transfer and reduce the material’s overall weight. This is a gas-free generator that can power almost anything in your home in an emergency. It stores more than 3,000 watt-hours of power in a lithium battery that also has Wi-Fi. It has every sort of port you could need and can power anything from your phone to a mini fridge or TV. But beware: it does take a full day to charge this beast via a wall outlet. With 500 watt-hours of power, this lithium battery can power a weekend camping trip for the whole family, enough to run a mini fridge for nine hours or charge your phone 40 times. You get two USB ports as well as AC outlets and 12-volt DC ports. It’s splash-proof, has an LCD power display, and is surprisingly light at just 12 pounds. What this complete solar-power kit lacks in power, it makes up for in plug-and-play convenience. The kit consists of a six-watt solar panel, a control box that stores 20 watt-hours of power, and three lights with wall-mounting switches. It’s an easy way to dabble with solar power in your van or cabin—everything daisy-chains together for easy fuss-free installation. The Renogy 100-watt panel is the industry standard for vanlifers. This panel weighs 16.5 pounds and is designed for RVs and boats. It can be used alone, in a series of panels, or as a portable option. With built-in mounting holes and aluminum frame, you can even mount it to the roof of your van. And it’s waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about rain or snow. You can eschew carrying a power bank with the Nomad 7 Plus, a surprisingly portable set of solar panels with a seven-watt output capacity, making it ideal for extended backcountry trips when tech is necessary. The best feature? An LED indicator that lets you know the strength of the solar conditions. A single USB port allows you to plug a phone or tablet directly into the panels. If you’re looking for enough power to charge your phone a few times over a weekend, the Anker PowerCore 10,000 is your tool. It has one of the best power-to-size ratios on the market, with 10,000 milliampere-hours of power in a slim package that’s just seven ounces and fits in your pocket. It’ll charge your phone three times and, with Anker’s quick-charge tech, do it in a flash. Our testers hailed the StretchDown as one of their favorite winter puffies. “A snug hood and 800-fill down retained warmth on 20-degree mornings,” they wrote. It's also a staff favorite. This earned a spot as one of our favorite coolers in the 2018 Summer Buyer's Guide. “With a slim profile and matte exterior, the Un­bound resembles a top-shelf commuter pack more than a cooler,” a tester wrote. It also helped our Gear Guy keep his drinks chilly for 48 hours. The SuperFly has served gear editor Jeremy Rellosa for years without fail. “I've taken this stove everywhere from Nepal to Patagonia, and it's kept my trail food warm and my backpack happy because it's easy to use, clean, and stow,” he says. RxBar takes a whole-food and minimal-ingredient approach to its bars, using pure egg whites for protein along with almonds, cashews, and dates. Each bar has 210 calories and is paleo and Whole30 compliant, with no added sugar, dairy, soy, or gluten. There are at least 12 flavors to choose from, but the most popular is the sea salt and chocolate. If you’re craving a candy bar but want to pretend you’re being healthy, this protein bar is your best friend. It’s packed with protein (20 grams) but goes heavy on the sugar (29 grams). The plus side? At 350 calories, it’s a legitimate meal-replacement option. If taste and protein are your biggest concern, give it a go. Rise has two categories of bars—whey protein bars and plant-based protein bars. The almond-honey option only has three ingredients (almonds, honey, and whey isolate), offers 20 grams of protein, 13 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of fat, and boasts just 280 calories. It’s void of grains, preservatives, gluten, soy, and dairy, so it will likely fit your current diet. Bulletproof originally made its name with coffee but has recently branched out into supplements, enhanced waters, oils, and these collagen protein bars. They claim that the protein, which is sourced from grass-fed cows, is better for your joints and bones. We like the fudge-brownie-flavored bar, which has 11 grams of protein and only two grams of sugar in a 210-calorie serving. This is probably the most legitimate meal-replacement bar out there, with up to 390 calories per bar depending on the flavor you choose. All options are non-GMO certified and comprised of whole foods (you can pronounce most of the items on the ingredient list). We like the Superfood Slam, which is packed with berries and has ten grams of protein, six grams of fiber, and 370 calories. One of our favorite trail running shoes of 2017, the Trailbender impressed testers with its cushioning. “We were pleasantly surprised by how well this shoe bombed full-speed down deeply rutted trails,” they wrote. “It's a confident, cushioned shoe that delivers support, not just stack.” Contributor Justin Nyberg picked the Caldera 2 as one of the best trail runners of summer 2018. “This was the shoe we reached for when we wanted to take it easy on our dogs,” he wrote. “On most trails, the Caldera provided ample protection.” We featured the Actik Core in our 2018 Summer Buyer's Guide as one of the best headlamps for running. “We love the simplicity of the Actik, which powers its 350 lumens via a rechargeable lithium battery that’s easy to top off before a run,” our tester wrote. “No outlet? It also runs on three AAA batteries.” Outside's male staffers love the Retro Pile Pullover for its fuzzy, versatile warmth. Credit the double-sided shearling that's soft on the skin. It works great as a midlayer fleece or over a shirt for spring hikes. Your new summer do-everything shorts, the Zion is made from super-stretchy nylon and spandex. The abrasion-resistant fabric is naturally UPF 50, and the built-in belt makes sure you always have a snug fit. Prepare for a winter full of long hikes in the snow with the Revo snowshoes. The DuoFit bindings accommodate a wide range of footwear and operate easily when you have bulky gloves on. These emerged as the best budget leggings in our editor’s test. “I’m continually delighted,” she concluded, “by these budget-friendly leggings. Sure, they don’t have many bells and whistles, but they get the job done without compromising important features.” A flashlight and lantern in one, the Orbit is great to have around camp when night hits. The 105-lumen light operates with one button to transition among flashlight, lantern, and dual (lantern and flashlight both illuminated) modes. Astral has long been our go-to brand for quality life jackets with bang-up features. The Layla is no exception, with a women-specific fit that allows more room in the chest; its slimmer front profile reduces chafing while you’re out on long paddles. The Turtle Shell can take a beating. It’s waterproof, shockproof, and dustproof, and it floats. The sound is boom-box quality, and there are multiple strap and mounting options, so you can put it on your raft, paddleboard, bike, or cooler. 2018 was the year of the reusable straw. Klean Kanteen’s version has removable silicon ends, which are comfortable enough suck on. Our travel editors have been preaching the good word of the Trtl pillow for years. A unique take on the classic doughnut-shaped neck pillow, the Trtl is far more comfortable because you can adjust it to support your neck in any position. Outside gear editor Ben Fox bought a Ringer a few months ago and has been raving about it to staff and readers ever since. Made of metal rings similar to chain mail, the tool makes quick work of gunk on cast-iron pans. A portable battery is a tool that’s often overlooked but incredibly helpful when you have it. The PowerCore 20100 has enough juice to fully charge a MacBook, an iPhone, and an iPad Air 2 on a single charge. It even has three USB ports, so it can charge all three devices simultaneously. It warms our hearts that so many readers purchased Outside’s most recent book this year. Out There is a collection of the 32 most riveting stories that have graced the pages of our magazine for the past 40 years. Whether you plan on conquering a 5K, an Ironman, or something in between in 2019, Endure is essential reading. Written by Outside contributor Alex Hutchinson, it blends cutting-edge science and gripping storytelling to prove that the key to succeeding at endurance events is training your mind. Outside editors (and apparently our readers) are big fans of hammocks. The Sub6 is unique because it weighs just 5.8 ounces, making it one of the lightest hammocks on the market. Vanlifer Alexandra Lev loves the Camp Roll table, which packs up small but has enough surface room for a two-burner stove and cooking tools. The Camp X is a no-frills camp chair that’s comfortable, stores relatively small, and has three pockets to hold beer and accessories. It holds up to 300 pounds and weighs just over seven pounds. This sock won Outside Gear Guy Joe Jackson’s test of the best hiking socks, which is quite the honor. Check out Joe’s full review here. The tiny Moji can be hung from a tree branch or inside a tent and has a dimming function so you can customize it depending on conditions. An essential item for hikers and travelers, this synthetic towel features a waffle texture that helps it absorb up to eight times its weight in water. Yet wring it out and it’ll dry almost instantly. Perfect for hiking, climbing, or layering during cold weather pursuits, the Screeline technical pants are made from a mixture of nylon and spandex and are treated with a DWR coating to resist light rain and spills. They have a UPF rating of 50 and a drawcord hem adjustment to tighten over boots or around your ankle. Our tester loved the ability to seamlessly swap between AAA batteries and the rechargeable ones that come with the ReVolt. And the torch has a max output of 300 lumens, which is nearly bright enough to light up an entire campsite. For general car camping, cots can make a big difference in your quality of sleep. The Discovery boosts sleepers more than two feet off the ground and has a maximum capacity of 300 pounds, thanks to an aluminum and steel frame and 600-denier ripstop polyester fabric. It folds up for convenient storage and travel in the included roll-tote bag. The Hydro Flask Wide Mouth bottle is a favorite around the Outside office. The tough, stainless-steel build impressed our Gear Guy, Joe Jackson, during his plastic-versus-insulated water-bottle test. The SkyRise 3 has a wall-to-wall, 2.5-inch thick mattress and uses simple but sturdy plastic clamps, making it the easiest-to-install rooftop tent we’ve tested. Free Solo, the first true climbing film to reach a mainstream audience, chronicled Alex Honnold’s 2017 solo of El Capitan’s Freerider route. It has already earned almost $19 million at the box office, and won best documentary at the British Association of Film and Television Arts several weeks ago. Now you can rent it or own it for yourself. A good pair of slippers can be a game changer in cold winter months. These ones have a fleece lining to wick moisture and durable sidewalls made of suede. Skid-resistant outsoles mean you can wear them both inside and outside, and don’t worry about keeping them clean: they’re machine washable. One of our female editors' favorite layers to cozy up in after a long day of skiing, the Better Sweater can also be dressed up thanks to the heathered knit face. Made from water-resistant nylon and stuffed with a few grams of synthetic insulation, the Howser III is perfect for frosty morning walks to the coffee shop or long winter nights in the cabin. A non-marking rubber sole won't mess up your floors if you decide to wear it indoors. During the running boom of the '80s, the Azura was one of most sought-after running shoes of the time. Updated for 2019, the shoe now focuses on comfort and stability with a padded tongue and collar, a shock-absorbing EVA midsole, and a durable rubber traction outsole, which provides good grip in various conditions. If it’s truly cold during your night run, you’ll need a layer to keep your ears warm. The Greenlight is a mix of polyester and spandex that wicks moisture, dries fast, and has reflective hits on the front and back for added visibility. The FlipBelt is designed to enable you to carry your phone and keys on a run without any bouncing or chafing. This version adds a neon green reflective stripe to the mix to boost your visibility. It’s stretchy, moisture wicking, and has room to fit a small water bottle. Add a bit of reflectivity to any part of your exposed skin with this wax-based spread, which rolls on like deodorant but glows like a club kid at a rave. It’s made from seven natural ingredients, and you can even apply it to your clothing if you’re running in cold weather and don’t have a lot of exposed skin. These tiny but bright LED strobe lights are better than reflective bands. Clip them to your shirt or shorts and choose from blinking or steady-stream mode to stay visible. They also have an IPX3 water-resistant rating, so you don’t have to worry about rain or heavy sweat. Strap this 1.5-inch-wide band around your ankle for an easy bit of reflectivity that’s more likely to catch a driver’s eye, thanks to the movement of your legs. The hook and loop closure is simple to use, and you can adjust it to be worn on a bare ankle or over your pants or tights. Instead of a full vest, the Xinglet gives you neon green shoulder and waist straps for reflective stripes all over your torso that can be seen from 360 degrees. The system clips easily to your body and is made from stretchy nylon for a secure, customizable fit. Regardless of the action camera you own, it comes with accessories. Between cords, batteries, and micro SD cards, there’s a lot to keep track of. Organize it all with the Legend, a crushproof case that holds up to two GoPros and countless extras in padded foam cutaways. There’s even a lid pocket to store all of the little things that typically get lost during a shoot. Get your finger out of the shot with this small extender handle, which is especially handy on water-based adventures. The bottom of the grip has a flotation device that will keep your camera from sinking to the bottom of the ocean when you get smacked by a rogue wave. Joby’s flexible joints allow you to secure this tripod to a tree, fence post, car bumper—almost anything you can think of. Fix the camera and use a remote trigger (or app on your phone or watch) so you can be the director and talent in the same shot. You can also use it as a selfie stick, if you’re into that. Action cameras don’t have flashes. You can try to rig a headlamp on a tree to get your video in the dark, or you can use this duo of LED lights, which sandwich your action camera via a mounting bar, throwing 3,000 lumens on your subject. They’re just as durable as your camera and waterproof up to 100 feet. And each cube has a wide beam to account for your action camera’s wide-angle view. The Capture clip was originally designed to allow you to tote a large camera on your backpack strap or belt for hands-free carrying. Add the POV kit and you can use the Capture clip to mount your GoPro to your backpack strap, giving you the same easy access as the chesty mount without having to wear an extra harness. These gloves were included in our 2018 Winter Buyer's Guide. "Stylish warmth on a budget is the sell on these gloves, which are made of leather stuffed with 60-gram PrimaLoft insulation," wrote editor Axie Navas. Hestra has been making gloves since 1936 and they know what they’re doing— every single pair of their gloves are made in their own factories and they personally source all materials. The Army Leather Couloir is a classic sport glove that combines leather and a high tech polyester lining to keep your hands warm during cold, damp days. These gloves raised nearly $225,000 when they debuted on Kickstarter in 2016. Gear editor Jakob Schiller is a big fan writing, "with a waxed and baked leather outer, waterproof-breathable membrane, and Thinsulate insulation, they're great for frigid resort ski days while being breathable enough for long backcountry missions." Outside contributor Jason Heaton loves the new Huckberry line, saying "Huckberry’s Flint and Tinder line, a new collection made entirely in the U.S., enables lots of mixing and matching right through shoulder season." The Crossback Work shirt is made from midweight indigo denim and is cut, sewn, and washed in El Paso, Texas. The shirt jacket is an essential layer for anyone living in colder climates. Built from the same cut as Patagonia's iconic Fjord flannel, this shacket ramps up the warmth level thanks to a thin layer of polyester on the inside. Of course, on the outside, it still looks like your favorite flannel. The Performance Better Sweater is the perfect mid layer for cold-weather pursuits. The side panels are stretchy for extra mobility and the back hem is lower for better protection against the elements. Two vests in one, the Bivy is reversible and insulated with 600-fill recycled down. Each side is treated with DWR to resist light rain or snow and the drop in hand pockets have a button closure for extra security. After testing this new Hydro Flask product, our Gear Guy said that it became his favorite cooler-pack hybrid, mostly because of how comfortable and easy to carry it is. Credit the padded shoulder straps and sleek design. Go fast and light up the mountain and enjoy the comfort of the Gea's on your way down. Each boot weighs just over two-pounds and the front tongue is designed to open up wide for easy entry. Plus the integrated ski/walk mechanism makes it easy to go from climbing to descending. A rugged lifestyle demands a rugged knife. The Bear Claw's 2.37-inch blade is full-tang and made from high-quality stainless steel. It weighs just 3.4-ounces and comes with an injection-molded nylon sheath for easy storage and quick access. One of our favorite camp shoes, the Ember Mocs have a quilted Ripstop upper, which hugs your feet like a slipper, and a rubber sole, which lets you move around rocky and dirty campsites freely. One of the most popular AT boots of the year, the Maestrale RS is built on a wide, 101mm last for super comfort on the ascent. The shell is made from Grilamid, a lightweight plastic that's reinforced with carbon fiber for increased rigidity without extra weight. The entire cuff is vented to let body heat escape and is backed by a waterproof, breathable membrane so snow doesn't work its way in. This is our favorite mid­winter morning top. It's stuffed with just enough synthetic fill to keep you warm while brushing off the car and driving to the mountain and an extra layer of fabric across the shoulder and on the forearms will tame sharp ski edges. On top of the traditional crampon-style claws underfoot, MSR serrated the edges of the Lightning Ascent. It looks like a snow saw—and bites like one, too. The extra spikes provide stellar all-over grip and lateral stability on steep, icy traverses. When it was first released in 2010, we called the Snowshot “one of the least expensive jackets in our test but also a tester favorite.” The three-in-one design lets you wear a waterproof shell or insulated liner—or both together for really cold weather. Keep your little ripper warm with OR’s full-face-covering balaclava. Its nylon-polyester blend is soft against the skin, so they can forget the cold and stay focused on shredding. At long last, the holy grail of waterproof jackets. The Interstellar blew our crew away with an uncanny mix of weatherproofing, breathability, and stretch. “It feels softer than a soft shell but as waterproof as any hard shell I’ve used,” said one tester. “Not to mention that it’s the most breathable rain shell imaginable.” The stretchy face fabric adds durability and breathability and a DWR treatment repels water, dirt, and oil. The PrimaLoft Silver synthetic insulation provides consistent warmth, even through the start and stop cycle of alpine climbing and backcountry skiing. When the snow begins to fall, pull the adjustable hood over your helmet for extra weather protection. The Traverse is an all-aluminum touring pole that's durable enough for any day of backcountry skiing. Black Diamond's FlickLock system makes adjustability easy and the ergonomically shaped grip and rubber grip extension feel natural when choking up while sidehilling on the skin track. Quality insulation doesn’t have to be expensive. Case in point: the REI Co-op 650 Down jacket. It weighs just 10.5 ounces and packs into its own pocket when you don’t need it. It’s a perfect midlayer for colder winter pursuits, thanks to the 650-fill down insulation, and it’s lightweight enough to be a good stand-alone piece in milder weather. The Solstice is a rugged jogging stroller, complete with inflatable tires that roll smoothly over all types of terrain. It’s got plenty of room for snacks and baby gear, but what really impressed testers was its ease of use. “The ability to fold and unfold with one hand is genius,” one wrote. The Recon BT is a user-friendly avalanche beacon with all the features you need for a quick, efficient search. Its three antenna design reduces signal spikes, which drastically improves accuracy during a search when compared to more traditional two antenna beacons, and the 60-meter circular range allows you to pick up the victim's signal from farther away. The stretchy face fabric adds durability and breathability and a DWR treatment repels water, dirt, and oil. The PrimaLoft Silver synthetic insulation provides consistent warmth, even through the start and stop cycle of alpine climbing and backcountry skiing. When the snow begins to fall, pull the adjustable hood over your helmet for extra weather protection. This three-layer jacket a worthy accomplice for fast-moving alpine missions in notoriously fickle conditions and versatile enough for everything from grueling hikes to long-duration travel. Water-resistant underarm zips quickly expel excess heat when you're working up a sweat on fast-moving ascents. This hat is fully insulated, with fold-down earflaps and a Velcro chin strap. The brushed-microfiber outer fabric offers UPF 40 sun protection. Trekking poles help keep you stable on sketchy sections of trail, and when you’re wearing a heavy pack they can transfer some of the load to your arms, relieving your back and shoulders. The Trail Backs have low-profile trekking baskets, non-slip EVA foam grips, and nylon webbing straps with woven lining for increased comfort. The Coffee Flask keeps beverages cold for 16 hours, so you’ll never sip on lukewarm coffee again. The smartly designed flip lid essentially eliminates any spills. Note: the sale price will only appear once the product has been added to your cart. Multi-tools are great for some but for most, carrying 20-plus tools around can be overkill. The Ellis is the perfect solution for those who want a streamlined everyday carry knife, that can do a little more than just cut. It features a 2.6-inch stainless steel blade, plus a flat head screwdriver, scraper, and bottle opener. It's everything you need and nothing you don't. Don't knock them until you try them. Made from down insulation and a DWR-coated nylon shell, the behind-the-head design helps the 180's fit comfortably over your ears and can be worn with other headwear and head protection. No frills but packed full of dependability—the Trail trekking poles offer easy-to-use FlickLock adjustment points that promise no slipping while you're hiking. The poles extend from 23 inches to 49 inches and pack easily into suitcases or on the exterior of backpacks. This is what we wrote about the Black Hole tote in our 2017 Summer Buyer’s Guide: “Two words sum up this bag: tough and simple.” All-in-one travel backpacks have become ubiquitous in recent years, but we like the CTB 40 because it skews more stylish than outdoorsy. The sleek exterior is completely devoid of branding and the 40-liter interior doesn't look totally out of place in urban environments. But the four interior pockets and two large straps are just as capable of holding climbing gear as they are dress shirts. One of the top shoes from our 2017 Summer Buyer's Guide, the Trailbender is "a thick, cruisey softy, best for meandering epics over hill and dale. Though it offered a somewhat clunky ride overall, we were pleasantly surprised by how well this shoe bombed full-speed down deeply rutted trails—not a fun prospect in most high-stack maximalist shoes." The Montrail Enduro is customizable, thanks to a thermo-moldable top layer and thermoplastic shank, which contour to the shape of your foot over time. It has six millimeters of extra cushioning, an impact plate on the bottom, and a top layer designed to wick moisture away from your foot. Sole is known for its heat-moldable footbeds, but for the Performance, the company collaborated with pro skier Chris Davenport to create a slim insert that provides support without added cushion. It has Polygiene odor-control technology in a moisture-wicking top sheet and a 100 percent recycled-cork base. The footbed promotes natural foot alignment and equalizes pressure through the running shoes. There isn’t any crazy technology in these insoles. But they fit in just about any pair of shoes and offer an extra layer of cushion and slightly more support than standard insoles. We wouldn’t recommend them for serious runners, but they’re a solid budget-friendly option if you’re looking for a little extra shock absorption in your daily kicks. The Sof Soles have motion-control heel cups for stability and a bridge that provides support to your arches, but the key to these insoles are the gel pads in the heels, which provide relief from plantar fasciitis. They’re ideal for running and hiking, or just slip them into your work shoes for extra comfort throughout the day. This insole works for minimalist or cushioned running shoes, adding dynamic arch support that maintains 100 percent contact with the bottom of your foot. It’s a zero-drop insert with a deep heel cup for added support and a heel pad for shock absorption. You can choose the depth of arch support (low, medium, or high) as well. The Green has become the industry-standard insole for athletes. It features a deep heel cup, a high-density foam layer, and a stabilizer cap through the heel and midfoot for a blanket of comfort and support that enhances running and hiking shoes for people who don’t need corrective shoes. There’s also an organic coating that stifles bacterial growth and cuts down on odor. The Wide Mouth was selected by our readers—and by our editors—as one of their favorite water bottles. The Nalgene's tough, BPA-free plastic can take a beating; we've slung ours around at crags, banged them against rocks, and generally abused them for years. Yet they still work just as intended—no leaks and only a few scratches, for character. CEP is known for its compression layers, and this sock has graduated compression features that help enhance circulation through the calf and foot. But you’ll really appreciate the blend of silk, merino wool, and synthetic fibers that maximize the warmth and comfort of these socks. The seamless toe closure doesn’t hurt either, whether you’re running or ski touring. Arc’teryx relies on Gore-Tex to provide a breathable barrier in this rainjacket built for trail running in cold weather. It has features like a fitted hood with an elastic brim that you can cinch down, pit zips, elastic cuffs and hem, and an internal chest pocket with a media port. We really dig Gore-Tex’s C-Knit fabric, which gives the layer a softness you don’t expect from a hard shell. These pants were built for ski touring with OR’s lightest, most breathable ski-specific fabric to date. The AscentShell build is waterproof but air permeable, so you can work up a sweat without worrying about becoming a sopping mess. The fabric is surprisingly soft, especially for a hard-shell construction, and built to stretch and move with you during high-endurance pursuits. This winter-specific Buff has Polartec fleece on the lower half for extra warmth and Buff’s standard polyester-elastane material on the upper half, so you can dial in the exact coverage you need for the conditions. The four-way stretch piece can be used as a bandana or scarf and has UPF 50 protection against the sun. There’s a lot going on in this midlayer. The Tech Trainer uses merino wool, mixed with 3 percent Lycra for a crazy amount of stretch. You also get 100 percent nylon panels over the chest and shoulders to give you extra warmth where you need it most. Built to move fast in the cold, it has smart details like a high-zip collar and drop-tail hem to keep the frigid air at bay. The Winter Warm tights are stretchy and snug without being too tight, so many runners find them far more comfortable than standard tights. They’re made from the company’s FlashDry fabric (a mix of poly, nylon, and elastane) for a moisture-wicking, quick-drying first layer. There’s a pocket across the back hip for a phone or pair of gloves. They can also be a base layer for skiers. The Merino 150 is Smartwool’s lightest base layer. Wear it as a solo piece during warmer months or the first layer for winter pursuits. It’s mostly merino wool with some nylon mixed in for durability, but you get merino’s signature softness and antistink properties. The wicking and quick-dry capabilities of the layer are legendary, which is key when you’re running during cold temperatures. The 21-liter Urban Assault bag is inspired by military assault rucksacks and is the epitome of clean, functional design. A unique three-zip closure on the front allows you to easily see the contents of your bag without having to dump it out. The face fabric is a super durable 500-denier Cordura, which you'll be hard-pressed to tear. This bag can be carried like a traditional briefcase, shoulder bag, or backpack and is made from tough 500-denier Cordura fabric to resist abrasions. The internal laptop sleeve is padded and fits computers up to 15-inches and three additional pockets help organize documents and power cords. This suitcase-style backpack is perfect for keeping everything organized and separated while traveling. The internal padded laptop sleeve keeps devices up to 15-inch safe and a small pocket on the front fits documents, your phone, or a notebook. You can carry the Mission three ways: suitcase, shoulder, or backpack style. The Vibe boxers have changed the way many men wear boxers, thanks to their BallPark pouch. Soft viscose fabric, supportive construction, and fun patterns are just a few of the reasons Saxx is the unofficial underwear of Outside’s male employees. This hammock was one of our favorites in the 2018 Summer Buyer’s Guide for good reason: it’s lightweight and packs down to the size of a coffee mug, yet it supports 300 pounds. The SlimShady made it into our 2018 Summer Buyer’s Guide because it attaches to any roof rack and covers 42 square feet—plenty of shelter whether you’re escaping the brutal sun or waiting out a downpour. These are some of Outside editor Jakob Schiller's favorite pair of approach shoes. "I loved them so much I wore one pair for four years straight through my first couple of photojournalism jobs because the thick all-leather build and highly cushioned soles put up with everything I faced daily—from muddy rodeo fields to long, boring press conferences where I stood still for hours on end." Go a little faster and a little lighter with the Duro handheld water bottle. It holds 8.5-ounces of your favorite hydration and has a small zippered pocket for small essentials like cash and your driver's license. A blend of cotton, polyester, and spandex, the Captive is lightweight and quick drying. The polo style is cool on hot days but can also be dressed up. Truly it's one shirt that you can wear anywhere. The Moab boots have been around for years now, garnering love and a cult-like following from hikers across the country. This low-volume option for women is completely waterproof and has a Vibram outsole for extra grip and durability. You don't have to pack up your skirts just because the weather is getting colder. The Parmalee is filled with 60 grams of recycled wool insulation to keep you warm. Stretchy, knit panels allow you to run to catch the subway in a pinch and the DWR coating gives you light protection against moisture. A perennial part of our back-to-school gift guide, the 28-liter Refugio is the perfect size for carrying daily cargo like lunch and gym clothes, and it even makes a decent day-hiking pack. This budget-friendly duffel is ready to haul 100 liters of your gear. When not in use, the duffel packs into its own pocket that is about the size of a Nalgene. Perfect for overseas travel, this bag is there when you need it and gone when you don't. Duer jeans are very popular around the Outside office. Made from a blend of cotton, Tencel, and spandex, they're super flexible and have an invisible seat gusset for extra mobility. With Spidey-like Stealth C4 rubber soles, these Guide Tennies excel as approach shoes. They also work for every day because of their clean, not-overdone aesthetics, cushy compression-molded EVA soles, and simple but fun colors. They’re not our first choice for longer hikes, but they’re perfect for overland camping trips where you’re driving for hours and then and scrambling over rocks. Climber and artist Jer Collins creates art inspired by his favorite landscapes. The pieces are whimsical and hyperreal, resulting in many with an almost topographical vibe. We like his series of wood prints, which range from the sort of action silhouette seen here, to actual maps of destinations. If you need simple, functional running pants, look no farther than the Threshold, which we featured in our 2018 Winter Buyer’s Guide. An instant classic, these rain boots have waterproof, vulcanized rubber uppers that are flexible so you can walk in them comfortably. Buckles at the top of the boot allow you to tighten them down when the weather turns for extra protection and a nylon lining helps wick away foot sweat. New Zealand-based Icebreaker has sourced the merino directly from growers since 1997 and in 2000 they were the first outfitter to launch a full line of merino performance wear. The Tech Lite Crewe for men is great for hiking or everyday wear thanks to the properties of wool—wicking, breathable, and odor-resistant. Keep hands happy and dry with these gloves made from a waterproof Gore-tex lining and tech-compatible, nonslip synthetic palms. The brushed tricot lining adds warmth and wicks moisture when your hands get a little warm after hours on the hill. Made with a waterproof nylon outer and a Gore-Tex lining, these gaiters feature a fitted design and a front tab, which latches to your boot laces to keep it secure. The retro styling ensures you stand out amoung the crowd. The medium size of this pod will hold up to six liters of small products—like toiletries or cords. The wide zip opening makes it easy to see what you packed and what you didn't and the fun, bright orange print won't get lost in your luggage. Much like the GoPro Shorty, the Pixi works as a handheld grip or a traditional tripod, depending on how you configure it. But this one is built for small DSLRs and point-and-shoot cameras, and it has a ball-head design that allows you to microadjust the camera angle. This looks like a little selfie stick, but it’s actually a lightweight (2.25-ounce) tripod built specifically for the GoPro. As an extension rod, it’ll help you nail hard-to-get angles (and make sure your thumb is out of the frame). Convert it into a tripod and you can stabilize the frame or get group shots. Stability is the key to the Square Jellyfish, which can hold an oversize iPhone 7+ steady in horizontal or vertical position. The key is the metal frame, which gives the infrastructure that wraps around the smartphone more of a backbone. The RoadTrip Air folds down to just 11 inches long, so you can squeeze it into a backpack, but then it extends to 61 inches, so you get a relatively tall stand for an economical price. It’s built from aluminum (instead of the more expensive carbon), and it can hold a DSLR or a smartphone. The Corey is a budget-friendly option with a ton of features, like microadjustments on the legs and head, which let you get the steady shot and angle you need. We dig the interchangeable feet—they give you security on a variety of terrain. It's big (it weighs over three pounds and is almost 14 inches long when folded), but it extends to a 58 inches tall and can support cameras of up to 30 pounds. Joby revolutionized tripods with the GorillaPod, which has legs that adjust to uneven surfaces and can wrap around all kinds of objects. The 1K is small, with a ball-head attachment that works with cameras of up to 2.2 pounds. If you want something beefier, go for the 5K. A great everyday layer with technical chops, the Nano Puff packs down to the size of an orange yet brought enough heat to keep our testers warm in low thirty-degree weather. Filled with high-loft synthetic insulation, the ripstop fabric is treated with DWR to repel water. It’s one of our fitness editor’s favorite jackets. Skhoop, which is female-owned, makes down and synthetic skirts in all lengths, ranging from mini to ankle-length. You can adjust the side zippers to fit the temperature or your stride length, pull the skirt easily over pants and snow boots, and when you’re not wearing it, squash it down to the size of a pair of gloves. Made of cowhide leather and polyester fleece lining, these durable gloves hit the sweet spot between warmth and dexterity. This beacon is among the smallest and lightest on the market. It automatically switches to search mode when light hits it and features a flagging option for multiple burials. Safety is the number-one priority when in the backcountry. This kit contains crucial medical supplies like bandages, scissors, and Ibuprofen. Safety is the number-one priority when in the backcountry. This kit contains crucial medical supplies like bandages, scissors, and Ibuprofen. Outside contributor Graham Averill picked the Messenger as one of his favorite commuter bags. “ made from a tough-as-nails ripstop nylon that shrugs off abuse and comes with a DWR coating,” he writes. “Inside, there’s everything you need: a laptop sleeve, plenty of pockets, and a key keeper.” Gear editor Ariella Gintzler loves the Houdini for its versatile, lightweight material. “The papery quality of the Houdini offers superior next-to-skin comfort; you can wear it over a short-sleeve shirt without that clammy shell sensation against your arms,” she writes. It's billed as a trail-running shell, but works just as well for climbing. We featured Honolulu-based brand Reyn Spooner in our 2018 Summer Buyer's Guide for their vintage-inspired aloha-print shirts. The Hawaiian Christmas Shirt blends warm style with holiday spirit (looking at you, snowbirds.) It's made out of a cotton-poly blend and treated with Reyn Spooner's Weekend Wash, so it feels uber soft on your skin. The Thyrus boot is built for day hikes and quick weekend backpacking trips. With a Perwanger waterproof leather upper and Gore-Tex liner, it’ll be a completely dry hike, regardless of how hard it’s raining. The upper and dual-density footbed are complemented by the popular Vibram Megagrip sole for traction on the worst terrain. You can get it in brown, but we dig the Johnny Cash black. Hoka One One went for an uncharacteristically subtle approach to the day hiker with the Tor Summit. You get the maximum cushion and rocker you’re used to with Hoka but also a Vibram Megagrip outsole with extra sticky lugs and a nubuck and suede upper with a eVent membrane bootie. Put it all together it’s a surprisingly stylish package that’s warm, waterproof, and agile on the trail. For years, Vasque has been known for its straight-out-of-the-box comfort and has made a substantial contribution to the world of leather hiking boots with its classic Sundowner. The sportier St. Elias has a full-grain all-leather upper with a Gore-Tex waterproof liner, a soft EVA footbed for cushion, and a urethane shank for support and protection against sharp rocks. The Mountain 600 series blends Danner’s heritage aesthetic with lightweight performance touchstones like Vibram midsoles and treads. The result is a boot that’s supremely comfortable and agile on the trail while still featuring the brand’s signature look. We’ve been wearing this boot for a year now, and we like the way it looks as much as the way it feels. Artcrank is a collection of bike-inspired art created by independent artists. The styles of the posters available are as varied as your imagination. We dig this two-color screen print from artist Amy Jo, who was inspired by a kids’ toy she saw at an art show. Each poster has a limited run, so you don’t have to worry about seeing the same art hanging at your neighbor’s house. OK, these aren’t cheap, but can you think of anything better than turning the ski map of your favorite resort into a piece of hangable art? It’s an exact reproduction of the trail map, printed on canvas that’s hand-stretched over a solid wood frame. The Landmark Project has a series of destination-based posters, and there’s something really sweet and badass about its Smokey Bear series. It’s nostalgic, good-looking, and well-intentioned all at the same time. Artist Robert B. Decker created a series of graphic-art prints commemorating our national parks. They’re all printed on 100 percent recycled paper and use soy-based ink, and each print is dated, numbered, and signed by the artist. Choose a park that means something to you, or find a park you’ve always wanted to visit and use the poster as inspiration. This simple yet versatile midweight jacket has a supremely casual vibe—perfect for running errands around town. The 650-fill down stuffing makes it light and warm, while the cool snap closure adds style points and eliminates the fuss of a zipper. The Sense Rides are one of our favorite trail runners. The drawcord lacing system makes them easy to slip on, they don't require a break-in period, and, thanks to the thick, cushioned midsole, our feet are always happy after a few miles of trail-chomping. Packed with 120 grams of Smartwool's proprietary wool-poly blend fill, this skirt features a functional two-way side zipper, which lets you unzip the skirt from the bottom or from the top. The H2No fabric that Patagonia uses for the Rainshadow is fully waterproof and fairly breathable, but cheaper to produce than Gore-Tex, keeping 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 fully featured rain shell. The Down Sweater delivers ultralight, compressible warmth for your cold-weather fun outside while everyone else is languishing at the gym or huddled by the fireplace. It's stuffed with sustainably sourced 800 fill down and covered in a recycled ripstop nylon shell with a DWR coating. Once winter sets in, a sturdy, warm pair of winter boots are an essential component to your daily life. We love the Chelsea version of the Cheyanne for it’s easy-to-slip-on fit and durable leather upper and classic rubber lower half. It’s lined with 200-gram synthetic insulation, allowing for work or play in cold conditions. Fully taped waterproof construction keeps your feet dry while 200-gram insulation keeps toes warm and toasty during that early morning drive to the mountain for first tracks. When you take off your uncomfortable plastic ski boots, the Cheyannes, with their removable molded EVA footbeds, will feel like walking on clouds as you slip them on for apres-ski drinks. This midcalf boot from Sorel is waterproof, thanks to vulcanized rubber and taped seams. That means you can power through winter-slosh with ease and in style. We recently included the Helium II in our roundup of the most portable gear. The jacket weighs in at just 6.4 ounces, stuffs into your pocket, and is completely waterproof. Ideal for speedy missions in the alpine, the SummitRocket can hold between 10 and 25 pounds of gear. The shoulder straps (with four pockets) hug your chest and distribute weight evenly. Ice climbers, give kudos to Mountain Hardwear for throwing in two ice tool holders and mini daisy chains. The Lamina’s insulation is selectively zoned to maximize warmth where you need it most while reducing weight and bulk in other areas. The result is a 0-degree bag that insulates more efficiently while saving weight and packing down smaller. This women's model also packs more insulation than men's bags since women have been proven to sleep at colder temperatures than their male counterparts. Built with underarm gussets for more mobility, this shirt moves with you whether you're clinking glasses or reaching for the final hold on a route. Cotton blend construction adds softness and a touch of moisture management so you can focus on having a good time instead of a wardrobe malfunction. This DWR-treated softshell packs down into its own pocket so it can be easily pulled out/stashed when the clouds roll in. Slip it on when the gusts come out to play, and the climbing-specific gussets keep your arms moving freely even as its nylon face blocks the wind. The Schoeller softshell fabric is highly breathable, so you can hike fast and climb hard. Thanks to its T-back, this polyester top allows for free range of movement and breathability. The light and stretchy polyester and elastane blended fabric wicks moisture and dries quickly to keep you looking fresh for the post-send beverages back home. This bag's resilient polyester shell will stand up to seasons of abuse, while its synthetic insulation continues to insulate even if you set up on soggy ground. Lofty synthetic insulation combines hollow fibers and denser, solid synthetic fibers to create a balance of warmth, softness, and compressibility for easy packing, whether you're car camping for the weekend or on a longer adventure. At 18 liters, the Atom is a good choice for an everyday carry pack. The main compartment can fit a few books, a snack, and your keys, while the soft-lined sleeve can fit your laptop. The Charge is one of our Gear Guy's favorite speakers. For its size, the sound quality can’t be beat and it gets bonus points for its simple, round geometry and clean aesthetic. We fell in love with the Terra several years ago because it's fully featured at a bargain price. This pack comfortably supports 45-pound loads, thanks to the ultra-comfortable and anatomically correct shoulder harness. While vertical channels promote air circulation during stifling summer trips and sub-tropic excursions. The ultralight Ascensionist is made with double-ripstop nylon and features one large sinch compartment for stuffing gear on-the-go. It's just as good for hauling gear up a multi-pitch wall as it is at making a short trip to the local crag. Now 35 years in, Nike’s oldest running shoe is sweeter than ever. The midsole of the Pegasus is snappy, aided by an eye-catching beveled heel and slight rocker—transitions were easygoing and effortless. We featured the Pegasus as one of the best women's running shoes of 2019. An updated version of our go-to outdoor pants, the Zion Straights take the comfort from their predecessors and add a more streamlined cut. One bonus: less muddy, flappy cuffs on those dirty days on the trail. One of our favorites, this 100 percent cotton shirt is indigo-dyed and washed so it feels like your favorite t-shirt the first time you put it on. Our Gear Guy, Joe Jackson, picked the Kingdom 6 as one of the best car-camping tents on the market. It has a six-foot-high ceiling, a divider that creates two rooms (a handy feature if you’re camping with a rambunctious dog), and two doors. It’s a roomy setup that’s great for long weekend outings. The Atom LT is a lightly insulated jacket with a highly compressible synthetic fill. The stretchy and uninsulated panels of fleece under the arms make for a less bulky fit and up the comfort factor. An essential for winter running or hiking, these feature steel beads that bite into the ground, allowing for secure footing on sketchy terrain. A full 26 inches wider than ENO's classic DoubleNest hammock, the Double Deluxe offers a mega-comfy setup for those warm-weather excursions. It's built with durable nylon and fits two people with room to spare. This solid, waterproof hiking boot is built to last. The height of the boot provides more ankle support than a traditional hiking shoe, and the hefty cushioning in the midsole means it’s super comfortable on long hikes. These simple sandals are made from two strands of cord and a rubber sole. A soft midsole easily molds to your foot shape, while the sticky rubber outsole lets you walk with confidence over rocks and water. These classic canvas sneakers go with nearly anything in your closet, from jeans to your favorite summer dress. The shoes are 100 percent vegan and have a nonmarking rubber outsole. “These mid-height lace-up sneaker boots combine city performance with an outdoor silhouette,” our tester wrote. We picked them for our 2018 Holiday Gift Guide. We've often said that a vest is one of the most versatile layers you can own. We like Marmot's Zeus because it's stuffed with high-quality 700 fill goose down that's treated with a water repellant. Plus, it stuff into its own pocket. One of the top picks of our 2017 Summer Buyer's Guide, the Trailbender is "a thick, cruisey softy, best for meandering epics over hill and dale. Though it offered a somewhat clunky ride overall, we were pleasantly surprised by how well this shoe bombed full-speed down deeply rutted trails—not a fun prospect in most high-stack maximalist shoes." Based in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, Voormi makes all of its own garments, including base layers, shirts, and shells, in-house using its own proprietary fabrics. It’s all good-looking, high-performance stuff, but the Confluence hoodie is one of its most popular pieces because of its versatility—it’s a thermal wool midlayer that also sheds water. Birdwell Beach Britches was launched out of a SoCal seamstress’s home in 1961 and quickly helped define an era in surfing culture. The company still uses the same patented two-ply SurfNyl fabric for its shorts. It sources almost all of the fabric, thread, zippers, and grommets from U.S. manufacturers. Choose the length of your board shorts, and then pick your preferred fabric. Almond Surfboards has stirred the pot with its latest creation, the R-Series. It’s is a soft-top, waxless shortboard with big volume, making it easy for beginners to catch just about anything, but still fun enough for more experienced surfers to rip. Even better, the high-density foam construction can take a beating, is 100 percent recyclable, and is handmade in Southern California. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, this maker is best known for producing big, canvas-walled tents and packable two-person dome tents. The Great Day pack has adjustable straps so you can wear it as a shoulder bag or backpack. The 24-liter bag is made from waxed canvas and has a zipper down the middle for easy access, as well as a padded laptop sleeve. Wolverine has been making boots in Michigan for 130 years. The new 1000 Mile sneaker is a play on its original 1000 Mile work boot. Some of the materials and stitching were borrowed directly from that original boot, but you get a more street-savvy silhouette and a flexible Vibram sole for ultimate traction and comfort. Peak Design takes a more holistic approach to organization with its Tech Pouch, which opens a bit like an accordion and has slots that can accommodate sunglasses, a wallet, phones, and boxier items like a MacBook wall plug. There are smaller slots for thin cords and pens, as well as a pass-through slot and an exterior pocket, so you can connect your phone to a battery on the inside of the pouch. The Joto Organizer is just a sleeve, but one side is packed with customizable elastic straps so you can fit dozens of items, from keys to cords to pens as well as SD cards, your phone, and notebooks. The back side has a thin zippered pocket, great for a passport or some cash. Instead of a bunch of elastic straps, you get a few mesh zippered pockets with Osprey’s Ultralight Roll. It’s simple and effective, and the beauty of pockets is that they’re big enough for whatever you need to take with you, from cords to pens to a deck of cards or multiple batteries. And they keep small items, like JumpDrives or SD cards, safe. Big enough to fit a Kindle or other small tablet, there’s also enough room for all your cords, batteries, headphones, and whatever else you’re toting. The interior organization is a mix of elastic straps, mesh pockets, and a large zippered pocket. There’s even enough room for pens and a slim zipper pocket on the outside, too. We’ve been impressed with Thule’s luggage for a while now, and the PowerShuttle takes its bomber nylon design and shrinks it to offer an organizer with a series of pockets and elastic straps and enough room for batteries, wall adapters, cords, and headphones. Made from a cozy blend of organic cotton and recycled polyester, this crewneck pullover layers neatly over a collared shirt or under a coat. Choose from nine colors and patterns. If you appreciate buying American-made, you’re going to like this sock, which is made in the states with domestically sourced materials. Knit with a blend of wool, bison down, nylon, and polyester, this sock has reinforced heels and toes plus ribbed arch support for a comfy fit. Carry anything from coffee to your favorite mixed beverage in this double-wall-insulated water bottle. The vacuum-seal lid keeps contents warm or cold during commute, and the braided-paracord lid handle has a side release for easy looping around a pack strap or handlebar. The scent of cedarwood and leather with spices and moss makes a candle that’s sure to remind you of your favorite trail. Once you burn through the 100 percent soy wax, you get to use the vessel as a coffee mug or ice cream bowl. This newly released puffy is designed to keep you comfortable from zero to 50 degrees. The face fabric is made from a two-layer waterproof membrane, and the cuffs and front pockets are lined with soft fleece for added comfort. This fully waterproof jacket is a limited-edition run of only 1,000. According to the brand, it’s made to withstand temperatures between zero and 40 degrees and has a removable hood, a waterproof front zipper, and several stash pockets. Plus, there’s a microfiber cloth stowed in the left chest pocket for easy on-the-go glasses or goggles cleanings. The X-shaped aluminum frame and 3-D-molded shoulder and hip straps mean the Zulu can comfortably carry as much gear as you can cram into its 55-liter body. This mug is constructed with high-quality copper and finished with a tarnish-reducing lacquer for durability. Plus, for every product sold, United by Blue removes a pound of trash from oceans and waterways. Relieve tension with the Addaday Pro massage roller, which uses soft- and medium-density foam to target hard-to-reach areas such as the Achilles, shins, shoulders, and forearms. A bucket-style main compartment lets you access your trail essentials quickly and easily, and dual water-bottle pockets are designed to securely hold one-liter vessels. Keep your hair dry and out of your face with this waterproof cap. The reflective logo increases your visibility during early-morning or nighttime runs. This cooking set has everything necessary to easily make a meal for two in the backcountry. The kit includes a hard-anodized 1.8-liter pot with a strainer lid, two insulated mugs with lids, two bowls, two telescoping foons, a welded sink, and a stove bag. Simply designed with a full-length zipper and two zippered hand pockets, this jacket is a versatile and cozy layer that can be worn hiking, under a ski jacket, or around the house. The Flash 45 was the best budget pick in our comprehensive women’s backpack review. Testers wrote, “It more than ably supported the test’s 35-pound load, even when I pushed it off-trail and into steep, scrambling terrain.” Made of a cotton polyester blend, these Chinos have a casual look and a technical feel. We wore ours to the office and then kept them on for an after-work hike. We suggest you size up as the 32-inch waist feels a lot more like a 31. Although it sports a similar cut and the same Primaloft insulation as the Sherpa, this jacket is decidedly more stylish. It sports oversized metal zippers and forgoes baffles for a cleaner look that can be dressed up for date night. Featuring a moisture-wicking, wrinkle-resistant fabric that’s as soft as it is technical, the classic plaid Woodside looks good enough to wear for most occasions. With its classic canvas outer and metal buttons, this jacket feels at home in any mountain town bar. The Primaloft lining feels almost like real sheep wool and we dig the dark khaki color. These waterproof ankle boots were featured in our roundup of the best women's après gear in our 2019 Winter Buyer's Guide. With lugged soles that provide grip on snowy streets, the Elsa is a go-to boot for the winter months. We named the Targhees one of the best winter hiking boots in our 2019 Winter Buyer's Guide. Testers liked the synthetic insulation, which kept their feet toasty and dry. The Trekkers are a great multi-sport glove that will keep your hands warm on chilly hikes. They're ultra-breathable and grippy, too, making them our go-to option for high-output adventures. Take an extra 20 percent off with code NEWGEAR2019 at checkout. The 69-liter BAD (Best American Duffel) remains one of our favorite gear haulers. Made with 1,000-denier Cordura nylon and two-inch, 6,000-pound break-strength seat-belt webbing, it’s built to withstand a beating. The Air Core Insulated sleeping pad offers a 4.1 R-value, with a comfort range down to 15 degrees. Complete with a ripstop nylon outer and stuffed with a thin layer PrimaLoft insulation, it’s a durable multi-season pad for those chilly nights under the stars. Nearly every guy in the Outside office has a pair of Stretch Zions. That's because they're supremely comfortable (way superior to jeans) and the DWR-treated nylon-Spandex fabric makes them a solid choice for hiking and climbing. The Sonic Pro topped our list of the best waders for women. They worked well for testers with a variety of chest sizes; in general, testers found they fit "more like your favorite pair of jeans than the balloon-style waders of yesteryear." Since its launch in 1986, the Base Camp has essentially defined the category of adventure duffel. Its burly 1,000-denier, water-resistant fabric and convertible straps allow it to be carried as a duffel or a backpack, meaning you can haul it just about anywhere. The 50-liter size can be carried on an airplane and works well for a weekend trip. We highlighted the Free Motion sports bra in our 2019 Winter Buyer's Guide for its backless design. Our tester found it was ideal for climbers or those who want an uninhibited range of motion while sweating. Contributor Bryan Rogala called the Comfort Plus one of the most comfortable pads you can buy in his roundup of Outside-approved camp sleep gear. Credit the hundreds of air-sprung cells that distribute pressure evenly across the pad. Columnist Wes Siler crowned the FirePit the best portable grill ever. It works as both a fire pit and an efficient grill, thanks to the fan that makes the pit run "virtually smokeless." The Duck's Back rain cover kept the gear inside our editor's pack bone-dry during monsoon season in Patagonia. At camp, I draped it over my tent fly for some extra rain protection. And when the sun came out, it was easy to pack down and stash. We love REI’s Flash-series packs for their lightweight and minimalist design. The Flash 18 is the smallest and most packable of the bunch, making it a solid option for shorter day hikes. One of our favorite shackets, the United by Blue Snap is stuffed with a blend of bison fiber and recycled polyester, making it quite warm for its weight and exceptional at quashing odors. Pro tip: The jacket runs small, so we suggest sizing up. This wearable tracks exercise in 15 different sport modes, including pace, distance, and heart rate, and there’s a sleep-tracking function. On top of that, it features women's health tracking, water resistance up to 50 meters, and a blood oxygen sensor that tracks disruptions in breathing during sleep. These pants are made from a stretchy, ripstop-nylon spandex blend and then coated with a DWR finish. Our Gear Guy thinks they're the best pants for hiking. Although he found them lacking in breathability, he called them otherwise "damn near perfect. They're so functional and so comfy that I credit them with getting me on the trail more often," he wrote. Thanks to its light yet durable build, the Minimalist earned a place in our Reader's Choice roundup of the best men’s rain jackets. "It has a minimal weight to it but feels substantial enough to be more than just a raincoat," one tester wrote. "It's truly a wind-proof waterproof shell." We featured the Octal X in our 2017 Summer Buyer's Guide among the best women's bike accessories. It weighs in at less than a half pound and fits like a headband, thanks to a simple strap-dial system. The mountain bike-specific Tectal features a clean style and unibody construction, which extends coverage over the back of the head and temples. POC also carves 15 vents and a lengthy system of air channels throughout so you won't overheat under your lid when you start working hard on a climb. The GLCR impressed us so much that we gave it a Gear of the Show award . It has a water reservoir integrated into the powder skirt with a hose that runs along the inside of the jacket. All that is to say that instead of awkwardly carrying a bottle on the slopes, or going thirsty, you can now hydrate via bite valve. The I/O Mags were a highlight of our 2019 Winter Buyer's Guide. Testers particularly loved the easy-to-use lens-swap tech, which relies on sturdy, hassle-free magnets to lock the glass in place. We use the Stratos 24 for day hikes and weekend excursions, but we've also stuffed it to the max for multi-day backpacking trips. We like the stretchy back panel, which keeps cool air flowing on hot days. The Rendezvous is rated as one of the best camp chairs on Amazon. One reviewer praised the chair for its simple design: " incredibly sturdy, and there is no need for a cup holder since you are so low to the ground." The 2400 Southwest has a 40-liter main compartment made entirely from super tough, waterproof Dyneema fabric. The whole system comes in under two pounds, making it an ultralight option for weekend adventures. The Luci Outdoor Pro impressed us with its built-in lithium-ion battery, which allows you to charge other devices. Ten LED lights put out a bright, 150-lumen glow for 24 hours. When you're done, just deflate it and slip it into a backpack pocket. The Baltoro 65 won our Gear of the Year award in the 2018 Summer Buyer's Guide. Testers raved that the Baltoro offers "a full buffet of features along with excellent load-carrying comfort and very low weight." In her recent review, gear editor Emily Reed praised the Flash Air Hammock, describing it as "more like a hanging tent than a traditional hammock." One of the coolest features: the zippered bug net, which lines the entire hammock body, so you'll never worry about being bitten at night. Our Gear Guy loves the Hydro Flask 32-ounce tumbler; with one of these suckers, he "can nurse a single pour for hours without having to worry about lukewarm beer." The same goes for hot drinks—a freshly brewed cup of coffee will stay hot for up to six hours. Our editor praised the Nano-Air Light Hybrid for its do-it-all capabilities. It retains just enough warmth during high-output sports to keep you comfortable, while still dumping heat efficiently. The jacket blends 40-gram insulation with a waffle-knit polyester. Filled with toasty Primaloft Eco insulation and coated with a DWR finish, the Ronan pairs well with a shell for especially wet conditions. Our testers picked these as the comfiest bibs in our 2019 Winter Buyer's Guide. Credit the spacious cut and the simple design—a few big front pockets, vents to dump heat, and no excess material. We love this because of its unique design, which wraps a multi-density foam over a rigid, hollow core. During testing, we've found that the material gives a better, firmer massage than the cheap foam found on most rollers. Last year, we named this one of the best active midlayers for women. Much of its performance chops come from the Polartec Alpha Direct insulation, which looks like shag carpet and uses a big, open weave to vent sweat, while also holding in just the right amount of body heat. This 16-ounce stainless steel pint glass is insulated to keep your beer cold, which is just one of the reasons why our Gear Guy loves his. It's also BPA-free, phthalate-free, and is designed to be easily stackable. The Trtl weighs less than a third of a pound, is small enough to fit in your luggage, and is far more comfortable than anything else we've tried. To combat cold spots in its Featherless hoodie, Marmot ditched large baffles and instead filled tiny compartments with synthetic Thinsulate Featherless insulation. To inspire active participation in the world outside through award-winning coverage of the sports, people, places, adventure, discoveries, health and fitness, gear and apparel, trends and events that make up an active lifestyle. Read the full article

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The 4-Hour Freewheel

I don’t often write book reviews, but as both a chef and an instructional designer, I have some specific feedback for this one. The 4-Hour Chef, by Tim Ferriss, purpots to do a lot of things : teach you how to cook from novice to master-level, teach you to survive in the wilderness, teach you the science of cooking, teach you how to teach yourself any topic. Unfortunately each of these things try to take up so much space in this book that they prevent the others from working at all. And at every point, Ferriss will earnestly interrupt what he’s explaining to bring you an anecdote about his wild, awesome life.

Cuisine

Let’s start with the core promise of this book : the cooking. Instead of a recipe catalogue, Ferriss has done the smart thing here and organized a training course, starting with the easiest, lowest-equipment dishes. He thus avoids the pitfall of most cookbooks for true beginners, which dump a pile of recipe on you and leave you to sort through. These structures don’t foster progression or learning in the reader : either you’re already skilled and you’ll pick the recipes that inspire you, or you’re a beginner and you’ll forget about the book after 2 or three less-than-perfect attempts. The 4-Hour Chef, in comparison, gives you a plan spread out over several months, where you only commit to the titular 4 hour every week, with a clear sense of progression and an enticing goal. The 4-Hour Chef also makes sure to walk you through the often-forgotten non-food activities in cooking : prep first, cleaning, minimizing multitasking, entertaining people, managing inventory, etc. Topics that are almost always omitted by cookbooks, even though their absence quickly turns cooking into hell.

And if you go into his 2-meals a week plan as a novice, you will indeed graduate in your cooking. The book doesn’t try to cram all of one cuisine’s basics into you and only feature recipe designed by Ferriss to fit in the plan, which is a good thing unless you were planning to staff at a bistrot or a trattoria. Many of his recipes are “hacked” in a way to require only the skills you have already mastered from your progress in the book, so some might not make the best of their ingredients until after the first few weeks, like the unseared lamb in his Osso “Buko”, the first recipe, but they all sound appetizing. Plus, chefs of any skill level benefit from remembering how far you can pare down a dish and have it still taste amazing.

There are some very odd choices here and there : sous-vide is a very interesting technique and it can teach you about the way meat really cooks, but it is really in its place in the basics section (first part out of four) of the learning plan, given how much effort it requires when you don’t have the equipment ? Does a two-kettle, digital scale, hand grinder and thermometer coffee really fit the theme of minimal equipment, progressive skill level ? If you’ve been cooking at a good level already, you’ll also know that cleaning as you go requires more than just a bonus afterword at the end of the first section. There’s also a few outdated cooking tips, but the book is from 2012 and it’s nothing major. The few relatively unknown neat tricks that are sprinkled throughout the recipes will help balance these stumbles out.

Fortunately, you’re free to skip anything that doesn’t make sense, and a difficulty spike sometimes benefit learning. And you will have to skip some, because by the end of the Domestic section (stylized as DOM, everything has to be short-handed here), you’re supposed to master the basics and be able to graduate up an order of magnitude closer to being chef-level cook. With only 14 lessons and 7 bonus activities, will definitely leave you unprepared for these ambitions (but maybe not demotivated ? depends on the person), especially for the two next levels : Hunting/Foraging and Modernist cooking. Both of these would indeed make better chefs of any of us who haven’t dived into it, and they are technically achievable for many households, though the fare on this cooking journey is starting to be extremely steep. It’s becoming clear at that point that Ferriss is optimizing for calendar compression and woah factor, not for money (or man-hours) : even following the most budget-friendly alternatives he proposes, he’s still inviting you to spend thousands of dollars over a few months. And that’s fine, as long as you understood that was the point of the book ; my issue is that even with a 700-pages book, you’re still left very short in any of the 4 sections. Each of them would require their own tome or possibly several in order to realistically bring you close to proficiency, especially with the book’s structure of a learning course rather than a recipe catalogue. (Which again, is a good choice of structure. It would just need to take up more pages in order to work.).

[Sidenote : I’d be tempted to present the last recipe of the book, Carpe à L’Ancienne (or as it’s , as another example of badly-paced teaching, but it’s made pretty clear in the book that it wouldn’t be an easy feat even for serious followers of the book method. Rather, it’s good entertainment to read about a recipe so ridiculously lengthy and pricey, for a result that most people wouldn’t enjoy anyway. It’s one of few recipes that you won’t feel guilty about not making but will still read to the end. However, its presence kind of makes you wish there would be a graduating exam recipe (or dinner party), one that’s actually geared towards the skills that the book professes to teach.]

Studying historical texts

The main problem here aren’t the random difficulty spikes or the imperfect advice, though. What sends me up the wall is the whole damn book wrapped around the cooking.

Part of it is the writing style, systematically peppered with clichéd expressions that an extremely-online positive-thinking man would have thought cool in 2012. Saying these fall flat would be an understatement, making the reader wince in second-hand embarrassment is more like it ; but again, the book is indeed from 2012, this is what to expect when working on historical texts.

The content itself though, could make you go as far as grinding your teeth in annoyance. Even if you start only at the actual recipe section (a good hundred pages in), you will regularly be interrupted right in the middle of an explanation so that Tim Ferriss can take his Very Important Tone and tell you about this awesome person he’s met and became friends with, or about an adventurous anecdote where he seems to think his self-deprecating humor will hide the bragging. Less often it’ll be some random factoid, and quite a few times it’ll be about having sex with women. Which is a weird thing to interrupt a cooking advice column for, especially while implying that the two topics might be essential to each other. Does the meatloaf recipe really require an explanation about how your friend’s wife gives her husband regular blowjobs ?

There’s the diet and supplementation advice, which I don’t take too much offense from : it’s written in the 2010s lifehack diet era, and follows the model of making big promises backed up by early, limited data and hopefully is not taken too seriously by contemporary readers. The science is likely to be very outdated, especially in its most hack-y promises. The “slow-carb” model that Ferriss championed in his other book The 4-Hour Body and uses here as a base for his claims, did not take hold in the world of diets. He does not go into the details in this book, but it seems to be mostly a low glycemic index diet, where small amount of low-GI carbs are allowed. GI-oriented diets seem to work often enough, but they have come under scrutiny for their unreliability and the incomplete picture they give of nutrition. His supplement advice, centered on compounds that were not very studied at the time, is also likely to be very outdated. Then there’s Ferriss obsession with raising testosterone, which, unless you’re a man with a low-testosterone condition, should not be a primary concern, and belongs to the a weird conception of masculinity that’s all muscle and attraction.

Is that how you learn to write ?

The first thing you’ll read when you open the book without skipping is the worst offender of them all : the pedagogy section. Just like the cooking sections, the points he makes here aren’t all particularly bad and even include some things that are often forgotten. The power of establishing stakes when self-teaching for example, or the importance of triaging your learning material up-front and being ruthless about it. The power of triaging your material and priorizing, which can help you take fast strides in the beginning of learning. These ideas would not be equally efficient for any topic, and Ferriss doesn’t provide evidence that they are, but they are useful tools to employ as a learner.

But it all amounts to not much, as it becomes clear the advice is primarily used for party tricks or obsessive, purposeless cramming. You will have a starkly different experience mine here if you have envied Ferriss’ lifestyle : jumping from one activity to the other, meeting celebrated personalities and travelling everywhere. To me, it feels not only extremely elitist but also empty : the goal is the chase, and the rush that comes with the chase. Ferriss gets his hands on cooking and learning in the same distracted way he got his hands on selling supplements and drop-shipping : he’s intensely engaged with it, but would be completely uninterested if there wasn’t the thrills of fake promises like “best in the world” “achieve in less that three months“, “receive unanimous praise”, “become rich”, etc.

That first section is also the worst offender re: Ferriss interrupting his own train of thought with barely-relevant anecdotes. It is infuriating to be hooked by an exciting promise of a founding principle of learning, only for the third paragraph start explaining in detail how he got himself ridiculed at a high-status gala dinner. By the end of the anecdote, it will have brought next to nothing to prove the initial point and Ferriss will never expound on that concept, rather content to switch to another which he will undercut once again with boring retellings. Sometimes an anecdote interrupts another anecdote. Sometimes a section just starts with one such anecdote, which Ferriss seems to believe is an appropriate substitution for in media res writing, and when it’s time to get to the argument you’ll realize the story didn’t cast any light on the issue.

Buying advice

Should you buy this almost-a-decade old book ? Depends. I do believe there’s something for everybody here : complete novice, experienced home cook, food nerd. Even an actual professional might find some inspiration in the nature or the modernist section. But that valuable nugget will not present itself easily, and you’re going to have to sift through a lot of bullshit to get to it. The best use I can imagine is going in with just a little home cooking experience, do most of the recipes in the DOM part in order, do the dinner party, then skip around the WILD and SCI part for anything that catch your fancy, then do most of the PRO part (since there’s still basics being studied in there), then close the book. Once you have the experience, you might be tempted to go back to it and look in the two middle parts for inspiration in some new things. Dutifully ignore everything else (several hundred pages’ worth) unless something strikes a chord within you. That’s it. That’s not much, but it’s slightly more than your average unused recipe book.

Now, is it worth the pricetag ? Given its age, it’s gonna depend on how much it goes for on ebay when you’re looking. I personnally wouldn’t be paying much for it, but you do you.