One of summer鈥檚 great delights is a cold one after a hot journey, and the age-old practice of stashing a frosty beer at the bottom of your聽backpack is a spur and reward for finally making camp. There are, of course, for thermoregulating a bottle of your favorite IPA:聽wads of aluminum foil or Ziplocs full of ice that tend to burst all over everything. There are also bulky聽rotomolded chest coolers, which are great鈥攊f you have a car to haul one聽around.

The push for portability has led designers to create lightweight cooler bags, backpacks, and beer hoppers that promise to get you far off the trailhead with enough provisions to share. Some have padded backpack straps for the long haul (maybe not a thru-hike, but definitely a multimile scramble with 50 pounds of food and ice). Look for rugged, high-denier exteriors; water-resistant covers and waterproof seals; and long-lasting insulation schemes, such as an inflatable air gap between food and the hot temps sure to arrive soon.聽

IceMule Pro Cooler X-Large ($120)

Capacity: 24 cans
Ice Retention: Very good (more than 24 hours)
Exterior Dimensions: 20聽x 14聽x 11 inches
Volume: 31.7 quarts
Weight: 5.5 pounds

Some coolers are big. Some are portable. 聽is both鈥攎assive and eminently easy to carry鈥攁nd possesses an incredible insulating ability. It looks like a dry bag with beefy, ventilated backpack straps. But with just a few breaths into a small valve on the bag, you create聽an air buffer between the 1,000-denier tarp material and the payload to keep聽it cold for well over a day. (Choose from聽a range of sizes and special versions聽for keeping fish.) One downside: Unlike a traditional cooler, you can鈥檛 just flip the top open to grab a brew; it has to be rolled tight each time to retain the cold. But there鈥檚 also a hidden bonus: The more you drink, the smaller it gets.

Blackburn Local Cooler Saddlebag Pannier ($80)

Capacity: 12 cans
Ice Retention: OK (less than 12 hours)
Exterior Dimensions: 16聽x 14聽x 4 inches
Volume: Approximately聽16 quarts
Weight: 3.5 pounds

叠濒补肠办产耻谤苍鈥檚 鈥攁n instant tailgate party for cyclists鈥攑rovides an insulated bike carrier for a six-pack, a couple bottles of white, or a picnic lunch. We like little details like the sturdy bottle opener mounted to the side and the interior mesh pockets for utensils. The 210-denier exterior is also water resistant in case of sudden downpours.聽

Evrgrn 24-Pack Backpack Cooler ($75)

Capacity: 24 cans
Ice Retention: Good (up to 24 hours)
Exterior Dimensions: 18.5聽x 13聽x 7.5 inches
Volume: 25.9 quarts聽
Weight: 2.7 pounds

The 聽is part of a new series of REI-designed products called Evrgrn that are聽all made to work together. The front pocket fits a small bamboo with stubby legs ($70) and a roll-up for crashing out on the beach ($65). The backpack has a waterproof insulated liner that鈥檚 removable. Available May 26 in gray or blue.聽

BevPod ($34)

Capacity: 10 cans
Ice Retention: OK (8 hours)
Exterior Dimensions: 13聽x 11聽x 3 inches
Volume:聽About 6 quarts
Weight: 3 pounds

As of this writing, 聽exists as a Kickstarter campaign that promises to fill an important niche: a thin, flat cooler that holds a six-pack inside a backpack. It fits easily in a freezer, comes with a reusable ice pack, and saves space on your journey. BevPod does seem a little heavy at three pounds, and it seems to trade insulating capacity for a small package. But Denver-based engineer Scotty Allen has already made his crowdfunding goal, so if you plunk down $34 now, barring a crowdsource flameout, you should get the CD-case-shaped pod in September.

Mountainsmith Sixer ($22)

Capacity: 6 cans
Ice Retention: OK (4 hours)
Exterior Dimensions: 9聽x 11聽x 6 inches
Volume: 10 quarts
Weight: 12 ounces

Coke may have invented the six-pack 90 years ago, but Mountainsmith has given it a home. The 聽is our way to carry the essentials, whether we鈥檙e talking six bottles, 12 cans, or a couple of sandwich pouches. The聽zippers never get locked up, and the waterproof liner never pees on the rest of your gear. The thin foam insulation is admittedly skimpy, making the Sixer good for a day trip with a midday picnic. Comes in ripstop teal or heavy (19-ounce) hemp.*

*Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Mountainsmith Sixer cost $25 and had聽oversized #10 YKK zippers.

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Small design shifts can have big consequences, shifting the direction of a sport and bringing a new wave of athletes to the game. Let us now pay homage to these 10 heavy hitters that changed the history of gear.

1926: Metal Edges on Skis

Metal edges changed skiing forever, opening up the mountain to both聽groms聽and experts. With them, skiers could carve short, aggressive turns and make controlled stops no matter the conditions.

How’d they come to be? In the聽1920s, Austrian accountant Rudolf聽Lettner聽聽on hickory skis with worn wooden edges. His brain took a cue from the metal tips on his poles, and he screwed thin steel rails to his skis,聽聽in 1926.

Steel edges鈥揳long with new composite materials that that made skis flexible beginning in the 1940s鈥搒et up the resort boom of the聽1950s聽and聽1960s.

1937: Derailleurs on Bikes

Hills were cut down to size for cyclists once a mechanism was invented to change gears while in motion.

How it happened:聽Tullio聽Campagnolo聽tinkered with a system in the聽1930s, and Lucien Charles聽Hippolyte聽Juy released a commercial聽derailleur聽in 1938, but the first time the devices were allowed in the Tour de France was 1937. (Before that, racers had to disconnect the rear wheel, spin it around, and reconnect it.)

Derailleurs聽were a mechanical marvel, and they gave the biggest advantage to cyclists when they were riding hard, an idea that evolves to this day with electronic control of shifting and shocks and hydraulic brakes.

1945: Canoes from Formed Aluminum

Noisy and hot, today鈥檚 floating aluminum canoes are minor players in a boating market full of alternatives like聽kevlar,聽polyurethanes, and composites. But there was a time when floating tin cans launched a revolution on the water. Suddenly, families could toss a (relatively) lightweight boat on the car and, when on the water, smack on rocks without worry.

Grumman aircraft company vice president William Hoffman invented the craft after one too many portages in the Adirondacks. His insight: the post-war factories could turn out peacetime vehicles as easily as planes.

1952: Wet Suits

Jack 翱鈥橬别颈濒濒 remade surfing into something that could take place all over the world, any time of year. His idea: surfers could stay warm by covering themselves in neoprene.聽聽opened his San Francisco store in 1952. (A year earlier a Berkeley professor聽聽that an insulator聽聽didn鈥檛 hamper its warmth.)

To this day, the wet suit has changed the way we dive, kayak, and聽.

1967: Internal Frame Backpacks

In the mid聽1960s, Greg Lowe thought deeply about how to secure a heavy pack to the users’ bodies when they clambered over rocks. Lowe installed rigid internal frames in his pack so it held closer to the body. He added shoulder stabilizers, a sternum strap, and side compression straps so that it moved with him. It wasn鈥檛 until the聽1990s聽that internal frames were widely adopted by everyday hikers, but they so increased comfort on the trail that a wider variety of participants can now tackle multi-day hikes.

1973: Urethane Skateboard Wheels

Engineer Frank Nasworthy鈥檚 central insight: Make skateboards slower. The teenager replaced his regular hard clay wheels with prototype urethane wheels after discovering the synthesized rubber at a family friend鈥檚 company. The new wheels did, indeed, slow him down. They also enabled carving,聽powerslides, and tricks that demand adhesion to the ground.

Three years after switching up his wheels, he聽聽that sold them.聽Nasworthy, who is now a聽, said at the time: 鈥淭he whole world’s being turned into cement. So why not use it?”

1975: Running Shoes Cushioned by Foam

Chemist David聽Schwaber聽聽a soft, plushy kind of foam, which arguably set up the 80s running boom by inviting average people to take up jogging: Who wouldn鈥檛 want a bouncy, comfortable ride from the first mile?

The foam was called ethylene-vinyl acetate, or EVA, and was first applied in 1975 to a Brooks shoe called the聽听(补苍诲听).

Since then, it has spread to all major brands, not without some controversy. Some聽biomechanists聽point out that EVA creates an unstable platform for the foot, possibly increasing the chance of injury in some designs. Even today, the presence of EVA is a personal decision for runners defined by its聽听辞谤听.

1982: Running Watches with Heart Rate Monitors

Checking heart rate during a run was once a radical concept. It allowed an athlete to self coach through workouts based on data previously only available in the lab.

Finnish cross country skier聽聽created the first portable heart rate monitor in 1975. Seven years later, his company, Polar, launched the first聽, and today such self-coaching has evolved to聽聽to聽gauge聽athlete health, as well as聽聽tests to diagnose fatigue.

1989: Mountain Bikes with Suspension

As trail riders know, suspension offers better control on rocky, uneven terrain, allowing bikers to go faster and reducing the chance of a flight over the handlebars.

Motocross mechanic Paul Turner first displayed front and rear bike suspension at a bike show in 1987. Two years later, Turner produced a聽聽with his company聽.

Modern bike suspension engineers have tinkered with the design ever since to prevent too much energy return to the rider and to vary the device鈥檚 behavior by terrain. Now we even have聽computerized electronic systems聽that adjust the suspension automatically depending on terrain.

2006: Body Sensors Tied to the Cloud

The release of Nike+ in 2006 signaled a change in the way athletes received information about their bodies.

That year, Nike sold a small shoe gadget that wirelessly relayed the wearer鈥檚 movements to remote server farms where it was analyzed and displayed on a personal web page.

It seemed like a minor tweak, but cloud-based analytics have allowed sports equipment makers to stick smarts into everything from聽聽for swing analysis to聽聽for snow sports to聽for runners.

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In the thick of World Cup season, 26-year-old downhill racer Laurenne Ross聽talked to us about her favorite things while driving between Cortina, Italy, and Moritz, Switzerland. She had , fourth in another (beating U.S. teammates Vonn and Mancuso), and acquitted herself well in a super-G.聽She’s also an accomplished musician, sometimes聽, and doesn’t leave home without her guitar.聽

Now she talks about gunning for the World Championships in Vail and Beaver Creek, Colorado. 鈥淐ortina was great for me for sure,鈥� says Ross. 鈥淏ut I can鈥檛 wait to head back to the U.S. for the World Championships this month, the one we鈥檝e all been working toward.鈥�

Favorite Destination: Mount Bachelor, Bend, Oregon

鈥泪t鈥檚 not as huge as Vail or Park City, but I love my because it鈥檚 got a great local feel, tons to do year-round, and I know all its secrets. We get a lot of snow, and this Christmas break, I had the best day of powder skiing I鈥檝e had in years. Whenever I get a day to myself, I go up with friends and just rip around. There鈥檚 a run on Northwest Express called Sparks Lake Run that I loved as a kid. I remember skiing down as fast as I could and being so impressed with the awesome bank turns, the steepness, the rolls and terrain changes. I鈥檇 definitely catch a lot of air. 鈥�

Favorite Gear: Volkl Gotama

鈥泪 bring my powder skis wherever I go, because there鈥檚 always the chance that it will snow three feet overnight, and our race will get canceled. I bring the ($699) because it鈥檚 versatile and works even if there鈥檚 crud or corn. It鈥檚 got a bit of reverse camber and it鈥檚 relatively light. Of course, my technician isn鈥檛 crazy about traveling with extra skis, but hey, if I left them behind, I鈥檇 be devastated on a day with good snow and nothing to do but explore the mountain.

鈥淎nother important piece of equipment is my ($409, 34-inches long), the perfect travel guitar. It has a plastic body that adjusts to humidity and elevation changes and has a big sound!”

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Last year, she was stuck in a holding pattern, finishing a disappointing 14th place at Sochi because of a foot injury. This year, pro slopestyle snowboarder , 17, has her vindication. In December at a World Cup stop in Turkey, Walker (and $17,000 for the day) and she’s aiming to podium聽at the Sprint Snowboarding and Freeskiing Grand Prix on February 27.聽

Her perfect 720s signal an ascendant career for one of U.S. Snowboarding鈥檚 youngest members. 鈥泪 started on the tour when I was 13, so I was the youngest for a really long time. These days, it doesn’t affect things socially. No one on the team views me as a subordinate.鈥�

Favorite Destination: Breckenridge, Colorado

鈥泪 have a place in Breck and spend most of my time riding there, so the mountain life is a huge part of what I like about it. It鈥檚 a mecca: all your friends are up there riding, and it鈥檚 always a great atmosphere. One park, Freeway, has pro-contest size jumps that are constantly maintained. That鈥檚 uncommon. Most places only keep up those kinds of jumps when there鈥檚 an event. The other one, Park Lane, is a huge progression park with at least a half dozen jumps you can hit on one run. All day, I lap the park chair and get an opportunity to try so many tricks.鈥�

Favorite Gear: Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens

鈥泪 don鈥檛 have a fancy camera, but I鈥檓 always trying to get good shots on the mountain. ($70) clips on your phone and gives you fish-eye and wide-angle lenses. We got them in the goody bags during the , and, you know, I just kind of ignored it for a long time. But now I can鈥檛 live without it. It鈥檚 so tiny, but it gives you artsy shots of good quality, and it makes normal angles look Insta-worthy.鈥�

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When we caught up with 34-year-old聽Ian McIntosh, or聽Mac for short, he was drinking coffee in his Vancouver kitchen, getting ready to head to .

The big mountain skier will be stationed there through February for his day job: carving impossible, throat-clenching lines for the followup to last year鈥檚 award winning ski film . McIntosh, who weights聽185 pounds and is 6鈥�2鈥�,聽uses his strength to commit to routes that are beautiful鈥攁nd scary鈥攖o watch. But it鈥檚 this recklessness that has recently booked him in commercials for Alfa Romeo and and earned him work as the .

Asked about his personal ski style, he shrugs. 鈥淭urning is something I do when I need to.鈥�

Favorite Destination: Whistler, British Columbia

鈥� has two of the biggest resorts in North America put together, a ton of snow, and girls. I have to say that so few ski towns have a lot of girls in them, and let me explain: University towns are packed with women. Ski towns not so much. Ski towns are usually full of the type of guys who are a little less responsible, more willing to fly by the seat of their pants. Hey, my first season, I skied all day, slept in a closet for $200 per month, and ate 99-cent loaves of bread with peanut butter. But Whistler鈥檚 basically a university town with world-class skiing. It skews the ratio a little more favorably. 鈥�

Favorite Gear: Marker Kingpin

鈥泪鈥檓 progressing with my skiing, climbing more and more lines rather than getting dropped off by helicopter. As far as my gear, the newest toy that allows me to do that is the . Marker鈥檚 merged a traditional alpine touring binding with a lightweight pintech binding. You still have the performance of that traditional binding but save a bunch of weight. It鈥檚 crucial for the way I ski, and makes a huge difference to save even a couple hundred grams when walking that much in the mountains.鈥�

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From carving perilous lines in films such as Warren Miller鈥檚 to teaching avalanche safety, designing gear, and starring on more than a few Ski magazine covers, has left her mark on almost every corner of the ski industry.聽

Since graduating from college with top scores last spring, the pro skier is 100 percent focused on her training. With her coach, Gleich designed a preseason regimen to develop explosive power, strength, and endurance. 鈥淥ne day I鈥檒l do the gym, another I鈥檒l do hill sprints, and another I鈥檒l hike 3,000 or 4,000 vertical feet carrying 20 percent of my body weight in water in my pack,鈥� she says.

Favorite Destination: Chamonix, France

鈥淭he mountains in Chamonix are Himalayan in scale. They rise up 10,000 feet from the valley floor with lift access to some of the steepest, most inspiring alpine terrain on the planet. The skiing is also more serious than most places. It鈥檚 a steep skiing mecca, and it鈥檚 really glaciated, adding another layer of risk.聽

Below that terrain, you鈥檝e got this great mountain-town vibe. You can be on the face of a rock climb on a huge 2,000-foot wall, and then later that night go out for drinks and dinner with friends. One of my first nights in Cham, we went out to a bunch of different clubs and found it was a great way to meet other skiers.鈥澛�

Favorite Gear: Nordica Wildfires

鈥淭hey鈥檙e so lightweight, you can climb with them or carry them on your back. But they still perform really well on the downhill. They鈥檙e wide, they hold on fast runs downhill, don鈥檛 chatter, and feel solid underfoot. And, yes, they are definitely a lot lighter than 20 percent of my body weight in water! I like to ski the 聽a little shorter for ski mountaineering, so I can ski through a tight choke or a tight crest of a chute more easily. Nordica鈥檚 bases are all black, which holds wax better and means I can be really fast skiing off the glacier on the flats at the end of the day.鈥�

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The underdog at Sochi, slopestyle skier Joss Christensen almost didn鈥檛 qualify for the 2014 Olympic team. The 22-year-old was the last skier to make the cut and he only learned his crucial trick鈥攁 switch triple cork 1260, or taking off backward and making three off-axis flips and three-and-a-half rotations鈥攁 few days before the competition. So when he nailed his four final runs, posting a score in the 90s each time and easily nabbing gold, he shocked everyone, including himself.

Since the win, the Park City, Utah, native has traveled the world. He pulled off some incredible tricks in Sarajevo in Eastern Europe for the new film , a shoot that wasn鈥檛 easy on his equipment. Asked about , Christensen laughed. 鈥淵es, well, when skiing concrete, you definitely want to go with the red wax.鈥�

Favorite Destination: Park City, Utah

鈥淕rowing up, we鈥檇 always get our parents to drive us up to the mountains behind the ski resort. We鈥檇 set up rails in the woods, jumps, whatever we could find to ski on. That was always the . This year, I鈥檓 excited because I just bought some land up there about a half mile from where we used to play. I was given a picnic table and down rail from the city rail yard to ski on and recruited friends to set them up. We can鈥檛 wait to go up there and really start hitting them.鈥�

Favorite Gear: Fischer Nightstick

鈥泪 , that鈥檚 for sure. I鈥檝e worked with Fischer over the last couple of years as they brought back their park skis, and the Nightstick has been an awesome ski for playing around and for competitions. They put a sheet of titanium down under the foot, and so far my edges haven鈥檛 cracked, which is good because it means I can keep the same pair of skis for more time. Over the past few years, I鈥檝e gone through as many as a dozen pairs of skis in a season, but last year it was less than half that thanks to the durability of the Nightsticks.鈥�

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Polar explorer 's trek to the in March was one of his toughest expeditions yet. Huge ice formations impeded his progress throughout the journey. “When we were traveling eight or nine hours a day and making less than a mile each time, we realized we wouldn't hit our goal time,” says Larsen. To watch his struggles up close, check out Larsen's documentary of the experience, which will air as a two-hour special on Animal Planet in 2015.

Next up: an expedition to the southern Patagonia ice pack. “It's one of the largest sheets left on the planet,” says Larsen. “Patagonia is a backdrop to massive ice caps and brutal windy, wet conditions. Plus, you're dealing with mind-numbing expanses of space and time. Luckily, long, boring travel in extreme cold is my forte.”

Favorite Destination: Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Minnesota

“I cut my teeth on winter trips in northern Minnesota, so it's easily one of my favorite places on the planet. Traveling lake to lake in the winter is both serene and challenging. It's where I did a lot of training and testing equipment for my first North Pole expedition, and where I faced the coldest day I've ever experienced, close to negative 60 degrees Fahrenheit. In summer, it's a busy area, but in winter it empties out except for wolves, moose, the northern lights, and lake after lake of icy boreal-forest awesomeness.”

Favorite Gear: Nemo Canon -40 Sleeping Bag

“Several years ago, I tried to talk an old sponsor into making a longer draft tube in their bag to help insulate the face. They thought I was crazy. Looks like I wasn't (for the most part). Nemo has hit a home run with that feature and others in the . On the most recent North Pole expedition, I slept in it every day for 53 days. It's the warmest and most comfortable sleeping bag ever and surprisingly light, too. It says something when you can sleep on ice and always be warm.”

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It's not a stretch to call Jeremy Jones the greatest snowboarder of all time. The pro rider has made a career of bringing backcountry snowboarding to the mainstream. His expeditions and innovations鈥攊ncluding the designs he helped create for his company, 鈥攕tem from his drive to explore winter in meaningful and often insanely demanding ways.

In 2007, Jones founded , a nonprofit that works to reduce the effects of climate change and draw attention to the snowy places we鈥檙e in danger of losing. The newest film of his human-powered snowboard trilogy, , dropped in October. The day we caught up with him to talk about his favorite places to ride and his favorite gear, gusts of wind bludgeoned his phone. We pictured him hanging from a cliff with one hand while calmly giving an interview with the other.

Favorite Destination: Squaw Valley, California

鈥泪 originally moved here because of the resort, but over time I realized how lucky I am to have the huge variety of backcountry terrain. The Sierras boast over 400 miles of totally protected mountain, only accessible on foot, with relatively safe coastal snowpack. It鈥檚 a splitboarder鈥檚 paradise.

“I love that I can still make new backyard discoveries. I鈥檝e been in this range for 20 years, and one day it just hit me that I was looking at one of the most amazing faces in the range. That鈥檚 the exciting thing with the mountains鈥攜our brain is only ready to see things when it鈥檚 time to see them.鈥�

Favorite Gear: Jones Snowboards Solution

鈥泪 started the company when I realized that the last frontier are mountains you can only access by foot. The ($849) was my answer for getting there: on any given day you could start in dirt and end up in high, winter snow. We built the board to handle the switch from bulletproof ice to deep powder to funky crust. We鈥檝e put tons of attention to the nose and entry point because that鈥檚 where a lot of falls happen. Between the feet, the board is meant to hold on to ice. And the tail is freestyle.

“The best part of owning a snowboard company is getting to thoroughly test the stuff. Hey, it鈥檚 a tough job!鈥�

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Most phones are like overstuffed backpacks, crammed with junk that ends up in the trash at the first resupply鈥攐r software update.

We put 23 apps to the test during late-season camping trips and found just a few indispensable聽keepers. We also discovered some rubrics to keep in mind when picking your own favorites. To make an iPhone or Android smartphone useful for the outdoors, modern adventurers first need to purge the bloat (along with that compulsory U2 album). Then check out these must-have apps and our four rules before hitting download.

Harness Your Phone鈥檚 Intelligence

Buy an app that makes use of what your phone鈥檚 hardware鈥攁ccelerometer, compass, GPS antenna. It鈥檒l give you the most customized, local data.

We Like: The 鈥淰iewport鈥� function in a series of national parks apps by (iOS and Android, free) illustrates how smartphones can deliver personalized, pinpointed information. Hold the phone up to any scenic view, and this app labels every feature you see on the screen.

Other apps we like include (iOS and Android, $3.99), which identifies any mountain you point it toward; stargazing apps such as (iOS, $1.99) and (Android, free), which identify stars and planets; and 聽(iOS, $4.99), which gives you live flight tracking around the world. The ability to hold a phone in front of your eyes and see a new, digital dimension is the most pervasive (and probably delightful) use of augmented reality yet. No Google Glass needed.

These apps can also teach us about the natural world. Take the app (iOS and Android), which maps the real-time locations of geotagged great white sharks around the world. Maybe in a few years, you鈥檒l be able to stand on a beach, hold the phone in front of your eyes, and see an invisible shark lurking just past the swim line.

Go Hyperlocal

Nationwide apps are often too unwieldy for simple tasks, lacking essential details that make route finding easier. Instead, go with an app designed for a specific hiking area or ski resort. It鈥檒l be more powerful and easier to use.

We Like: On an August trip to the Big Branch wilderness on the Appalachian Trail, I downloaded two digital map options: my favorite topo app, (iOS and Android, $19.99), and a segment from (iOS and Android, $8.99), which chops the country鈥檚 scenic long trails into segments. To download an offline map through Gaia, I selected a large area of the Green Mountain National Forest where I thought we鈥檇 be hiking, but it took an hour of futzing and much of my smartphone鈥檚 memory. Guthook鈥檚 AT Hiker Massachusetts & Vermont app, in contrast, let me buy the local map I needed a la carte. So I had all the relevant trail information鈥攊ncluding a serviceable offline map, a GPS dot showing my current location, recent photos from other uses, advisories, and through-hiker Guthook鈥檚 personal take鈥攚ithout the hassle.

For the Northwest, there are similar dead-easy offline maps developed by outdoorsman (iOS and Android, $1.99). Think of these apps as tearing out a specific section of a guidebook before heading out: It鈥檚 simple and ensures that you have only the information you need.

Be Social (But Not Too Social)聽

Facebook and Twitter can create the kind of brain buzz travelers usually hope to flee. Go with an app that has clever, understated social features like photo sharing and digital competitions.

We Like: Download an app like (iOS and Android, free), which displays user-generated photos of destinations around the globe. Since the app鈥檚 2011 launch, Trovers have uploaded images of everything from funky restaurants to backwoods treks, and the staff has curated the best images for each location. Now, almost every GPS coordinate has rich, wanderlust-piquing pictures from ordinary travelers.

For snow lovers, established apps like (iOS and Android, free), good at Vail Resorts ski areas, and (iOS and Android, $2.99) connect friends around the mountain. Then there鈥檚 the brand-new (iOS, free), which lists local hikes, snowshoe tours, and bike rides so users can join in.聽

Specialization Is Good

Some outdoor app developers take the Swiss Army knife approach, throwing in every function possible. But the most useful apps do one thing well by providing pinpointed information or instructions for a specific task.

We Like: The most useful app in my quiver is also the nerdiest:聽 (Android, free) is a running app that supplies optimal race and training paces based on my most recent race. It uses data from Jack Daniels, legendary running scientist and , allowing runners to pace, say, a half marathon from any recent 5K performance.

Other niche apps are so specific they鈥檙e almost ridiculous but still useful. There鈥檚 an app to pick the color of kick wax on cross-country skis, (iOS, $.99); to find the perfect hang for a trekking hammock, (Android, $1.99); and to learn the physics of trimming a sail, (iOS, $1.99).

Searching for a hyperspecific app can be tough, so sometimes the best recommendations come from friends with similar interests (even if it鈥檚 tracking).

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