If you鈥檙e looking for one stroller to rule them all, let me spare you the wild goose chase. There鈥檚 no such thing鈥攁t least, not for adventurous families.

When I became a parent two years ago, I swore our garage would not be full of specialty kid gear that would only see occasional or specific use, i.e. a jogging stroller for running and gravel use; a compact stroller for everyday errands and travel; and a wagon for kid and gear schlepping. Lo and behold, we now have every one of these kid conveyors in our garage.

While each is in steady rotation, there鈥檚 one that has seen a surprising amount of use: our Veer All-Terrain wagon.

Veer All-Terrain Wagon Specifications

Open dimensions: 37鈥� L x 20鈥� W x 23鈥� H
Folded dimensions: 37鈥� L x 20鈥� W x 14鈥� H
Capacity: 55 lbs per seat (2 seats)
Weight: 32.6 lbs (with wheels); 24.6 lbs (wheels removed)

Pros and Cons

鈯� Pushes and handles like a stroller
鈯� Rugged, durable design
鈯� Burly wheels can navigate off-road terrain
鈯� Sleek design for compact storage
鈯� Expensive
鈯� Most helpful accessories not included in base price
鈯� Doesn鈥檛 fit as much gear as some other wagons

I first learned about this wagon through my local mom group鈥檚 Facebook page. One mom鈥檚 post about it racked up at least 50 comments from other women. Most posted glowing reviews, a few criticized it for being overpriced, but the majority were moms who were eager to get their hands on one but were striking out finding used options on second-hand marketplaces.

I hadn鈥檛 seen this level of discourse in this mom group since someone posted about turning their leftover breast milk into jewelry, so I decided to try the Veer All-Terrain Cruiser for myself to see what all the fuss was about.

We originally got this wagon to take on a beach vacation, where we knew we鈥檇 need something to haul our one-year-old and all of our gear from our condo to the beach each day. There are lots of affordable kid wagons out there; most are fine for toting kiddos and gear short distances on smooth surfaces, but many of them are a pain to pull when fully loaded down, and uncomfortable for the little ones riding in them.

Our son was barely 30 inches tall at the time, too little to comfortably sit up in a hold-all wagon without getting tossed around. We wanted a wagon that would pull double-duty as a stroller and gear hauler on vacation, and that鈥檚 exactly what the Veer All-Terrain Cruiser is: a wagon that you can push and steer like a stroller, and securely seats two kids.

What I Love About the Veer All-Terrain Cruiser

Smooth Steering and Handling

The Veer鈥攕tuffed to the gills with beach towels, toys, soft cooler, sun shade, diaper bag, and our son鈥攈andled the 0.2-mile trek (a mix of pavement, gravel, and sand) right onto the beach with aplomb. The wagon can鈥檛 navigate loose sand with just the stock polyurethane foam tires鈥攜ou鈥檒l need to purchase Veer鈥檚 beach wheel kit ($250) for that. But the stock tires did fine on packed sand when not fully loaded down, allowing us to take our son, who wasn鈥檛 yet walking, along for beach strolls.

In the months since that beach vacation, the Veer also became our go-to for walks around our neighborhood and trips to our local pool and parks because our son preferred it over our regular stroller. He liked being able to see more of his environment and sit more upright on the wagon鈥檚 built-in bench, made cozier with Veer鈥檚 comfort seat for toddlers ($89). This seat also includes a five-point-harness, which added extra support for our little guy, who needed more than just the three-point-buckle that鈥檚 included to comfortably stay upright on rugged terrain.

On those outings, the All-Terrain Cruiser handled cracked pavement, wonky curbs, gravel, grass, dirt, and even snow with ease. Like all wagons, it doesn’t have the tightest turning radius and smoothly navigating around corners takes some practice. My husband and I both decided we prefer pushing the wagon like a stroller versus pulling it like a traditional wagon. Ergonomically, the height-adjustable handle is designed primarily for pushing the wagon; the extra wide handlebar, while nice for hanging bags off of to accommodate more gear, makes pulling the Veer like a wagon awkward.

That said, having the ability to choose how you steer the Veer is clutch. We inevitably found ourselves pushing it along as a wagon for stretches of our walks because the retractable canopy ($59) doesn鈥檛 provide enough coverage to block out low-angle sun. In early morning or late afternoon, the sun鈥檚 low angle dictated whether we pushed or pulled the Veer to keep glaring rays out of our son鈥檚 eyes.

Sleek Design for Easy Storage

The smart design of this wagon is what sets it apart from similar wagons on the market. For how rugged and bombproof it is, it鈥檚 sleek and incredibly streamlined, making it super simple to fold up into a relatively small package and stash on a shelf in the garage, in the trunk or roof box of a car, or even in a gate-check bag for flying.

Simply unlock the handlebar with the push of a button and fold down the four sides of the wagon like a box to collapse the wagon onto itself; you can also pop off the wheels by clicking the buttons in the center of each wheel to get the wagon to lay completely flat. The whole process takes 30 seconds, and unfolding it is just as quick and easy. Even without being fully collapsed and with the wheels still on, the wagon easily fits into the back of our Chevy Equinox. And at 33 pounds with the wheels on, it鈥檚 not back-breaking to lift it.

You do need to remove the optional accessories鈥攍ike the sun canopy and toddler comfort seat鈥攖o get the wagon to pack all the way down; this adds a few steps and a little extra time to the pack-down process, which is why we got lazy and usually just loaded the wagon into our trunk not fully collapsed.

Downsides to the Veer All-Terrain Cruiser

Limited Gear-Hauling Capacity

The Veer All-Terrain may bill itself as a wagon, but it鈥檚 really a stroller. By design, it鈥檚 better at conveying kids than hauling a pile of gear. Its two built-in benches (that don鈥檛 collapse) and short sidewalls mean this wagon can鈥檛 hold the amount of gear that other, more basic wagons can (like the affordable ones you see at Target and Walmart).

When our little guy was in the wagon, we could fit a couple of towels, a large beach bag, and a bucket of beach toys in the wagon with him. With two kids in there, there鈥檚 not a lot of room for anything else. With one kiddo seated on a bench and an infant car seat attached over the second bench (a compatibility feature that鈥檚 a huge plus of this wagon), there鈥檚 room for even less extra stuff (and what you do shove under the car seat is hard to access).

Veer鈥檚 foldable storage basket ($79) helps to increase the wagon鈥檚 gear-hauling capacity and easily attaches to the back of the wagon, but in my opinion doesn鈥檛 offer enough extra storage to justify the additional purchase.

Expensive, Best Accessories Aren鈥檛 Included听

This brings me to the biggest downside of the Veer wagon: It comes with a hefty price tag, and that doesn鈥檛 even include some of the most helpful accessories (like the comfort seat insert, the storage basket, or the canopy). Heck, Veer even sells a sun visor ($19) for the canopy separately.

The stock wagon only comes with two cupholders that attach to the handlebar, and a snack tray with two cup holders that can click anywhere onto the sidewalls so kids can snack on the go. These accessories are nice, but they鈥檙e not as essential and don鈥檛 add as much as some of the other optional accessories (like a sun canopy).

Is the Veer All-Terrain Wagon Worth the Price?

So, is this wagon worth the price? The answer depends entirely on what you鈥檙e looking for from a wagon, and how much extra cash you have lying around. If you鈥檙e in need of a wagon that can haul a lot鈥攌ids and gear鈥攍ook elsewhere. Similar stroller-wagons like the Wonderfold W2 Elite ($479) have more capacity.

But what has impressed me about the Veer All-Terrain Cruiser is its smooth handling over all sorts of terrain, and its smart and rugged design that makes it so easy to fold, unfold, and travel with. We now have two kids (a baby and a toddler), so anytime we go anywhere we have to cart around a stroller that can carry two. Because the Veer All-Terrain Cruiser is much more compact and packable than our Thule Urban Glide 3 double stroller, this wagon accompanies us on more road trips and outings that require us to hop in the car first. So for our family, this wagon is totally worth it.

At $699, it鈥檚 expensive and double the price of similar hybrid stroller-wagons like the . But like a Yeti cooler, the Veer is over-engineered to be extremely rugged and durable, making it a piece of gear that will stand up to kid abuse, travel, and years of family adventures. There鈥檚 a reason they鈥檙e so hard to come by on second-hand marketplaces.

More Gear Reviews

The Best Tents for Camping in Comfort and Style
The Best Camping Chairs of 2025
The Best Backpacks, Duffels, and Roller Bags for 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel

The post Is the $699 Veer Wagon for Kids Worth the Hype (And the Price Tag)? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Creating high-quality video content has never been easier. Small action cameras now feature powerful sensors that capture stunning footage day or night, mind-boggling stabilization, and easy integration with quality wireless mics. But remember that your video is only as good as your adventure, so get out and get after it.

At a Glance

• Best Overall:
• Best GoPro Update:
• Best for Beginners:
• How to Choose an Action Camera
• How We Test
• Meet Our Lead Testers

Best Overall

Insta360 Ace Pro 2

Sensor Size: 1/1.3″
Weight: 6.3 ounces
Battery Capacity: 1800mAh

Pros and Cons
鈯� Buttery stabilization
鈯� Nice low-light footage
鈯� Great color profile
鈯� No need for 8K video

GoPro and DJI have long dominated the action camera market, but Insta360 takes over this year with the Ace Pro 2. Co-engineered with Leica, the camera shoots ultra high-resolution footage, rich 4K slow-mo, and captures high-quality audio. It also has a laundry list of amazing features, including a dedicated chip to help with low-light shooting, a back screen that flips up for great selfie footage, and industry-leading stabilization.

The total package makes it nearly impossible to shoot bad footage. No matter what we were doing鈥攕kiing, cycling, overlanding, etc.鈥攖he Ace Pro 2 produced video that we were always excited to edit and share. Shooters with more experience will find it easy to dial in custom settings, but the camera鈥檚 user interface was also easy to navigate for testers who had less experience.

Insta360鈥檚 accessory ecosystem is not as big as GoPro鈥檚, but there is still plenty to choose from, including chest and handle-bar mounts, tripods, fast-charge battery packs, and ND filter sets. The company is not pushing integration with wireless mics, but it鈥檚 easy to pair a mic from a company like DJI to improve the quality of interviews or narration.

We were hard-pressed to come up with any critiques of the Ace Pro 2. Just one comment: No one really needs 8K footage on an action cam. That kind of resolution is overkill for social media (even YouTube), which is where most action-cam footage ultimately ends up.

Best GoPro Update

Hero13 Black

Sensor Size: 1/1.9″
Weight: 5.6 ounces
Battery Capacity: 1900mAh

Pros and Cons
鈯� Better battery life than previous model
鈯� Class-leading accessories
鈯� Great color profile
鈯� No upgrade to the sensor

The new Hero13 comes with two big upgrades. First, it includes a higher capacity 1900mAh battery that lasts up to 2.5 hours (depending on settings) and is now the standard for all of GoPros flagship cameras (we can hear videographers cheering from here). And second, GoPro has expanded its already robust accessories ecosystem by adding a suite of lenses you can slap on the new camera.

Related: Is the GoPro Hero13 Black Better Than the GoPro Hero?

These include an ultra-wide lens ($100) to increase the field of view, making it 36 percent wider and 48 percent taller, and a macro lens ($130) that lets you get up close and personal with small things like tiny animals or flowers. GoPro also just released its new Anamorphic lens ($130), which allows shooters to capture pro-level cinematic-quality footage. When you affix any of these lenses, the GoPro automatically recognizes it and adjusts its settings accordingly.

We鈥檙e fans of accessory lenses because they provide different perspectives: a new way of seeing and of capturing content. These days, all action cameras offer amazing resolution and stabilization; if you want to capture unique footage, different lenses open up new avenues for creativity. We hope that other action camera companies follow GoPros lead in this department.

GoPro plopped the same sensor from the Hero12 into the Hero13, so there鈥檚 no bump in resolution or low-light video quality. GoPro has been criticized for this, butit doesn鈥檛 bother us much because the lens integration is what you鈥檙e buying with the Hero13.

The biggest downside to the Hero13 is that the new lenses have to be purchased separate from the camera and its included standard lens. As a bundle, all three lenses cost $360. But we think that鈥檚 a smart, long-term investment since these lenses will likely be used with, and outlive, the 13, 14, and other GoPros to come.

Best for Beginners

DJI Osmo Pocket 3

Sensor Size: 1″
Weight: 6.3 ounces
Battery Capacity: 1300 mAh

Pros and Cons
鈯� Easy to use
鈯� Great stabilization
鈯� Best for social
鈯� Lower quality footage

It鈥檚 not lost on us that the most expensive action cam on this list is one we recommend for beginners. It would be cheaper to get a GoPro, but we think this camera鈥檚 user-friendly design makes it a worthwhile investment for novices.

Most action cams are designed to be attached to accessories like tripods, monopods, and various grips to capture footage on the go. The Osmo Pocket 3, on the other hand, is an all-in-one unit with an easy-grip handle and built-in three-axis stabilizer, which allows you to grab the camera at a moment鈥檚 notice, hit the power switch, and start recording silky smooth 4K footage almost immediately. We also love the two-inch screen that you can flip vertically to record social footage and keep horizontal to record wide-angle footage that鈥檚 great for YouTube.

DJI makes the best wireless mics on the market and they seamlessly plug and play with the Osmo Pocket 3 so you can record interviews or film yourself with high-quality sound. If you鈥檙e vlogging, you can also set the camera down and tell it to lock onto your face so you stay in focus while walking around within the frame.

While this camera isn鈥檛 designed to be strapped to a mountain bike (the built-in handle gets in the way), we have reliably used it to capture decent action footage while skiing. It can鈥檛 compete with the likes of GoPro or Insta360 in this department, but it鈥檚 a great option for traveling and hiking.

One note: the Osmo 3 has been around for a while. While it鈥檚 still available for sale, we鈥檇 be willing to bet that DJI is working on an update.

How to Choose an Action Camera

Purchasing an action cam is just like buying a bike or a set of skis in that you need to think first and foremost about how you will use it. Invest in a GoPro if you want a huge ecosystem of accessories, go for the Insta360 if quality footage is what matters most, and we suggest the Osmo Pocket 3 if social is where most of your videos will land.

You鈥檒l need to look elsewhere if you plan to produce full-length documentaries. Action cams are best for gathering shorter videos that go on social platforms or that get spliced into longer edits. Take Cody Townsend鈥檚 鈥淭he Fifty鈥� for example: He had a full-time videographer, , who used pro cameras to capture most of the footage. Townsend was also filming with a GoPro so that we could see his first-person perspective, but the editors would only include his footage when it made sense.

Storing and Editing Video Footage

It鈥檚 easy to shoot fun footy, but without proper organization and equipment, it can be a pain in the ass to store and edit. Make sure you have a hard drive that鈥檚 big enough to store video footage (we suggest you start with something that鈥檚 at least 10 or 12 terabyes), and use a naming convention that鈥檚 easy to search so you can go back and find the footage you shot last month, or last year.

On the editing side, there are lots of apps such as that will help you splice your best clips together to create a short Instagram reel, but they can鈥檛 help you produce a thoughtful three-minute mini documentary. If you want to create something longer, you鈥檒l need to learn how to use video editing software such as Adobe Premier Pro.

Battery Life

Always invest in extra batteries. Companies say their batteries will last hours, but they never do, so it鈥檚 important to have at least two extra batteries on hand if you鈥檙e on an all-day adventure.

How We Test

• Number of Testers: 5
• Number of Products Tested: 10
• Hours of footage captured: 20+
• Number of times we jokingly said 鈥渇ooty鈥� and 鈥済nar鈥�: 100+
• Highest elevation while testing: 10,500
• Coldest temp while testing: 0掳贵

Camera geeks are the best testers because they鈥檙e geeks. While most people just want to start shooting, the geeks also want to dig into the minutia and spend hours debating the merits of one camera versus the other. Thankfully our camera geeks have gotten good at digging into the details but then backing out and putting themselves in the shoes of the regular consumer so they can make recommendations based on general use.

For this year鈥檚 test we sent cameras on a wide variety of adventures and told testers to push the limits to find out where they failed. One tester took his camera on a full-moon skin to see how well the low-light option worked. While you could make out what was happening, the footage was not pretty to look at, letting us know that while action cams have come a long way, they鈥檙e still not as good as a bigger pro-level camera.

Meet Our Lead Testers

Category manager Jakob Schiller was a gear editor at 国产吃瓜黑料 and is now a columnist. The father of four kids and two dogs, he鈥檚 a bit pinned down but still manages to run, ski, or bike every day and often brings a camera with him. Sometimes he nails the footage. Sometimes it鈥檚 total junk.

can鈥檛 sit still so he鈥檚 always thinking up an adventure like driving all the way to Alaska, raving in the Nevada desert, or riding his motorcycle up mountain roads. It鈥檚 easy to hand him a camera and tell him to push record.

More Gear Reviews

The Best Mirrorless Cameras for Novices to Pros
The Best Tents for Camping in Comfort and Style
The Best Trailers and Campers for Off-Grid 国产吃瓜黑料s

The post The 3 Best Action Cameras of 2025 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This year, there have been some nice trends in Bluetooth speakers: 鈥淭rue stereo,鈥� which lets you pair two speakers at once and play the left channel in one and the right in the other, is available in more and more models. While it may be a clever way of selling you two speakers instead of one, it makes the experience more like sitting in front of your home hi-fi system. Meanwhile, battery life keeps on improving across the board, and it鈥檚 kind of stunning how water-resistant these devices have become: All of the speakers below have an ingress rating of at least IP67, which means they can be submerged in three feet of water for up to 30 minutes. If you鈥檝e ever combined a swimming hole and a large dog in the same outing, you know why this matters. All of which makes the new speakers highlighted here some of the best ever for outdoor adventures.

Update March 2025: We鈥檝e tested and selected new Bluetooth speakers in five categories, including a new best all-around pick of the Beats Pill.

At a Glance

• Best All-Around:
• Best for Parties:
• Best Value:
• Most Portable:
• Most Rugged:
• Best for Audiophiles:
• Best for Travel:
• How to Choose
• How We Test
• Meet Our Lead Tester

Better Beach Afternoons

A few years ago I visited an old high school friend in L.A. This was a friend you want to model yourself after: He鈥檇 founded his own company and designed his life so that work was done by 1 p.m. Then he鈥檇 pack up a self-designed and professionally fabricated 鈥渇un cart鈥� that rides on fat wheels. He鈥檇 trundle over to the beach and unfurl the built-in umbrella, roll out a cushy beach blanket, unpack a cooler full of cured meats and olives and a bottle of rioja, and tune his FM radio to a local station.

The whole ritual made me think of the last line from James Wright鈥檚 poem 鈥淟ying in a Hammock at William Duffy鈥檚 Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota:鈥� 鈥淚 have wasted my life.鈥�

The next time I visit Miguel, however, we are going to up his audio game. Today鈥檚 Bluetooth speakers are lighter than ever, and built to laugh off the ravages of water, sand, and accidental drops onto the pavement. No beach afternoon should be absent some smooth-sounding melodies: We鈥檒l take anything with a .

Here are reviews of seven of our current favorite Bluetooth speakers, depending on your needs and budget. We鈥檒l be updating the list over the course of the year. In the meantime, maybe you want to think about taking a 鈥渟ick day,鈥� shutting down the laptop, and finding some tasty waves.

Bluetooth Speaker Reviews

Best All-Around

Beats Pill

Pros and Cons
鈯�听Fun size and shape
鈯�听Impressive sound
鈯�听Long battery life
鈯�听Not omnidirectional

It鈥檚 not hard to figure out what makes a speaker stand out. It鈥檚 the sound, stupid. Yes, I know, but what I love most about the Pill is the way I can grasp it in my hand like a tallboy of Rolling Rock or, going back to junior high memories, like a baton I鈥檓 passing to the anchor sprinter in the 400 relay. The design, which comes in five pleasing colors, might be the best of the year.

And the sound is, in fact, pristine鈥攚hat one tester described as 鈥渕ore open and detailed鈥� than the others in this test. That may be owing to what鈥檚 called a racetrack woofer on the inside, an oblong shape that makes the best use of a small space to produce big sound with less distortion. Gone are the days when a little two-pound unit like this was reserved for travel; this sucker sounds good enough to be your mainstay indoors and out.

The Pill was easy to connect, served brilliantly as a speakerphone, and, as one tester opined, gets 鈥渆xtra credit for aesthetics and a lack of any glitchy issues.鈥� If you get worn out swiping through your Bluetooth settings, you can use the USB-C cable to play music directly from your phone; Beats bills this as high-resolution audio, and we detected a slight improvement.

The speaker runs for an impressive 24 hours at medium volume, has a 鈥淔ast Fuel鈥� function to get two hours of playback from a 10-minute charge, and, if lost, can be located via the 鈥淔ind My鈥� apps on both Apple and Android devices. The soft silicone backing gives it a cushion against falls, and a lanyard lets you strap it around your wrist. One drawback: It鈥檚 not omnidirectional. While it stands securely on a flat base, it has to be pointed toward you to deliver the best sound.

In the end, facing off against an assortment of stellar-sounding speakers, the Pill edged out the others because, no surprise, it sounded the most crystal clear and mellifluous.

Best For Parties

Treblab HD-Max

Pros and Cons
鈯�听Loud volume when wanted
鈯�听Great value
鈯�听One-dimensional sound
鈯�听Confusing LED modes

When you need more volume and more bass, the HD-Max delivers. The sound is not as detailed or three-dimensional as the others in this guide, but that matters less when it鈥檚 about a crowd and, as the evening wears on, they鈥檙e getting down and boogying. Treblab鈥檚 newest offering has the power to fill a sizable outdoor space, and if you want to go a notch higher, a bass-boosting feature adds even more thump. 鈥淚t makes you feel like dancing,鈥� said one reviewer.

Two other fiesta-friendly novelties are a pair of multicolor lights on either end that can be turned off and on, and a bottle opener on the removable carry strap. It鈥檒l get 20 hours of play time if you keep it at 10 percent volume, but at 100 percent it鈥檚 certified for only 6.5 hours鈥攕till, enough to get you through the night, or, if not, you can always plug it in. (And the power goes both ways: If your phone is running out of juice, the HD-Max can charge it.) One thing that could use improvement: It鈥檚 hard to tell when you鈥檙e in indoor, outdoor, or bass mode; they鈥檙e indicated by a clunky system that involves deciphering a series of blinking LED lights.

These are small trade-offs when you consider that the HD-Max is a tough-built, five-pound, foot-wide boom box that retails for $200鈥攂ut can be found for 33 percent less than that. Others in its class, like Ultimate Ears鈥� , usually set you back $350 or $400. When the fun is over and it鈥檚 back-to-work time, the speaker has a built-in mic that works well for conference calls, with an average range of 33 feet. One tester said the HD-Max had 鈥渢he best combination of sound quality, volume, and portability鈥� in the test.

Best Value

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2

Pros and Cons
鈯�听Sound fills the room
鈯�听Long battery life
鈯�听Controls not all in same place

The German audio engineers at Teuful got together with the American guitar and amp brand Fender to make this thing of beauty. The sleekly designed Rockster Go 2 is smaller than a hardcover airport novel, at eight by four inches, but it pumps out some of the best, bassiest sound in this size range. Much like Bose鈥檚 鈥攚hose latest version weighs in at 1.3 pounds and costs $149鈥攖he 1.6-pound Rockster Go 2 amazed us with its 鈥渟traight-ahead sound quality and musical vividness,鈥� as one tester put it. It goes one step further than Bose with a button that engages what鈥檚 called Dynamore virtual stereo sound, an impressive, non-gimmicky feature that seems to magically move the music to the corners of the room. (Like the Beats Pill, this speaker is unidirectional, but the Dynamore feature does a lot to make it sound good from the front or the back.)

The speaker is supposed to last for up to a whopping 28 hours in Eco Mode (which reduces the bass), though you鈥檒l probably get more like the 15 hours it promises in regular mode at medium volume. Quick charging, however, gets you out the door faster if you forgot to plug it in the night before. A short carry strap enables easier toting, and GoPro users will appreciate the quarter-inch threading on the base, which is compatible with camera mounts. Although its range is only 30 feet, one reviewer remarked that 鈥渨ith a design that鈥檚 worthy of residing on your bookcase plus its rugged build, this may be the ideal indoor/outdoor speaker in the midsize range.鈥�

Note: The Rockster line includes two other, larger sizes: the $180 and the monster $480 .

Most Portable

Ultimate Ears Miniroll

Pros and Cons
鈯�听Very compact
鈯�听Impressive sound for its size
鈯�听Bungee strap is useful
鈯�听Can get only so loud

Over the past decade, the 鈥渕ini speaker鈥� category has been trying and trying to achieve a level of sonic quality that sounds so much better than your laptop speaker that it warrants a purchase. With the Miniroll, we may have achieved the singularity. At less than 10 ounces and a fits-in-your-hand, five-inch diameter, this grab-and-go disc produced some moments of startling loudness for its size. Physics wouldn鈥檛 allow it to be in the same acoustic class as the others in this test, but testers were impressed by what it can do.

Think of the places it can go: With its eminently handy built-in rubber strap, the Miniroll can bungee right over your bike handlebars, onto your belt loop, or鈥攁 habit I鈥檝e acquired solely on account of this speaker鈥攐ver the shower curtain rod, so I can keep clean while keeping up with the news. As secure as the strap is, a bouncy bike ride might eventually dislodge it, but with its sturdy build, we wouldn鈥檛 be too concerned about damage鈥攁nd its crazy-long range of 131 feet means you won鈥檛 lose connection when you turn around to retrieve it. A PartyUp feature lets you pair multiple Minirolls together for more power or a stereo effect.

Anyone debating whether to pack a speaker for an overseas flight can be confident that the Miniroll鈥攚ith its 鈥渞oad-friendly size and shape鈥� and at 1.25 percent of an airline鈥檚 50-pound weight limit鈥攊s well worth the consideration.

Most Rugged

Turtlebox Gen 2

Pros and Cons
鈯�听Extremely tough
鈯�听Easy to tote
鈯�听Smooth sound
鈯�听Not cheap

Like Pelican and Otter, Turtlebox thinks in terms of durability that will see you through any terrain on earth, if not other planets. Case in point: The company claims that they were able to park a six-ton monster truck on this speaker, to no ill effect. Encased in super-hard plastic and completely waterproof (even floatable), the Gen 2 has quickly garnered a following among fishermen and watersports enthusiasts for more than being tough. The 120-decibel speaker is 鈥渂oth incredibly loud and impressively refined,鈥� one tester observed. Indeed, our team was hard-pressed to find many differences in audio quality between the Turtlebox 2 and the other top scorers in this year鈥檚 test. The unit also plays for 25 hours at lower volumes and about six hours at max volume, such as what you鈥檇 need for a big party.

During LCD Soundsystem鈥檚 鈥淭ribulations,鈥� the bass tones flowed smooth as silk and distortion-free, thanks to the 6-by-9-inch woofer, and, to our surprise, the high and midrange sounds also came across with great clarity. With five color options and an ideal form factor鈥攁 lunchbox-size 9.5-pound boombox with a hard nylon handle coated in rubber, plus rubber bumpers on the undercarriage鈥攖he Turtlebox Gen 2 gets just about everything right, and its fairly high price tag is less scary when you consider its durability.

Best for Audiophiles

Bose SoundLink Max

Pros and Cons
鈯�听Very rich, loud sound
鈯�听Long battery life
鈯�听Easy to pair
鈯�听Needs 5-volt charger; standard USB-C is slow

For those who were wowed by Bose鈥檚 1.3-pound SoundLink Flex (our 2022听Editor鈥檚 Choice winner), this larger and far more powerful 4.9-pound edition of the SoundLink will be true love. It punches above its weight, with rich bass and perfect balance in the higher registers. While the addition of a rubber-coated rope handle is both convenient and cute, the sticking-to-basics features from this classic brand made it a bit less fun than other party-ready units in this test. Where Bose beats them, though, is with more subtle orchestral and ambient tracks. Max Richter鈥檚听The New Four Seasons听came through with a dynamism and presence that was a notch above.

Battery life is 20 hours, range is a passable 30 feet, and Bose鈥檚 app is more versatile than those that accompany most speakers, with EQ settings to suit your tastes and listening environment. IP67 water and dust resistance means it鈥檚 fine being dropped in the pool for up to 30 minutes. The SoundLink Max does cost a lot for its size, but for those among us who like to just sit and focus on great music, it may be the most ideal鈥攁nd ideally sized鈥攑ortable speaker to date.

Best for Travel

Klipsch Nashville

Pros and Cons
鈯�听Great sound in small package
鈯�听Nice design
鈯�听Bass can get distorted

Ten years ago, it would鈥檝e been inconceivable to hear sound this deep and loud coming from a speaker so small. Such are the advances of science. Klipsch鈥檚 Nashville is the Goldilocks among a new trio of IP67 water- and dust-resistant speakers from the brand (alongside the larger Detroit and the smaller Austin). All of them sound great, but the Nashville won us over because it overdelivers for its size, a mere 2.4 pounds and seven inches wide. A pair of 2.25-inch full-range drivers鈥攐ne on the front and another on the back鈥攃reate what the company calls 360-degree sound, so it works nicely in the center of a room as opposed to a bookshelf.

The tough build鈥攚ith cushy rubber cladding all around鈥攊nstills confidence in its durability, and its 24-hour battery life makes it even better for carrying through remote places without power. The Nashville has a 40-foot range and can be wirelessly linked together with up to 10 other compatible Klipsch units. We also like the built-in mic, which allows it to work as a speakerphone, courteously pausing your music on its own. 鈥淭he cool retro looks don鈥檛 prepare you for how thoroughly modern this speaker sounds,鈥� one tester said.

How to Choose

When shopping for a new Bluetooth speaker, first consider whether you鈥檒l be using it indoors, outdoors, or both. Check its to get an idea of how much water and dust resistance it offers; these are typically reliable. Next, think about how much you鈥檒l be carrying it around鈥攂etween house and backyard, say, or moving from campsite to campsite鈥攁nd whether you鈥檒l be on foot (carrying a pack or duffel, or not) or on wheels. Then consider what makes sense in terms of weight and dimensions. As a general rule, the heavier a speaker is, the more volume you鈥檒l get out of it, but playing it loud isn鈥檛 always a necessity鈥攕ome of you will be entertaining large groups, but others will just be setting it up for mellow creekside cocktail-hour listening with your partner.

If you鈥檙e someone who moves around a lot, a speaker with long battery life might also make a difference. These days most new models will play for a good 10 hours or more even at high volume, but some are longer-lasting than others, as detailed in the models reviewed here. Finally, more and more models offer 鈥渢rue stereo鈥� linking, where two or more speakers can be paired to play at once but in stereo; this makes smaller models with this option a little more attractive than before, because if you later decide to invest more, you can give your soundscape an appreciable boost.

Finally, don鈥檛 assume that if one of the speakers in this list doesn鈥檛 sound great to you, it鈥檚 your fault. Different folks have different tastes, and some types of music sound better鈥攐r worse鈥攐n certain speakers. If you make a purchase and are feeling lukewarm afterwards, keep an eye on your return window and don鈥檛 feel guilty if you have to exchange it.

How We Test Audio Equipment

• Hours of Testing: 246
• Test Environments: Running, hiking, dog walking, cycling, windsurfing, skiing, rock climbing, yardwork, car camping, conference calls, video streaming, noisy coffee shops
• Highest Elevation: 10,152 feet, Leadville, Colorado
• Lowest Elevation: 5 feet underwater in Lake Pleasant, Arizona
• Most Listened-To Tracks: Childish Gambino: 鈥淟ithonia,鈥� The Cure: 鈥淎lone,鈥� Drugdealer and Kim Bollinger: 鈥淧ictures of You,鈥� Fontaines D.C.: 鈥淔avourite,鈥� J Dilla: 鈥淲orkinonit,鈥� Kenya Grace: 鈥淪trangers,鈥� Magdalena Bay: 鈥淚mage,鈥� Slowthai ft. James Blake and Mount Kimbie: 鈥淔eel Away,鈥� Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross: 鈥淐hallengers鈥�

The first thing we do with any Bluetooth speakers is attempt to pair them with our phones without consulting the user manual: The quicker, more intuitive, and easier the sync, the more points scored. Then we put them through hours of testing doing the kinds of things 国产吃瓜黑料 readers do鈥攕oaking in remote hot springs, inviting friends over for outdoor dance parties, playing audiobooks while riding a bike, etc.

Our team turns in reports on each product tested, providing a score of 1 to 10 for five different measures: sound quality, pairing and connectivity, fit and comfort, rain and drop protection, and user friendliness. Scores are averaged, with more weight given to sound quality and (knowing our audience) how well they stand up to the elements. Note: Battery life estimates in these reviews are based on manufacturer specs; it鈥檚 difficult to confirm those numbers, given the time involved and variances among user habits (different volumes, different uses, different functions enabled). Actual results may be 10 to 20 percent lower, judging from averages experienced in general testing.

Meet Our Lead Tester

Will Palmer has been testing gear for 21 years for 国产吃瓜黑料, where he was managing editor and copy chief for nine years. Based in Santa Fe, he has been a runner since 1984, and while the mile counts have decreased over the years, he鈥檚 kept motivated to head out the door on the hottest, coldest, and wettest days by the opportunity to test the best new products鈥攁nd to commune with the junipers and pi帽ons.

The post The 7 Best Bluetooth Speakers for Outdoor 国产吃瓜黑料s appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

When it comes to planning your next big adventure, buying luggage is probably not high on your priority list. But take it from us: a well-designed carry-on suitcase, adventure-ready duffel, or rugged roller bag can go a long way toward mitigating travel woes.

We鈥檙e always testing new duffels, suitcases, gear totes, and backpacks to see which bags are best suited to an adventurer鈥檚 needs. Whether you鈥檙e a frequent flyer, a weekend warrior, or a full-time vanlifer, there鈥檚 something on this list for you.

Updated March 2025: We’ve added three new picks. Prices and info have also been updated for 2025.

At a Glance

• Best Overall:
• Most Rugged Roller:
• Best Value Duffel:
• Most Versatile:
• Best Weekend Duffel:
• Best Checked-Size Roller:
• Best Carry-On Roller Bag:
• Best Value Roller Bag:
• Best Travel Backpack:听
• Best for Parents:
• Best Gear Tote:
• Best for Camping:
• How We Test
• Meet Our Testers

Best Overall

Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 55L

Weight: 2.6 lbs
Dimensions: 22.8鈥� x 13.3鈥� x 9.5鈥�
Available Sizes: 40 L, 55 L, 70 L, 100 L

Pros and Cons
鈯� Large opening
鈯� Lightweight
鈯� Stash pocket to separate shoes or laundry
鈯� Backpack carries well
鈯� Lacks internal organization

Patagonia鈥檚 Black Hole has been the gold standard for adventure travel luggage for a long time, and with this newest iteration featuring 100 percent recycled body fabric, lining, and webbing, the brand continues to lead the way in sustainability.

One of the best features of this duffel is how comfortable it is to carry as a backpack thanks to cushy, removable pack straps. An innovative, recycled TPU-film laminate also makes the bag lightweight and exceptionally abrasion- and weather-resistant. It鈥檚 rugged enough for major expeditions, yet convenient for the casual traveler, which makes it our top choice for 2024.

鈥淚n the rain, water beaded right off the bag, and it proved durable for outdoor adventures,鈥� said one tester after taking the bag on a canoe camping trip in the Adirondacks and a camping trip to Moab, Utah.

The signature feature of the Black Hole, besides its pack straps, is its large main compartment that accommodates more gear than you鈥檇 think and makes finding said gear at a glance easy. The downside to this design is that the Black Hole doesn鈥檛 include a ton of internal organizational features found in other duffels, like zippered compartments to keep gear separated. The Black Hole has just one internal pocket on the zip-top lid to keep smaller items like toiletries organized.

However, it does include a surprisingly spacious external pocket for things you don鈥檛 want mingling with your other stuff (like wet or dirty items). That compartment also serves as the pocket you can stuff the entire bag into for compact storage when not in use.

Most Rugged Roller

Kuiu Waypoint 3000 Roller

Weight: 7 lb 11.8 oz
Dimensions: 22鈥� x 14鈥� x 11鈥�
Volume: 49 L

Pros and Cons
鈯� Rugged
鈯� Solid internal organization
鈯� Big, all-terrain wheels
鈯� Reliable handle
鈯� Not as protective as a hardside case

Ready to be crammed in overhead bins and overlanding rigs alike, the Kuiu Waypoint 3000 is the most rugged roller we鈥檝e tested as of late. It鈥檚 a hybrid of soft- and hardside luggage, pairing a molded polycarbonate bottom frame with an expandable, hard-wearing, TPU-coated nylon upper. This hybrid design gives travelers the benefits of a protective hard case on wheels and the packability and versatility of a duffel.

One tester was especially impressed by the bag鈥檚 durability after a stint of testing that included a cross-country work trip and a weeklong overlanding trip in Colorado. He called the waterproof, 420-denier, TPU-coated nylon upper and 840-denier nylon-wrapped polycarbonate frame robust. On his trip, he forcibly crammed the Waypoint into the passenger footwell of his vehicle, accidentally left it outside in the rain one night (everything inside was dry come morning), and used it as a stool. Even after all of that, it showed no visible signs of wear.

While the Kuiu鈥檚 rugged fabric and frame are its best features, our tester was similarly pleased by the smooth-rolling XL 3.5-inch-diameter wheels, collapsible handle, and burly, built-in grab handles.

Internal organization features also earned the Kuiu kudos, particularly the clamshell zip, integrated dividers (what our tester called critical for 鈥渉is and hers鈥� adventures), and a slew of sleeves and pockets perfect for tools and toiletries. Factor in the price, and the Waypoint isn鈥檛 just rugged鈥攊t鈥檚 a good buy.

Best Value Duffel

Eagle Creek Migrate Duffel 90L

听

Weight: 2.9 lbs
Dimensions: 13.5鈥� x 25.5鈥� x 12.25鈥� (90 L)
Available Sizes: 40 L, 60 L, 90 L

Pros and Cons
鈯� Wide-mouth opening for easy access to gear
鈯� Uses 100% recycled fabric
鈯� Good value
鈯� Top zipper isn鈥檛 stiff enough

The Migrate duffel was a tester favorite for its holding capacity鈥攜ou can fit a lot in here. The 鈥渄octor bag鈥� style zip-top allows for easier access and full visibility of all your gear and an additional five liters of packing space.

Good news for those who tend to overpack and end up schlepping heavy duffels: Tuck-away backpack straps allow for multiple carry options. The added pockets鈥攊nternal and front zippered pocket鈥攕et it apart from many other duffels in this category.

But perhaps the biggest pro of this bag: it incorporates 100-percent recycled 900-denier Polyester TPU and fully recycled 1680-denier ballistic Polyester RPVB that reuses windshield plastics from landfills and makes the bag abrasion- and weather-resistant.

Testers had just one complaint: the top zipper isn鈥檛 very stiff, so testers found the opening closing in on itself while they were packing the bag.

Most Versatile

Nemo Double Haul 55L Convertible Duffel & Tote

听

Weight: 3 lbs
Dimensions: 63.5鈥� x 86鈥� x 147鈥�
Available Sizes: 55 L

Pros and Cons
鈯� Wide compartment opening
鈯� Many ways to carry and organize the bag
鈯� Folds up small into carrying case when not in use
鈯� Too bulky and uncomfortable to carry for long distances
鈯� On the heavier side

Out of all of the duffels and luggage we tested this season, the Nemo Double Haul proved to be the most ingenious. It鈥檚 a combination of a duffel bag and tote bag, with a huge opening designed to stay wide open while you pack thanks to the stiff trusses that give the bag structure.

Astonishingly, considering its size, the bag also folds down neatly into a carrying case, making it easy to travel with or keep in your car. The shell is made from urethane-coated, bluesign approved 100 percent recycled nylon, while the liner is made from bluesign approved, solution-dyed 100-percent recycled polyester with PFAS-free DWR.

This bag is meant for hauling. 鈥淚t鈥檚 best for car camping, when you have dozens of items that may not have a home,鈥� said tester Troy Tetreault after a climbing trip in Kentucky鈥檚 Red River Gorge. 鈥淚t also holds up well when tossed around amongst other gear.鈥�

However, our testers wouldn鈥檛 recommend this bag for extended airline travel. The bag itself weighs 3 pounds, and testers found it awkward to carry because of the multiple ways the straps are set up for carrying鈥攂ackpack carry, over the shoulder single arm carry, and suitcase carry.

Best Weekend Duffel

Finisterre Nautilus 45L Duffel Bag

Weight: 2.2 lbs
Dimensions: 21鈥� x 12鈥� x 10鈥�
Volume: 45 L

Pros and Cons
鈯� Low-profile
鈯� Durable
鈯� Goldilocks organization
鈯� Backpack carry straps
鈯� Expensive
鈯� Laptop sleeve can鈥檛 fit bigger laptops

A British B Corp that鈥檚 been crafting gear for devotees of sea and surf for over two decades, Finisterre impressed our test team with the Nautilus 45. This dynamic duffel doubles as a backpack, meets most airline carry-on requirements, and has a simple, streamlined design.

One tester, a San Francisco-based surfer, called the Nautilus 45L the perfect weekend duffel. He loved that the velcro grip of the duffel-style handle unfurls to padded backpack straps. 鈥淭hey made carrying the bag a breeze, especially while also carrying a couple of surfboards,鈥� he reported. He also commended the waxed, DWR-treated exterior fabric that proved reliably water-resistant.

We took the Finisterre on trips to the mountains of Northern California and Nevada and appreciated the padded, TPU-coated bottom panel that protected the bag from moisture and grime. We also liked the black colorway, as it hides dirt well and is more subtle for travelers who want to fly under the radar.

All testers dug the cavernous main compartment, which features stretchy crisscrossing straps that helped lash clothes down, keeping contents organized on the road. They judged the array of pockets sufficient, not superfluous: The duffel features a pair of external zips, a single internal zip, and a padded laptop sleeve integrated into the opening flap.

We had just two dings: The laptop sleeve accommodated a 13.1-inch Macbook, but it doesn鈥檛 easily fit 15-plus-inch machines. The Nautilus is also relatively pricey compared to the Patagonia Black Hole 55L ($169), Nemo Double-Haul 55L ($180), and our top value pick, the Eagle Creek Migrate Duffel 90L ($139).

But between the subtle style, simple yet efficient organization, and durability that suggests this duffel will last for eons of adventures to come, our testers still gave the nod to the Nautilus as a worthy weekender, despite the higher price tag.

Best Checked-Size Roller Bag

Evoc World Traveller 125

Weight: 9.3 lbs
Dimensions: 16鈥� x 34鈥� x 13鈥� (125L)
Available Sizes:听125 L

Pros and Cons

鈯� Excellent customizable and removable organization system
鈯� Heavy-duty, replaceable wheels
鈯� Well-built
鈯� Fabric can fray if you use the skateboard carry system

When category manager Drew Zieff lived out of the Evoc World Traveller 125 during a three-week road trip through New England this summer, it quickly stood out for its best-in-test combo of organization and durability.

鈥淭he wheels were on the larger side for a roller bag, and combined with that heavy-duty handle, the World Traveller cruises over uneven brick or packed dirt and gravel with ease,鈥� he reported. He also appreciated the taller, narrower profile of the World Traveller, which was easy to maneuver through tighter gaps at airport terminals and campgrounds alike.

The bag features two access points: an upper zipper reveals a small compartment, while a lower zip gives way to the main compartment. Both feature removable, adjustable dividers. One tester divided clothes between the two larger compartments and used the smaller ones for everything from socks and underwear to toiletries, a headlamp, and his derailleur and chain. He even left it packed once he got to his destination鈥攖he perfect portable dresser.

The bag sports two external pockets, too: a larger square one on the bottom, and a smaller semi-circle pocket on top. The two external straps can be used for carrying a skateboard, which Zieff did on one of his adventures. Testers were impressed by the overall durability, reporting no baggage handler-related damage (despite one loading the World Traveller with 62 pounds of mountain bike gear). However, Zieff did note that his skateboard鈥檚 gritty grip tape started to wear on the otherwise tough fabric. Still, we鈥檇 recommend the World Traveller as the perfect closet on wheels for all kinds of four-season adventures.

Best Carry-On Roller Bag

DB Ramverk Pro Front Access Carry-On

Weight: 9.3 lbs
Dimensions: 21鈥� x 16鈥� x 9鈥�
Available Sizes:听Carry-On, Front-Access Carry On, Check-In M, Check-In L

Pros and Cons:听

鈯� Sleek, Scandinavian design
鈯� Front panel provides easy access
鈯� Durable build
鈯� Really expensive
鈯� Heavy

DB鈥檚 Ramverk Pro Front Access Carry-On is everything we love (and one thing we hate) about Scandinavian design. The Norwegian outfitter鈥檚 premium roller is clean, minimalistic, functional, and built to last鈥攁 masterful blend of elegant aesthetic and rugged utilitarianism. So what鈥檚 not to love? A price tag that鈥檒l have you cursing the kroner.

If the sky鈥檚 the limit for your carry-on budget, though, the Ramverk Pro is as good as it gets for frequent flyers. The roller features a tough, polycarbonate shell built around an aluminum frame.听 A stiff-yet-flexible, padded polyester front-access panel unzips to reveal a laptop sleeve, a few organizational pockets, and a spacious main compartment.

One tester, a Seattle doctor who moonlights as an ultra-discerning, multi-sport gear tester, loved the durability and construction. 鈥淭he frame is strong and this bag is quite durable鈥搃t feels like a lifetime piece,鈥� he reported after a summer of testing. He dug the 360-degree-spinning, 50-millimeter Hinomoto wheels and the telescoping handle, too. The resulting maneuverability was so impressive that he said he “felt like Lewis Hamilton whipping an F1 racecar while swerving through the crowds of SeaTac.”

Best Value Roller Bag

Osprey Ozone 2-Wheel Carry-On

听

Weight: 4.5 lbs
Dimensions: 10鈥� x 14鈥� X 21.5鈥�
Available Sizes: 40 L

Pros and Cons
鈯� Lightweight
鈯� Large wheels and high clearance
鈯� Seemed to hold less than other bags the same size
鈯� On the pricier side

The Ozone line from Osprey, featuring five pieces ranging from four-wheeled suitcases to smaller backpacks and boarding bags, was designed for frequent flyers and travelers who value ease of transport. Of those, the Ozone 2-Wheel Carry-On is perhaps the most convenient on-board option.

Made from an ultralight yet durable aluminum frame and nanofly recycled nylon fabric, it offers just enough organizational capabilities to make packing for a trip a little easier. This suitcase (like all pieces in this line) features a buttonless trolley handle and a YKK reverse coil coated zipper for improved water resistance鈥攂oth industry firsts. The Ozone 2-Wheel Carry-On also has a high clearance High Road LT frame, and oversized 90 millimeter wheels, making it rugged enough to handle terrain beyond concourse floors.

One tester takeaway: Despite this bag鈥檚 advertised 40-liter capacity, it didn鈥檛 seem to hold as much as softer duffel-style bags of the same size. That said, the sleek design combined with the function of this bag made it an obvious choice for our testers who needed a transport-friendly yet durable carry-on.

Best Travel Backpack

Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L

听

Weight: 4.5 lbs
Dimensions: 22鈥� x 13鈥� x 11鈥�
Available Sizes: 30L, 40L

Pros and Cons
鈯� Adjustable volume system
鈯� Clean aesthetic
鈯� Good durability
鈯� Great organizational features
鈯� Heavy for a backpack
鈯� Expensive

鈥淚f you hate talking to strangers in the airport, then this pack might not be for you,鈥� joked a Denver-based tester who took the Travel Backpack on both a mountain biking trip to North Carolina and a sightseeing sojourn to Scotland this year. 鈥淚’ve never received so many compliments from strangers.鈥� And while it’s true that the Travel Backpack鈥檚 aesthetic is undeniably sleek, this bag doesn鈥檛 just look dapper in transit: it also impressed with its user-friendly feature set and surprising ruggedness.

Features include a padded, 16-inch laptop sleeve and easy-access stash spots for passports, sunglasses, keys, and other odds and ends. Macleod鈥檚 favorite pockets, though, were the massive, stretchy water bottle sleeves that Peak Design engineered to double as tripod storage; each fit a Nalgene easily.

Testers also praised the comfy, stowable hip belt and shoulder straps, as well as multiple zippered access points. A set of snaps and expansion panels lets the Travel Backpack 45 slim down to a more manageable 35-liter or 30-liter pack. When compressed, it could fit under an airline seat.

We weren’t worried about shoving it under there, either: Peak Design used a polyurethane-coated, DWR-treated, 400-denier nylon that鈥檚 seriously durable and water-resistant, and the bottom of the pack is armored with an even beefier 900D waterproof nylon.

Demerits were few and far between, but if we鈥檝e got to nitpick, it鈥檚 on the heavy side for daily use. It’s also pretty pricey.

Best For Parents

No Reception Club Hideaway Carry-on Duffel 国产吃瓜黑料 Bundle

Weight: 3.3 lbs when empty, 5 lbs w/ shoulder straps, removable cubby, and included laundry sack
Dimensions: 22鈥� x 13鈥� x 9鈥�
Volume: 42L

Pros and Cons
鈯� Smart organization
鈯� Multiple carry options
鈯� Thoughtful features
鈯� Almost too many organizational options

Staying organized on the road is challenging enough when you鈥檙e traveling solo. Throw a kiddo (or more) into the mix, and difficulty skyrockets exponentially. No Reception Club鈥檚 Hideaway Duffel solves lots of problems for parents with its many thoughtful design features.

It includes a removable cubby (with adjustable dividers) that drops into the main compartment, a smattering of internal and external pockets, and an easy-to-clean, water and odor-resistant laundry compartment for quarantining dirty duds. It even has an insulated pocket purpose-built for safeguarding milk, formula, or other perishable baby food鈥攁 feature one tester traveling cross-country with his infant daughter especially appreciated.

The carry-on boasts a multitude of carry options, including removable backpack straps, grab handles, and a luggage pass-through sleeve. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very versatile,鈥� commented another tester, a frequent flyer and dad of two, who appreciated the ability to use the Hideaway as a backpack between airport gates or pop it on top of his roller bag for longer slogs. He dug the debonair styling and overall aesthetic, too. However, he did find the sheer abundance of pockets and organizational features a tad overwhelming, recommending Hideaway haulers adopt a systematic packing style so little odds and ends don鈥檛 get lost.

You can scoop the duffel solo for $295, but our testers recommend the adventure bundle ($320), which comes with a hangable toiletries case. The ($45) has a hook for hanging and transparent windows that make it easy to keep stock of items.

Best Gear Tote

Evo XL Utility Tote 95

Dimensions: 28鈥� x 19鈥� x 15鈥� (95L)
Available Sizes:听50 L, 95 L

Pros and Cons:

鈯� Durable
鈯� Versatile
鈯� Internal and external pockets
鈯� Affordable
鈯� No shoulder strap
鈯� Bulky when fully loaded

The biggest thing Evo鈥檚 XL Utility Tote 95 has going for it? It鈥檚 big. Really big. With a volume of 95 liters鈥攁 size typically reserved for expedition duffels and checked baggage鈥攖he Utility Tote is a massive gear hauler our testers quickly fell for. 鈥淚 travel with bulky gear all the time, and this makes it so much easier to keep those items together,” reported one tester. “It fits my entire bike or snowboard kit.”

That said, the Utility Tote isn鈥檛 a one-trick pony. The exterior is a thick, water-resistant, polyurethane-coated PET ripstop that hasn鈥檛 yet shown any signs of wear, while the tarp lining is both easy to clean and difficult to damage.

Evo managed to add a few organization features without sacrificing the cavernous main compartment, too. Another tester, an Arizona-based cyclist, appreciated the tote鈥檚 padded interior pockets. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to have designated spots for bike tools, gloves and cycling caps, and an extra pair of sunglasses,鈥� he said. Testers also dug the exterior pockets, which were perfect for separating wet or smelly gear, and the burly exterior loops, which were ideal for lashing wet towels, bike helmets, and shoes to the outside.

We just wish Evo had included a shoulder strap; hefting the fully loaded bag by the grab handles proved cumbersome over longer distances.

How We Test

• Number of Testers: 21
• Number of Products Tested: 35
• Number of Miles Traveled: 18,500

Over the course of three years, we tested 35 pieces of luggage designed for the adventurous traveler who hauls their gear through more rugged environments than airport concourses. Think rafting adventures, camping getaways, climbing trips, and cross-country roadtrips.

As such, we primarily considered soft shell luggage between 20 and 100 liters made with abrasion- and weather-resistant materials to withstand plenty of use and abuse. We then rounded up 21 individuals who travel extensively鈥攊ncluding a professional photographer, an outdoor educator, a professional skier and mountain biker, a forest ranger, and mapping technology specialist鈥攁nd tasked them with schlepping these bags around the country to assess the best picks for adventure travel.

We asked them to home in on overall performance, feature-set, ease of transport, and durability, among other qualities. The bags on this list rose to the top of the pile after impressing testers in all categories.

Meet our Testers

Drew Zieff

听is a Tahoe-based freelancer who writes for听Backcountry Magazine, REI, Gear Junkie, and Forbes, among others. A regular听国产吃瓜黑料听contributor, he heads our听snowboard听gear coverage in the winter. A few years back, he and his partner turned a plumbing van into their听dream adventure mobile. After a couple years of vanlife, the highlight of which was surfing from Canada to Mexico, the couple put roots down in Tahoe, though they still take van trips to the coast when there鈥檚 swell. Familiar with the needs of both weekend warriors and full-time nomads, Zieff happily directs our camping accessories, travel luggage, and camping kitchen coverage each summer.

Caitlin Kelly

Originally from the Coast of Maine, Caitlin Kelly studied creative writing and environmental studies at St. Lawrence University in Upstate New York. She has called the Adirondack Mountains home since, building community through her work with Women of the Adirondacks and The Adirondack Community Avalanche Project. She currently resides in Lake Placid, NY, and is the social and digital media specialist for North Country Public Radio. She is an avid backcountry skier and a ski patroller at Whiteface Mountain. Her writing has appeared in Powder Magazine, Adirondack Life Magazine, Freeskier, The Ski Journal, 国产吃瓜黑料 Magazine, and Ski Magazine, among other publications. If you sit too close to her on a chairlift, you may get some glitter on you.

The post The Best Backpacks, Duffels, and Roller Bags for 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

When I was younger I had a high-adrenaline running playlist that I carefully curated: Arctic Monkeys, Jay-Z, Rage Against the Machine. It got my heart rate up, the same way drinking a lot of coffee made me more productive. As podcasts became a thing鈥攁nd I decided a more moderate heart rate has its upsides鈥擨 seized the chance to explore ideas while trying to hit my weekly mile goals. What remained constant was my appreciation for the evolution of earbuds, from wired to wireless, from basic to loaded, with features like active noise cancellation, and always toward better and better sound. So it is a delight to be able to test and select the best-performing sport earbuds on the market.

Update March 2025: We’ve tested and selected new sport earbud models in six categories, including a new best overall pick of the Bose QuietComfort.

The Hottest Trend in Sport Earbuds

This year鈥檚 hottest trend is open earbuds, which allow you to hear far more of what鈥檚 going on around you, and I can鈥檛 say I鈥檝e been sold on them. There鈥檚 no doubt that they make a lot of sense for people who run along the roadside or, even more so, cyclists who go anywhere near cars鈥攇enerally a very bad time to be canceling the noise around you. Open earbuds work in one of two ways: either with the transmitter positioned near your ear canal but not in it (see the VERIO 200 in our reviews below) or through bone conduction (found in the H2O Audio TRI 2 Pro below), which bypasses your eardrum, sending sound directly to your inner ear by way of your skull bones.

Since I live in the desert and rarely pass another living soul on the trails, I don鈥檛 need to hear what鈥檚 going on around me, and open earbuds will always be challenged to sound as good, or as loud, when they鈥檙e handicapped by having to reach your hearing by alternative methods. So for music, they鈥檙e not my favorite; for the spoken word, I鈥檓 learning to like them.

During this year鈥檚 tests, one of my fellow reviewers said he appreciated that the open design allowed him to hear not just passing cars but songbirds. Which sent me into a brief panic: Am I missing all the birdsongs? Sadly, there aren鈥檛 a lot of birds on my trail, but next summer when I鈥檓 hiking up at 10,000 feet and the dark-eyed juncos are chirping in the high branches, I鈥檒l put that theory to the test.

In the meantime, many closed-ear models these days (see Bose and Bowers & Wilkins below) let you employ a transparency (or awareness) mode that enhances ambient sound. This can be a nice in-between solution if your need for awareness isn鈥檛 so much life-and-death as it is a courtesy to the runner or biker 鈥渙n your left.鈥�

As our tests demonstrated, there鈥檚 a wide array of applications for those little pieces of tech we鈥檙e so fond of popping into our ears. We tried out a variety of models designed to optimize listening for every type of activity. Here are the seven we liked best in a range of scenarios: indoors or out, on land or in the water, on city sidewalks or remote trails where you can block out the noise and be in your own sound tunnel鈥攁s long as your remote trail doesn鈥檛 pass through bear country.

At a Glance

• Best All-Around:
• Best High-Fidelity:
• Best for Runners:
• Best Open-Ear:
• Killer Value:
• Best for Water:
• Most Innovative:
• How to Choose Earbuds
• How We Test
• Meet Our Lead Tester

Best All-Around

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds

Pros and Cons
鈯� That reliable Bose sound
鈯� Excellent noise cancellation
鈯� Case feels a bit cheap

The most surprising thing about the new iteration of the QuietComfort Earbuds is the price, which has dropped from $280 in the first generation to $180. Bose also offers a premium model called the QuietComfort Ultra, which goes for $300. Surely the new economy model is lacking something those other versions had? Not a whole lot, as far as we could tell.

The new model is anchored on what Bose is best known for: smooth, warm sound that鈥檚 well balanced, with no overblown bass-iness and nothing too tinny on the high end. The QC II also comes with active noise cancellation that performed well, for example, when running on a windy day. With various sizes of fins that help you find a secure fit, they proved above average as workout earbuds, although parkour practitioners will probably experience slippage. The charging case has a slightly cheap plastic feel but is perfectly adequate.

The QC IIs come with their own app, which testers found easy to use; one 鈥済reatly appreciated being able to modify the touch controls, which I tend to dislike in earbuds, via the app.鈥� If you鈥檙e one of those people, you鈥檒l like the options for voice control, which let you pause, answer calls, and even take a selfie just by saying so. The battery life is very good, at 8.5 hours on medium volume with ANC turned on, and the charging case supplies 2.5 extra charges. With IPX4 water resistance, they repel splashing water but won鈥檛 be happy if submerged. And Bluetooth Multipoint means you can connect a phone and a laptop at the same time, without needing to fuss with Bluetooth settings every time you make the transition.

There鈥檚 nothing unexpected here鈥攁side from the low price鈥攁nd that鈥檚 a good thing. The QuietComfort II performed like a champ and had a just-right feel, and it鈥檚 always nice to pick up some excellent Bose tech and still afford to take your partner to dinner on Friday.

Best for Audiophiles

Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 In-Ear True Wireless Earbuds

Pros and Cons
鈯� Pristine sound quality
鈯� Non-frustrating touch controls
鈯� Not cheap

鈥淭he most audiophile worthy of all the earbuds I鈥檝e tested,鈥� one of our veteran reviewers gushed after a month with the Pi8s. Through hours of listening sessions on planes, on trails, on couches, and on city sidewalks, this was the pair that invariably impressed everyone on our test team, with their 鈥渋ncredibly balanced and musical鈥� sound quality.

The $400 price鈥�$150 above Apple鈥檚 ubiquitous AirPod Pros and $100 north of the Bose QuietComfort Ultras鈥攎eans you have to be serious about your music, and about taking good care of them. They鈥檙e IP54-rated, able to handle sweat and a misty rain, but are not the pair you want to bring to the gym each day. While the four sizes of ear tips help them sit pretty securely and comfortably, they will fall out on occasion. All the same, we won鈥檛 discourage you from ever bringing them on a run on a sunny day, where their high-fidelity clarity is sure to put a little more oomph in your step.

The active noise cancellation on the Pi8s is excellent, similar to that on the Bose QCII, with touch controls for toggling between on, off, and transparency mode. The touch controls work better than in most earbuds we鈥檝e seen, with a satisfying light noise that鈥檚 akin to a mouse click. We also love the pearlescent finish on the outer surface of the Pi8s, which come in four colors. A robust companion app lets you turn off the touch controls and has a five-band equalizer so you can tweak the sound profile to your liking. Battery life here is an average 6.5 hours, and the charging case holds two additional charges (13.5 hours).

Another nice feature is something called retransmission. This allows you to use the included USB-C-to-3.5mm cord to plug the unit鈥檚 charging case into an external device like an in-flight entertainment system and the case will send the signal into the buds, so you鈥檙e not stuck listening on that plastic-wrapped pair the flight attendants hand out with the peanuts.

One reviewer reported, 鈥淚 listened to an album with two double basses鈥斺�淏ut Who鈥檚 Gonna Play the Melody?鈥� by Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer鈥攁nd I could hear their fingers and the pull of the bow on the strings in ways I hadn鈥檛 before.鈥� That鈥檚 a good example of what makes these shine like few have before them.

Best for Runners

SoundPeats Q35 HD+ Neckband Headphones

Pros and Cons
鈯� Impossible to lose
鈯� Lightweight
鈯� Struggles with heavy bass
鈯� Cord can annoy some

If impressive sound coupled with a secure fit is what you鈥檙e after, this is the model for you. The Q35 HD+s are held firmly in place by semi-rigid fins that position them snugly鈥攕omething we鈥檙e surprised more earbuds don鈥檛 come with鈥攚hile a barely there cord wraps behind your neck. If you drop and do push-ups and gravity pops the buds out, the cord makes it impossible for one to roll away into the shrubbery to be lost forever. It鈥檚 a satisfying package: light but with a sturdy build, and easy to spool into your pocket when you stop for coffee.

It鈥檚 a form factor that鈥檚 been around for years and, as one tester who runs routinely notes, has been perennially dependable. What we didn鈥檛 expect, for the bargain price, is something that sounds this good. The sound is not as detailed or as robust in the low end as the Bose or B&W models, but you鈥檙e certainly getting more than you paid for. For a heart-pumping track like the Who鈥檚 鈥淏aba O鈥橰iley,鈥� they sound good enough for hours on the trail.

And time on the trail is another thing they鈥檝e got covered: The company rates them at 17 hours on a charge, after which they get plugged back in鈥攏o backup power in the carrying case, which is flimsy but does fine at protecting the device and keeping the cord from tangling with the other stuff in your backpack.

IPX5 water resistance means they鈥檒l have no problem with a light rain and should not be impacted by moisture on a long, sweaty day on the trail. And the mic built into the inline control module means the Q35 HD+ handles phone calls well鈥攚ith the proximity to your mouth arguably capturing your voice better than the mic on a wireless earbud can. It鈥檚 an impressive piece of gear that could have just as easily slotted into our Killer Value category.

Best Open Ear

Beyerdynamic VERIO 200

Pros and Cons
鈯� Best-sounding open-ear model
鈯� No discomfort inside your ears
鈯� Ear hooks can be uncomfortable

Cycling on a city street while dialing in to the all-hands meeting? Hiking with a buddy and wanting to switch between conversation and catching up on your podcasts? Knocking out two chapters of Moby-Dick on Audible on your daily run? All these use cases have their perfect companion in the VERIO 200.

And this is leaving out music, which historically (in our test team鈥檚 estimation) has sounded too weak and tinny in the open-ear design but now, at last, is starting to approach the real thing. Rock 鈥檔鈥� roll will probably never shine with this form factor, but it鈥檚 never come closer than this. Thanks to the wizards at Beyerdynamic, classical and jazz came through with a clarity that one tester called 鈥渂etter sounding and generally more sophisticated than previous attempts at open ear.鈥�

The VERIO 200s play for eight hours on a charge and have a well-designed case that provides 27 more hours. (Some found the case a little large, but others appreciated that the earpieces slide in so seamlessly, without the multiple repositioning attempts required with some brands that use a smaller case.) The dual mics make them very effective for calls, and an IP54 rating makes them suitable for runs and walks in a light rain鈥攐r for a sweaty CrossFit workout, where they鈥檇 do a good job of staying in place thanks to an effective wraparound design. (Some reviewers, however, found them uncomfortable after an hour or so.)

Of course, safety is the main motivator for going to an open-ear design, and even at full volume the VERIO allowed the sound of fellow bikers and pedestrians to be heard. Returning home, we loved being able to leave them on for hours more, listening to the news or a ballgame while being able to chat with family, with no pausing or bud removal required.

Killer Value

Mixx StreamBuds Custom 1

Pros and Cons
鈯� Compact
鈯� Surprisingly loud and clear
鈯� Small size means easy to lose
鈯� No IP rating

The Custom 1, from UK-based Mixx, delivers a really impressive sound at a great price. Out of the box, the first thing that charmed us was the size of the case, small enough to close your hand around. The earbuds themselves are small too鈥攁 fact that made them coveted by my wife, who can鈥檛 deal with anything too bulky sitting in her ears.

That tiny case is also tough, made of zinc alloy that looks sleek and can handle being dropped, stepped on (we tried it out), and generally tormented. Said case charges the Custom 1s for six hours of playtime and carries three extra six-hour charges: pretty impressive for such a wee thing.

But it鈥檚 the Custom 1鈥檚 well-detailed acoustic quality that won us over: 鈥淢usic sounded warm, with good lows, though sometimes a bit muffled,鈥� said one tester. Others also echoed the word 鈥渨arm鈥濃�攖hey seem to offer a certain rich quality that makes orchestral music shine through.

The Custom 1s sounded great on runs but are definitely not the most secure, and at their size, you鈥檒l be nervous about losing them. 鈥淚 preferred them for walking rather than more active running or hiking,鈥� one tester remarked. Nor do they come with any IP rating for water or dust resistance; this doesn鈥檛 mean they can鈥檛 handle moisture, but apparently the company didn鈥檛 do that testing. If you鈥檙e a fan of compactness, if you have smaller ears, or if you simply like discovering hidden gems at a bargain price, however, this is one to add to the mix.

Best for Water

H2O Audio TRI 2 Pro

Pros and Cons
鈯� Totally waterproof
鈯� Onboard memory
鈯� Song transfer is slow
鈯� Can cause tickling

Have you harbored dreams of funneling techno into your auditory nerve while windsurfing on San Francisco Bay, then voice-commanding to switch over to an incoming business call? One member of our review crew put three models of waterproof earbuds through this very test and, while the process stands to be improved through future innovations, it worked fairly well, with the TRI 2 Pro coming out on top.

H2O Audio has been selling good products for swimmers and the like for years鈥攊t takes a special approach, not least because they need to be IPX8, able to go 12 feet underwater for as long as you want them to鈥攍ike this model can. And, of course, a Bluetooth signal won鈥檛 travel under the waves with you, so tracks need to be stored locally, either on a waterproof MP3 player or an even better solution, like this unit鈥檚 8GB of onboard memory that can store 130 hours of tracks. (It can move your own mp3 files over or 鈥渞ecord鈥� music from a streaming service like Spotify, though this is a slow process.)

The TRI 2 Pros employ bone conduction technology, which makes them great for podcasts while out on a run or bike ride, but a little less ideal when trying to rock out in said open-air activities: Then they can start to tickle. Still, H2O Audio and other companies are making these units sound better every year. And it鈥檚 underwater that they really shine: When you use the included earplugs to neutralize the water noise in your ears, it鈥檚 surprising how smooth music sounds, and at much more moderate volumes. They鈥檙e a minor godsend for lap swimmers, snorkelers, and triathletes (presumably the core audience for the Tri line) who like to enhance their life aquatic by playing their favorite symphony or devouring an audiobook. The headset will play for up to nine hours in Bluetooth mode and six hours in memory mode and comes with a zip case (which is rather bulky) that provides two and a half refills.

Back to our windsurfer: The TRI 2 Pro worked under a helmet (and this success was replicated on the ski slopes), which also secured them in the event of a fall. Playing tunes when the wind was low was enjoyable, but in high wind it was a challenge: 鈥淚 could hear the music, but the output of the headphones had to compete with the roar of wind in my ear canals. It鈥檚 simply a matter of physics.鈥� This also meant the tester鈥檚 hopes of 鈥渢urning sales meetings into sails meetings鈥� by joining conference calls were largely dashed. Listening worked fine, but the microphone couldn鈥檛 pick up his voice from deep inside his helmet. Maybe one day.

Most Innovative

Denon PerL True Wireless Earbuds

Pros and Cons
鈯� Rich, dynamic sound
鈯� Impressive app
鈯� Customizable sound profile
鈯� Chunky size

鈥淓ach product is hand-tuned by our sound master,鈥� Denon says of the PerLs, and while we don鈥檛 know exactly what that means, it speaks to the Japanese DNA in these premium-sounding buds. Take the accompanying software, for instance: The first thing you do with these wireless buds is download an app that streams a series of sounds and frequencies into your ears to measure how you hear, then creates a personalized profile that transforms how good music sounds. It鈥檚 one of the best uses of a headphone app we鈥檝e seen.

The PerLs came across as lively but not piercing on the high end, with realism and verve. There鈥檚 even a high-gain option on the app that boosts volume for quiet recordings, which one tester called 鈥渁 welcome feature that I would love to see in a lot of sometimes anemic Bluetooth earbuds.鈥� These capabilities are made possible by a series of ultra-sensitive microphones, which probably explains their rather enormous size鈥攐ne reviewer called them 鈥渟harp-edged Alka-Seltzer tablet earbud bodies鈥� and noted, 鈥淚 had to remove the supplied fin attachment before these felt okay.鈥�

Others liked the fit and found them great for running, where they kept the adrenaline flowing with some of the best full-on rocking-out sound in the test. 鈥淪t. Vincent and Spoon sounded like I was listening to vinyl,鈥� one tester said. The active noise cancellation is decent, the six hours of battery is average (with two more charges from the case), and an IPX4 rating means they can handle a light rain. Given the quality and attention to detail, we consider these a true bargain at $139 or less.

How to Choose Earbuds

Earbuds are more like shoes than most other gear categories: so much depends on the right fit. What comfortably fits one person鈥檚 ears may not suit another鈥檚, and there鈥檚 more to it than size. The internal anatomy of the ear makes certain designs actually sound better to one person than the next. If you can鈥檛 try them out at a store or borrow them from a friend, it may be best to buy them from a retailer with a good return policy. Once you have them in hand, do some real-world tests with the different tip sizes, and trade them in if you aren鈥檛 in love.

If you want to get serious about the perfect fit, consider aftermarket foam eartips, like . In addition to helping with a more secure fit, they provide passive noise isolation, which can improve the experience with both ANC-equipped and ANC-less earbuds. Should fit issues persist, consider a model with behind-the-ear hooks like the .

Also give some thought to which features do it for you: Some people like sleek touch controls, others prefer old-school push buttons; some like to tap for quick pausing, others would rather forgo that feature and pull out one bud to ask for directions, so as to avoid the annoyance of unwanted pauses every time your fingers go near them. And if you live in a rainy climate, be sure to choose ones with an ending in 4 or higher (as all the models here do).

Finally, be aware that there are more specialized designs emerging and getting better each year鈥搇ike these earbuds for , others for , and for those who want to stay more tuned in to their surroundings.

How We Test Sport Earbuds

• Hours of Testing: 246
• Test Environments: Running, hiking, dog walking, cycling, windsurfing, skiing, rock climbing, yardwork, car camping, conference calls, video streaming, noisy coffee shops
• Highest Elevation: 10,152 feet, Leadville, Colorado
• Lowest Elevation: 5 feet underwater in Lake Pleasant, Arizona
• Most Listened-To Tracks: Childish Gambino: 鈥淟ithonia,鈥� The Cure: 鈥淎lone,鈥� Drugdealer and Kim Bollinger: 鈥淧ictures of You,鈥� Fontaines D.C.: 鈥淔avourite,鈥� J Dilla: 鈥淲orkinonit,鈥� Kenya Grace: 鈥淪trangers,鈥� Magdalena Bay: 鈥淚mage,鈥� Slowthai ft. James Blake and Mount Kimbie: 鈥淔eel Away,鈥� Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross: 鈥淐hallengers鈥�

The first thing we do with any earbuds, headphones, or speakers is attempt to pair them with our phones without consulting the user manual: the quicker, more intuitive, and easier the Bluetooth setup, the more points scored. Then we put them through rigorous hours of testing doing the kinds of things 国产吃瓜黑料 readers do鈥攆rom dog walks to HIIT workouts, from fireside listening to our day jobs, which for one of us is at the local woodworking shop. Our testers, who range in location from Alaska to Berkeley to Santa Fe to New York City, spent hours in them, bouncing up and down on trails, treadmills, and trains.

Our team turns in reports on each product tested, providing a score from 1 to 10 for five different measures: sound quality, pairing and connectivity, fit and comfort, rain and drop protection, and user friendliness. Scores are averaged, with more weight given to sound quality and (knowing our audience) how well they stand up to the elements. Note: Battery life estimates in these reviews are based on manufacturer specs; it鈥檚 difficult to confirm those numbers, given the time involved and variances among user habits (different volumes, different uses, different functions enabled). Actual results may be 10 to 20 percent lower, judging from averages experienced in general testing.

Meet Our Lead Tester

Will Palmer has been testing gear for 21 years for 国产吃瓜黑料, where he was managing editor and copy chief for nine years. Based in Santa Fe, he has been a runner since 1984, and while the mile counts have decreased over the years, he鈥檚 kept motivated to head out the door on the hottest, coldest, and wettest days by the opportunity to test the best new products鈥攁nd to commune with the junipers and pi帽ons.

The post The 7 Best Sport Earbuds (2025) appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Two years ago, I had a mild midlife crisis when I turned 40. I say 鈥渕ild鈥� because I did not make any negative life-altering choices or obsess over opportunities missed in the first 40 years of my life. I did, however, make the stereotypical massive purchase which had a toe hold in vanity.

Driven by the determination to maintain some level of athleticism as I age, I cleaned out my garage鈥攚hich had long been a gear hoarding space鈥攁nd turned it into my ultimate home gym.听 When all was said and done, my out-of-pocket expenses came to around $5,000鈥攖he third-largest single purchase I鈥檝e made in my life (after my home and my Tacoma).

It鈥檚 still not the fanciest home gym in the world, but I did splurge on some top-tier equipment that I knew would enhance our workouts at home. My wife uses our garage gym six to seven days a week, while I am in for a solid three workouts per week. I used to open my garage and shudder at the mess, and now I see nothing but opportunity to better myself.

Essentials: The Must-Haves for a Basic Home Gym听

A kettlebell, yoga mat, and speaker are where it all started for me. I would put my daughter (then a newborn) down for naps and rip a fast kettlebell and core workout in my backyard while listening to tunes and obsessively watching our baby monitor. Both my workout time and space are much more plentiful now, but these three products still remain key parts of my fitness routine.

Paradigm Pro Elite 33 mm kettlebells

I would suggest that a kettleball be the first purchase for your home gym due to the dozens of powerful exercises you can do with it. I have tested and written about a variety of kettlebells and, after having used the Paradigm Competition Kettlebell for seven years, it is still my favorite and the one I go to for swings as well as presses (my main two kettlebell movements). Its hollow core makes it feel balanced in my hand and the oversized handle delivers plenty of real estate for moves that require both hands, like swings.

JBL Boombox 2

If a kettlebell is the first purchase you make for your home gym, I would suggest buying a premium speaker as your second. At $400, the Boombox 2 is crazy expensive, but the price tag comes with a huge audio upgrade from its smaller counterparts. We have had two different friends purchase this speaker after working out in our garage with us because they were so impressed with the sound quality.

With 24 hours of solid battery life, we charge the thing about once a month even when using it six-plus days a week. It is also really loud. I can clearly hear my wife鈥檚 pump-up music through a closed garage door from a hundred yards away. In my opinion, listening to the music you want loudly is one of the great joys of having your own exercise space.

If you are on a budget you can get by with a smaller bluetooth speaker like our favorite budget option, the TriBit Xsound Plus2, or you can stick with the earbuds you already have. If you have the extra dough, though, solid robust sound brings pure magic into a workout space.

Lululemon Reversible Mat 5mm

This 5-millimeter mat is meant for yoga, but thanks to a polyurethane top and natural rubber bottom, it鈥檚 robust enough to pull double duty as a core workout landing space or even a platform for squats. While cheaper, thinner yoga matts tend to get ratty quickly after extensive use, this one has remained intact after over two years of heavy use.

Nice to Haves: Equipment that Will Enhance Your Gym Experience

Once I created some more time in my life for fitness as well as more physical space in my garage, I started to accumulate specialty pieces of workout gear that would allow me to focus on parts of my body that are especially injury prone (like my chest and shoulders).

R-B Rubber Stall Mats

These 4-by-6-foot mats designed for horse stalls will turn what is likely the least comfortable floor in your home into what feels like a professional gym at a sub-$60 price tag (I got mine at my local Grange). The mats use recycled tire crumb and a polyurethane binder that has proved soft enough for me to walk around on barefoot (how I prefer to lift) and sturdy enough to handle the impact when my wife and I drop the bar after our heaviest deadlifts.听

You can purchase significantly more expensive, gym-specific flooring, but I鈥檝e found that these mats work just fine and show little wear and tear after two years of heavy use. Plus, the budget price point made growing our garage gym space scalable.

Everlast Fight Sports Conditioning Rope

This 50-foot-rope made from a blend of polypropylene (80 percent) and polyester (20 percent) offered me great respite from the many stressors of the Covid lockdowns, and they continue to deliver a great stress-relieving workout today, even though they do look haggard four years later. While the rope has frayed from hundreds of uses and many thousands of slams into the floor of my garage and driveway, it still holds its weight and delivers the kind of resistance you need for a high-intensity workout.

Everlast Slam Ball

This 25-pound slam ball holds a great deal of expressed rage inside of it. Slamming it on the ground of my padded gym floor and grunting like a gorilla is one of the single best ways to release frustration鈥攁nd it鈥檚 a great core exercise when done correctly, too.

Rogue Adjustable Bench 3.1 – Black – Black – Premium Foam Pad

A solid bench is a very important safety investment when building a home gym. If you鈥檙e thinking of cutting corners with this purchase, I suggest you do a quick web search for videos of benches failing while people were bench pressing. I trust this heavy, solidly built steel bench with my life. I also love how easily I can move this bench to any incline and back to flat thanks to its slick adjustment mechanism and sturdy handle. Though hefty, it鈥檚 easy to roll the 52-inch-long-bench out of the way when not in use.

PAPABE 150-pound Dumbbell Set

My wife and I decided to get the least expensive dumbbell set that we could find, which is how we landed on Pababe. While affordable, these weights get the job done just fine. They鈥檙e rubberized, so we can drop them and create minimal damage to our mats. The light knurling on the handle delivers a just right grip that doesn鈥檛 rip up my palms during high-rep exercises but isn鈥檛 slippery when my hands are sweaty.

Rogue Flat Pack Games Box

We use this 30-inch by 24-inch by 20-inch cube for box jumps to build our explosive energy. I鈥檝e also found that doing one-leg step ups to failure is one of the best ways to get the legs in shape for backcountry skiing. You can find cheaper plyo boxes, but I chose to spend extra on this one because I鈥檝e learned that Rogue makes quality equipment that鈥檚 made to last.

NordicTrack X22i Incline Treadmill

I love this treadmill for its high-quality screen, iFit compatibility, and dainty 70-inch by 39-inch footprint that fits nicely in my garage. But the X22i鈥檚 best feature is its 40-percent incline. The steep incline means I can get in a proper skimo workout (with nerdy poles and all!) and burn out on vert to get my legs prepared for big ski objectives.

Splurge: Turn Your Home Gym Into a Legit Workout Space

The equipment above is all you really need to maintain your fitness as a mountain athlete. The following pieces will elevate your home workout space into a real gym, as I did on my 40th birthday. You will notice that everything in this splurge tier is from Rogue Fitness. While I believe you can get excellent equipment from Rogue鈥檚 competitors, I chose to pay full price for every Rogue item in my garage because of their durability and the brand鈥檚 lifetime warranty on all of the structural welds and frames. Buying all your equipment from one brand can also save you a lot of money on shipping costs.

Rogue RML-390F Flat Foot Monster Lite Rack – Single 1.25″ Pullup Bar

This 48-inch by 49-inch rack slips perfectly into the corner of our garage and has an ample 30-inches of space within, giving us plenty of space to perform squats and bench presses. The Flat Foot option makes it a stable, sturdy platform to do pull ups on even without bolting it to a wall or into the floor. Assembly is straightforward鈥擨 enlisted the help of a handy neighbor and we had it up in under an hour.

Rogue TB-2 Trap Bar

A friend purchased a Rogue TB-2 Trap Bar while I was saving money to build this gym and after using his I begrudgingly realized I needed to save another $415 to add this item to my purchase list. It offered a much better deadlift experience than the regular barbells I had been using. The trapezoidal design and raised handles help me maximize each of my deadlifts without having to bend too far and challenge my spine.

Rogue 45LB Ohio Power Bar – Black Zinc

While there are myriad barbells on the market that can serve you extremely well, with different designs aimed at maximizing different lifts, I chose the Power Bar because it is built specifically for my three favorite lifts鈥攖he squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. The shaft doesn鈥檛 flex much, which is nice for when we want to lift heavy. I also find that the extra hearty knurling (the textured areas on the bar) gives me extra grip while bench pressing.

Rogue 260 LB HG 2.0 Set

I have to be honest with this purchase: I bought Rogue plates because I had purchased enough gear from Rogue to qualify for free shipping (which is where plate manufacturers can get you). I could rattle off all of the benefits of these weights, like the fact that they are in killer shape after almost two years of use and thousands of drops, or how seamlessly they slide on and off the barbell and trap bar after thousands of uses.

But in my opinion, you could be well served by a more budget-plate company and save yourself around $100. That said, I would highly suggest sticking with rubberized bumper plates if you plan on lifting heavy weight and potentially dropping them.

The post How to Turn Your Garage Into the Ultimate Home Gym appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Nowadays there鈥檚 no such thing as a bad digital camera. The iPhone you have in your pocket takes stunning images and every single mirrorless or DSLR being released by the major brands is capable of capturing images that could land on the cover of 国产吃瓜黑料.

But with great choices come hard decisions. The camera market is so crowded you鈥檒l have to do some research to find the model that includes the specific features you want鈥攂e that amazing autofocus, enormous file size, or an affordable price. We鈥檝e put together a list of the new mirrorless cameras that stood out during our testing to provide a starting point.

Updated March 2025: We’ve added a new top pick from Canon and a splurge pick from Leica. Prices and info have been updated for 2025.

At a Glance

• Best Overall:
• Best Value:
• Simplest:
• Splurge:
• Frequently Asked Questions
• How We Test Every Camera

Best Overall

Canon EOS R5 Mark II

Weight: 1.3 lbs (body only)
Size: 5.45鈥� x 3.87鈥� x 3.48″
Sensor: 45 megapixel full-frame stacked BSI CMOS sensor

Pros and Cons
鈯� Ultra-fast frame rate
鈯� Great autofocus
鈯� Compact body
鈯� Not the prettiest

It鈥檚 been a decade since Canon launched a camera as game-changing as their 2005 compact, affordable, yet fully-featured 5D DSLR, but the new R5 Mark II promises to have a similar impact in the mirrorless category. Thanks to a smart balance of size and specs, the R5 Mark II is bound to have a longer-than-normal shelf life with pro and amateur photographers alike.

The R5 Mark II鈥檚 appeal centers on three main things: a compact and easy-to-carry camera body, a 45MP full-frame stacked BSI CMOS sensor that allows the camera to capture up to 30 frames per second (fps), and high-powered autofocus.

The croissant-sized camera body weighs just 20.7 ounces, making it a great choice for those who prioritize moving lightly on outdoor adventures. In the frames-per-second game, 30 is 10 more than you get with similar cameras like the Nikon Z8, and more than enough to capture a skier streaking past in a high-g turn or a cyclist ripping down a descent. And with an 眉ber-smart autofocus that uses machine learning to help shooters easily lock on and track a variety of different subjects, I was almost guaranteed to nail the shot every single time

The R5 Mark II doesn鈥檛 produce the same image quality as the Sony A7RV (the most resolution-packed mirrorless camera on the market). But the Sony files are a pain to store because they take up so much hard drive space, making them too big for 90 percent of shooters, even the pros. Canon opted for a more reasonable file size, that can still produce images that are high-quality enough to grace magazine covers and gallery walls.

One niggle is that the Canon camera body, compared to those from Nikon and Sony, is not as pretty to look at. But in the end, who cares when it produces beautiful photos?

Best Value

Sony A7CII

Weight: 15.1 oz (body only)
Size: 4.9鈥� x 2.8鈥� x 2.5鈥�
Sensor: 33-megapixel full-frame Exmor R BSI

Pros and Cons
鈯� Small
鈯� Full-frame sensor
鈯� Fair price
鈯� No auto-focus joystick
鈯� Not ergonomic with Sony鈥檚 largest zoom lenses

The Sony A7CII is our top pick because it鈥檚 small but mighty and the best option for those of us who like to adventure. At just over a pound and about as thick as three iPhones stacked together, it鈥檚 travel friendly and comes with a giant full-frame sensor that captures 33-megapixel images, advanced auto-focus, and interchangeable lenses. In short, it鈥檚 a pro-level camera that鈥檚 significantly better than any current phone camera (or any phone camera we鈥檒l likely see in the next five years).

The interchangeable lenses you can use on the A7CII add bulk and weight, but Sony makes two that are the perfect add-on. Less than three inches long and about the diameter of a paper-towel tube, they鈥檙e much smaller than most standard lenses but fast enough to capture great photos in low light, wide enough for landscapes yet not too wide for portraits, and built with high-quality glass so it produces tack-sharp images

This camera is best for those who primarily want to shoot photos; but if you want to shoot video, you get beautiful 4K footage and incredible image stabilization for handheld shooting.

The A7CII costs $2,198 and the 35 millimeter f1.8 lens adds another $748, which brings the total to just shy of $3,000 for the basic setup. That may seem high, but it鈥檚 in the ballpark for a pro-level, full-frame camera that has the chops to shoot everything from action to landscapes.

Read our full review of the Sony AC7II here

Simplest

Fujifilm X100VI

Weight: 1.15 lbs
Size: 5鈥� x 2.9鈥� x 2.2″
Sensor: 40.2-megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS 5 HR

Pros and Cons
鈯� Easy to transport
鈯� Simple to use
鈯� Rich photos
鈯� No interchangeable lenses
鈯� Not a full-frame sensor

The X110VI won a spot on this list for three reasons: it鈥檚 small, relatively simple, and captures gorgeous images. About the size of three iPhones stacked together, the camera weighs just 1.1 pounds so backpackers, bikepackers, hikers, skiers, or anyone who鈥檚 moving fast won鈥檛 feel weighed down. You won鈥檛 want to pack it in a running vest, but the camera is certainly small enough to fit in your daypack, or even the chest pocket of your ski shell.

Some photographers will chafe at the idea of not having interchangeable lenses, but we love the simplicity of this camera. With just one, high-quality 23mm f/2 (35mm equivalent) lens to work with, you鈥檙e forced to be a more creative photographer. If you want to zoom in, you鈥檒l need to walk closer. Need to capture a landscape? Back up or climb a hill. The 35mm focal length isn鈥檛 perfect for portraits, but it doesn鈥檛 distort the subject and can be made to work if you鈥檙e careful about your framing.

Why not just pack your iPhone 15 Pro (or newer) since it鈥檚 also portable and actually has three lenses? Because the X100VI is a camera (versus a phone with a built-in camera), Fujifilm is able to pack in a significantly bigger sensor (40.2 megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS 5 HR) compared to what you get with an iPhone. That bigger sensor drinks in more light and therefore creates more detailed photos and also does better in low-light situations.

The X100V isn鈥檛 as powerful as a full-frame Sony or Canon camera, but it鈥檚 the perfect travel-sized option that captures better quality photos than an iPhone.

Splurge

Leica Q3 43

Weight: 1.5 lbs (body only)
Size: 5.12鈥� 脳 3.15鈥� 脳 3.62鈥�
Sensor: 60.3 megapixel full-frame CMOS

Pros and Cons
鈯� Sleek
鈯� Ultra-sharp glass
鈯� Indestructible
鈯� Expensive
鈯� Limited in its uses

I let out a guffaw when I first heard the price for this camera. For $7,000, you can buy two Sony A7CIIs and several high-quality Sony lenses or one Canon R5 Mark II and a suite of their top-shelf lenses. So why the hell would you throw down $7,000 for one camera and one fixed lens? Because it鈥檚 a Leica.

Despite the outrageous price tag, Leica has a strong hold on me for two main reasons.

First, the brand has an incredibly storied past. Photographers toting Leicas have shot many of the world鈥檚 most important photos like the shot of the young girl fleeing a napalm attack in Vietnam, the iconic portrait of Che Guevara that鈥檚 on T-shirts and pins worldwide, and that rainy day photo of James Dean walking through Times Square. This history gives Leica more street cred than any other camera company and makes photographers want to use one in hopes that they, too, can one day shoot a photo that counts.

Second, Leica makes a damn nice and beautifully simple camera. It starts with the ultra-sharp glass, making the photos produced by the f/2 43mm lens on the Q3 crisper than those shot by a Nikon, Canon, or Sony. A fixed 43mm lens might be a little long for people who are used to fixed 28mm or 35mm lenses, but it鈥檚 great for portraits and street photography and still wide enough to capture a crowd or a landscape.

The Q3鈥檚 lens is matched to an ultra-high-res 60-megapixel full-frame sensor that shines in low light and produces rich images that look as good on Instagram as they do on your wall. Instead of a host of buttons and dials on the top of the camera, the Q3 controls are paired down and the camera features far fewer custom options. This is intentional because the camera is not designed for shooting Premier League soccer, but instead is meant to be toted along on your trek through the Alps or into the streets of New York City.

Many photographers have film Leicas that are decades old and still work great because of their unmatched build quality. The Q3 is no different thanks to an all-metal outer that will put up with drops, scrapes, bumps, and anything else you can throw at it during your adventures.

The Q3 might be compared to other pieces of high-end outdoor equipment like a carbon-plated running shoe, an ultra-light camping tent, or a set of all-terrain tires. These pieces of gear are not for everyone, should not be used in every instance, and cost a lot more money than other options. But for people who use these specialty pieces of gear for their intended purpose, they make a real difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

What鈥檚 the Difference Between DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras?

A DSLR has a mirror inside the camera body that reflects the light coming through the lens and shoots it up to the viewfinder. When the shutter button is pressed, the mirror moves out of the way to let the light from the lens hit the digital sensor.

In a mirrorless camera there is no mirror, so the image you see through the viewfinder is electronically generated and the light goes straight from the lens to the sensor.

Which Is Better鈥擠SLR or Mirrorless?

You could spend a week combing through threads about whether DSLRs or mirrorless cameras are better, but the short answer is this: mirrorless cameras are the future and that鈥檚 where you should spend your money.

Some people like that the viewfinder on a DSLR is optical, not digital, but the digital viewfinders these days are so good that you鈥檒l never have any problems. Some people like the larger form factor of DSLRs when handling big lenses, but it鈥檚 easy to add an extra grip to a mirrorless that makes these smaller cameras just as easy to handle.

The advantages of the mirrorless camera, on the other hand, are numerous and growing. They鈥檙e smaller to start because there is no mirror, and therefore easier to transport on adventures. You can also shoot silently, since there鈥檚 no mirror moving around, which is an advantage in situations where you鈥檙e capturing wildlife or other sensitive scenes.

There used to be more lenses for DSLR cameras, but all the major companies now have a full line of high-quality mirrorless lenses, and the prices have also come down so you can easily find affordable but high-quality mirrorless cameras these days

How Much Does a Decent Camera Cost?

You should plan on spending at least $2,000 for the body. That gets you a pro-level camera that uses interchangeable lenses and comes with all the best features, like a full-frame sensor and high-quality autofocus. If you can make the jump to $3,000, you get even better resolution and all the new autofocus features that make shooting sports a breeze.

What Are Key Features to Look For?

If you鈥檙e going to invest in a mirrorless camera, get a full-frame sensor. These large sensors have incredible resolution and great low-light performance. From there you鈥檒l need to decide what kind of photographs you want to make.

Shooting sports? Go for a mirrorless camera that has a really high frame rate and all the newest autofocus technology. More focused on landscapes and portraiture? Go for a camera that shoots high-resolution or high-megapixel images.

How We Test

• Number of cameras tested: 10
• Number of testers: 5
• Number of pictures taken: 70,000 +
• Hours spent figuring out each camera: Over 50 hours total

You鈥檝e probably heard the term 鈥渃amera geek.鈥� I bring this up because our tester pool was full of digital nerds. All the testers are former or working photojournalists who鈥檝e followed camera development for the past 20 years and love to geek out on new specs and features. They spend hours debating which camera is the best overall, which is the best for sports, which is the best for portraits, and love to argue about where the technology is going next.

All this enthusiasm made our job easy because we just had to distribute the cameras and let them go crazy. For this test, the cameras traveled all over the United States and Europe and captured everything from bike races to beach vacations.

What made a camera rise to the top of our test was a blend of performance and usability. Our testers looked for cameras that performed, whether that was accurate autofocus or great low light captures, and then also gave notes on how easy it was to get the camera to do what you asked. Were the dials in a convenient place? Was it easy to hold the cameras with a larger lenses? Did the camera bog you down on longer adventures? To be honest, the final decisions were quite hard but these were our clear favorites.

Meet Our Lead Tester

Before Jakob Schiller was a columnist at 国产吃瓜黑料 he spent almost a decade working as a photojournalist at newspapers around the country. He鈥檚 old enough to have shot film, but since the rise of the digital camera, has taken well over 1,000,000 photos on various DSLRs and smartphones. He loves photography because it facilitates adventure and captures important historical moments, but he鈥檚 also a tech lover and can geek out with the best of them about things like resolution, autofocus, and shadow detail.

The post Our 4 Favorite Mirrorless Cameras for 国产吃瓜黑料rs and Travel Junkies appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

It鈥檚 that time of year, when we all become obsessed with bettering ourselves. Rather than a health-focused resolution this year, one of mine involved getting a handle on organizing my garage full of outdoor gear and simplifying the process of packing for trips.

Before diving into what I did, let me give you a little background. I鈥檝e always been a generalist when it comes to outdoor pursuits and dabble in a lot of different sports and hobbies. From bowhunting to mountain biking and backcountry skiing, they鈥檙e all pretty gear-intensive, which means I鈥檝e got a lot of equipment.

Watch: Bryan’s First Attempt at Gear Organization

Since I test gear for work, too, all that stuff tends to accumulate rather quickly, outpacing my attempts to keep things organized and leaving me with piles of stuff on shelves and in corners of my garage. I鈥檝e even documented some of my attempts at gear organization in the past, at one point creating a full pegboard wall to house gear.

Ultimately, none of the previous storage systems worked great for us and we wanted a more practical way to stay organized and simplify our lives. When my wife, Sarah, and I freed up some space in our barn last fall, we ended up with an empty room large enough to house our outdoor gear and decided to a new system.

Practical vs. Pinterest Gear Storage

I often get bogged down by wanting my gear room or garage to 鈥搇ike a climbing rack beautifully displayed on a pegboard, backpacks hanging on a wall, and each hobby having its own, well-organized corner of a space that looks more like an REI display than an actual human being鈥檚 home.

What I鈥檝e found over the years is that this method works great if you have one main hobby. But, if you鈥檙e like me and have a lot of different hobbies where the gear crosses over (think sleeping bags you use for every activity, or walkie talkies you use while backcountry skiing and hunting), it can actually make packing for trips more complicated.

Sarah鈥檚 idea was to not only get some new bins and organizational tools, but to change the way we were organizing gear. Rather than grouping things like backpacks, electronics, layers, hunting optics, camp stoves, and cutlery separately, she came up with an 鈥淎-team and B-team鈥� bin approach to each sport.

For instance, rather than having a bin labeled 鈥渟kiing鈥� that鈥檚 chock-full of both of our layers, googles, helmets and everything associated with the sport, we now have bins labeled 鈥淏ryan Ski,鈥� 鈥淪arah Ski,鈥� and 鈥淏ackup Skiing.鈥� Everything I always end up taking with me for a day of skiing, including my helmet, goggles, and outerwear, lives in one bin, and any extra items we keep on hand for when friends and family visit lives in the backup bin. This means that instead of rifling through an overstuffed bin full of every pair of gloves and goggles we own just to pack them into another bag every time we want to go skiing, we can just grab our 鈥淎-team鈥� bins and toss them in the truck.

That last point is one worth reiterating: keeping our bins stocked with exactly what we need simplifies the packing process immensely. Recently, for instance, we headed to Taos Ski Valley after work for a weekend of skiing. We tossed our skis, boots, and two bins in the van and were out the door in minutes鈥攁 process that has taken us significantly longer in the past.

Dos and Don’ts for Gear Storage

• Don鈥檛 waste your time making things look beautiful and laying out gear on a pegboard wall. Your garage isn鈥檛 an REI.
• Think hard before investing time in building your own 鈥渂in rack鈥� or other DIY setup that will take too much time.
• Keep gear organized by sport but also deploy the A- and B-team system. Put the stuff you almost always use in the A-team bin and the backup/extra things in the B-team bin.
• Pony up for nice bins.
• Don鈥檛 use see-thru bins.
• Don鈥檛 hang packs on a wall鈥攊t takes up too much space.
• Keep your bike(s) where you can access them easily.
• Pair down, but don鈥檛 Marie Kondo yourself into tossing things you鈥檒l miss one day, even if you rarely use it.
• Use whatever space you have wisely.

The Tools We Used

The Project Source Commander 27 Gallon Tote

In the past I鈥檝e used whatever bins, milk crates, and shelves I鈥檝e had on hand to organize my gear. That meant a hodgepodge of cheap, clear plastic bins that often broke or were missing lids, so this time around we invested in a new set of high-quality bins that will hopefully last.

We bought 20 of these (they鈥檙e pretty much identical to the you can find at Home Depot), which get great reviews and are, in my opinion, the perfect size. They seem tough enough to toss in the back of a truck without worry, are stackable, have very secure lids, and are large enough to house things like backpacks without getting overstuffed.

I also wanted bins that were not see through for aesthetic reasons鈥攊t鈥檚 just looks less cluttered than bins that show their contents (plus, we know what鈥檚 in each bin and don鈥檛 need to see inside).

5-Tier Industrial Duty Steel Freestanding Garage Storage Shelving Unit

We toyed with the idea of building a like the ones that have been all the rage on TikTok and Pinterest in the last few years but ultimately went with this from Home Depot. Each shelf supports 1,800 pounds and fits four of the 27-gallon bins perfectly. It was about $100 more expensive than the materials needed to build our own, but I guarantee it鈥檚 sturdier, and it took only 15 minutes to put together versus the several hours of time it would鈥檝e taken us to build one.

It might not be as Pinterest-worthy, but it鈥檚 a hell of a lot more practical鈥攖he way those bin racks are built means you can only pull the bin straight in and out to access its contents, which can make things challenging in tight spaces. But these shelves are a little wider, which makes it easier to maneuver the bins on them. We also re-used a smaller, wire-rack shelf we already had for bulky items鈥攍ike our coolers, camp chairs, and archery targets鈥攖hat wouldn鈥檛 fit in the bins.

Rubbermaid FastTrack Garage Hang Rails

To store bikes, skis and add a bit more shelving off the ground, we installed by TK. We鈥檝e used this system before, and are big fans of its versatility and sturdiness. I installed a few rails along one wall of the room and hung our bikes using the . I鈥檓 a fan of those hooks in particular because they鈥檙e rated for 50lbs, which is higher than other brands like Kobalt or Craftsman you can find at the hardware store and means you can hang e-bikes from them if you want. I also installed a couple of metal shelves for fly rods, and a that sits high off the ground for ski boots and sleeping bags. (We had issues with mice nesting in our boots when we kept them on the ground in the past.)

Half Size Sidio Crate

In addition to the big, 27-gallon totes, I also used three Sidio Crates to house small items that didn’t fit into the A/B system. I have one for 鈥済ear repair鈥� items, one for headlamps and walkie talkies, and one for various chargers and cables.

How It’s Working So Far听

I鈥檓 sure we鈥檒l make some tweaks to this whole setup the longer we use it, but so far, we鈥檙e in love. Our new bin system is keeping us vastly more organized than before, and it has also dramatically simplified packing for trips.

The unintended benefit of all this is that it freed up a lot of room in our garage, and made it a听 much nicer space, too. I used to keep everything鈥攆rom outdoor gear to homebrewing equipment to automotive tools to yard cleaning tools鈥攊n the garage, utilizing every inch of available space. That created an area that was often pretty overwhelming to even stand in, let alone try to find the gear I was looking for.

By dedicating a space specifically to our outdoor gear, we can now even park a car in the garage鈥攜ou know, what a garage is actually for. You don鈥檛 need a big house with tons of rooms or, in my case, a barn to make this idea work. My friend turned a spare closet into his gear room, and a simple backyard shed can also work great for this.

The biggest takeaway: If you鈥檝e got a lot of equipment and your life revolves around getting outside, create a dedicated space for it, and consider mixing up how you organize all your gear.

The post How to Organize Your Gear Shed the Practical Way appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

I鈥檝e been testing and writing about GoPro鈥檚 small action cameras since the first one was launched in 2004, watching as those cameras evolved from cumbersome chunks of plastic worn on your wrist to the content-capturing machines that they are today.

The two newest versions from GoPro, the Hero13, and the original Hero, continue that evolution. One is the most versatile camera GoPro has ever produced. The other might be the easiest to use. But which is the best option for you?

I spent the last month testing both in a variety of situations, from an epic ski trip to Palisades in Tahoe to a surf trip to Costa Rica to tame adventures on local trails in the Southern Appalachians. Throughout that period, I alternated between the two cameras on bike rides, golf rounds, ski days, and surf sessions, trying to determine which camera was the best.

Learn more: The 3 Best Action Cameras of 2025

The result is an enigma: The camera that I like the most personally is not the camera that I would recommend to most people. Here are my thoughts on the Hero13 and the Hero.

The Hero13听

The GoPro Hero13 Built-In Features

Let鈥檚 start with the Hero13, which is GoPro鈥檚 most versatile camera to date, ideal for serious photographers and content creators who need to get a variety of footage. The new camera uses the same sensor and processor as the previous ($288) but adds a few key upgrades that make it far more capable. That includes interchangeable lenses, a magnetic mount, and a suite of built-in features that allow you to customize the footage you capture by adjusting the resolution, aspect ratio, and even sound before you start shooting.

The Hero13 shoots professional-grade 5.3K video, which is rendered incredibly smooth thanks to the in-camera HyperSmooth 6.0 video stabilization. I shot some shaky ski videos recently that were so silky you鈥檇 think they were shot on a gimbal. The fact that this stabilization happens inside the camera means you鈥檙e not forced to edit your video in GoPro鈥檚 Quik app (more on that below).

It鈥檚 waterproof down to 33 feet, but even better is the hydrophobic lens, which sheds water, giving you crystal-clear shots when you bring the camera back up above the surface. I have a lot of useless footage from past surf trips when I used older GoPros that didn鈥檛 have this water-shedding lens; instead of epic footage, all I got were videos of blurry water drops. That鈥檚 less of an issue with this new lens. I used this camera during a week-long surf trip to Costa Rica, and probably 95 percent of the videos I took while in the surf were crystal clear. On previous surf trips with older models of the GoPro, I鈥檇 say that ratio was probably 50/50.

My favorite aspect of the new Hero13 is the tall image sensor, which allows you to shoot wide, vertical, or square videos and images without having to adjust the camera鈥檚 settings or lenses. I take a lot of videos for Instagram, which requires a vertical frame, but I also do some scenic and gear videos for this magazine and YouTube, both of which require a horizontal frame. I can switch back and forth from those two perspectives on the touch screen with the swipe of a finger before I start the video, or even better, I can shoot everything in Full Frame and decide later if I want to edit and publish vertically or horizontally in the GoPro Quik app.

This versatility means you can shoot footage with or without GoPro鈥檚 signature fisheye perspective, which is handy if you鈥檙e vlogging, getting scenic landscapes or closeups, or even if you just want a more straightforward first-person perspective. It also makes it easier to pair footage from the Hero13 with footage from other cameras, like your iPhone.

Hero 13 Add-Ons

And that鈥檚 just what鈥檚 built into the Hero13. You can also purchase add-on HB Series Lenses, like a Macro that gives you 4x zoom or an ultra-wide that offers a 36 percent wider field of view than the standard GoPro lens. Clip these lenses onto the Hero13, and the camera automatically recognizes which lens you鈥檙e using without the need to manually adjust the settings.

Most casual photographers won鈥檛 need to purchase these extra lenses, but everyone will appreciate the new Enduro Battery that comes with the camera, which is an absolute game changer. One of my biggest complaints with every GoPro I鈥檝e ever used is the subpar battery life, especially in cold temps. This new battery is a beast with a reported 2.5-hour constant run time. I filmed with the Hero13 over several hours, from cold ski days to hot beach days, and never once ran out of battery.

Another fun tool in the Hero13 is the built-in Burst Slo-Mo, which offers three slow-motion options with different levels of quality. This is key if you ever want to throw your videos up onto a big screen; slow motion video from a low-quality camera blown up on a TV鈥檚 big screen can look blurry, but the Hero13 gives you five seconds of slow motion in crystal clear 5.3k quality.

The Hero13’s Downsides

Some professional photographers complained that the Hero13 didn鈥檛 get an upgraded sensor from the Hero12. While I do publish videos and photos on a variety of platforms, I don鈥檛 consider myself a pro photographer, so GoPro鈥檚 decision to stick with their previous sensor doesn鈥檛 bother me. I will say that the versatility of the Hero13 comes with a price; there鈥檚 a learning curve to the system, and it has taken some trial and error to figure out exactly which features I need. It鈥檚 like ordering from a menu that鈥檚 five pages long鈥攚ith so many options, it鈥檚 hard to settle on a single choice.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I鈥檓 blown away by the Hero13’s capabilities. Straight out of the box, it drastically broadens the kind of footage I can capture. Considering all of the potential add-ons, from the new lenses to external lights and microphones, the Hero13 is out of the action camera category altogether. It is a powerhouse that can be my primary content-capturing tool, whether I鈥檓 standing in front of the camera for a vlog, attaching it to my handlebars for action footage, or just capturing a photo to support an article.

The Hero听

听

The Hero鈥檚 Upsides

Take the Hero13, cut it in half, and you have the Hero. It鈥檚 half the weight (86 grams to the Hero13鈥檚 159 grams), roughly half the size, about half the price, and is even waterproof to about half the depth (16 feet to the Hero13鈥檚 33 feet). That said, the tiny size is one of this camera鈥檚 selling points, especially if you like to mount a camera on your helmet.

Just like the Hero13, it has flip down mounting fingers, a removable hydrophobic lens cover, and a large touch screen on the back of the camera that you use to adjust the settings. It even has voice-activated controls, just like the Hero13, so you can tell this GoPro what to do without touching any buttons. Very cool.

The Hero鈥檚 Downsides

That鈥檚 where the similarities end, though, as the Hero is a straightforward, easy-to-use action camera without the bells and whistles of the full-featured Hero13.

For instance, you can鈥檛 change the resolution on the Hero (4K is the only option). It doesn鈥檛 shoot as well in low-light situations, and if you zoom in on the 4K footage, it鈥檚 a little blurry compared to the 5.3K Hero13 footage. You also can鈥檛 change the frame ratio; like older GoPros, it only shoots ultra-wide lens, fish-eye type footage, which might be a deal breaker for some users. Another limitation to note is that the HyperSmooth stabilization doesn鈥檛 happen in the camera. Instead, you have to upload your footage to GoPro鈥檚 Quik app before the video stabilizes. That鈥檚 not a big deal for most of us, but if you鈥檙e editing in a different software and bypassing the Quik app, you鈥檒l be dealing with shaky footage.

The battery life is roughly half as good as the Hero13, and that鈥檚 being generous. The Hero repeatedly died halfway through each day on a recent ski trip. Granted, I was filming heavily, and it was cold, but I鈥檝e been able to get through full days with the Hero13 under similar conditions. The Hero鈥檚 battery is within the camera, which eliminates the option of swapping out an extra battery.

Personally, my main issue with the Hero is that it only shoots ultra-wide lens footage. That鈥檚 a handy viewpoint for some shots, but I don鈥檛 want all of my videos to have a fish-eye view. You also have to mount or hold the Hero vertically in order to shoot vertical videos, which sounds like a silly thing to complain about, except most mounts hold GoPros horizontally. This kept me from getting vertical video during my Palisades ski trip, which makes for an awkward transition if I鈥檓 trying to match that footage with a vertical-oriented camera, like my phone.

Which Is the Better Camera For You?听

It sounds like the Hero13 is the camera I鈥檓 going to recommend, right? Not so fast.

I love the Hero13, and I think it鈥檚 the best GoPro I鈥檝e ever tested. It鈥檚 the right camera for me, and I鈥檓 excited to keep using it for the various ways I capture photos and videos. But I think many of those features that get me excited aren鈥檛 necessary for the majority of users out there. While I mentioned many of the Hero鈥檚 limitations, I think it鈥檚 a great action camera, especially when you consider the budget-friendly $199 price tag.

The question you have to ask yourself is, what kind of photographer are you? If you just want to get the occasional clip of a surf session or a POV of you sending it on a gap jump at the park, then the Hero is probably the right camera for you. The tiny size means you can bring it almost anywhere and get some really beautiful footage that you might not be able to capture with your phone. But if you鈥檙e looking for a single camera that can capture a variety of styles of content in a small package, the Hero13 is the obvious answer.

Or maybe you鈥檙e like me, and you鈥檝e convinced yourself you need both cameras: the Hero13 for its versatility and everyday capabilities and the Hero for its diminutive size, which makes it the ideal shooter for POV angles on a helmet mount.

Yeah, maybe that鈥檚 the answer here. Both cameras are the best cameras.

More Gear Reviews

The 3 Best Action Cameras of 2025
Our Favorite Mirrorless Cameras for Travel and 国产吃瓜黑料 Junkies

The post Is the GoPro Hero13 Black Better Than the GoPro Hero? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

As a professional photographer and filmmaker, relies on his versatile collection of gear to meet the demands of his work. In the past, he often turned to Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace to find used cameras and lenses. But numerous last-minute meetup cancellations and alarming stories of friends getting scammed pushed him to seek out a more reliable option.

That鈥檚 when he decided to give a try.

He began trading some gear that was collecting dust in his closet and found the process easy and smooth: no need to coordinate in-person swaps with strangers from the internet. Plus, the option to trade took some pressure off his wallet. Creatives can save up to 40 percent on retail prices, which is a big boost whether you鈥檙e on a budget or want to allocate the savings toward other business expenses like travel, accessories, or more camera gear.

鈥淥ne of the biggest hurdles for me in photography has always been how expensive gear can get,鈥� Shainblum explained. 鈥淚鈥檇 often delay buying lenses because of the steep price tags. But trading and buying used gear changed everything鈥攊t opened the door to experimenting with new lenses and exploring different styles of photography.鈥�

Shainblum also got the buying confidence he wanted from MPB. As the leading reseller of used digital cameras and lenses* in the United States, MPB鈥檚 online platform is a trusted resource for photographers and videographers to buy, sell, and trade equipment. Every item on the platform has a free six-month warranty and is 100 percent MPB Approved, meaning product specialists thoroughly inspect and photograph each piece and document any imperfections before it鈥檚 listed. Creatives can explore a , read in-depth reviews of popular models, access valuable how-to guides, and directly on the site, starting with a free quote.

A hallmark of MPB is its commitment to making visual storytelling accessible to everyone, regardless of skill level or budget. By offering trust and consistency in what has traditionally been a fragmented market, MPB is fostering a circular resale economy within creative communities. This approach not only supports sustainability but also strengthens the sense of connection and community.

Tammy Oler, vice president of marketing at MPB, describes a circular economy as one that works to minimize waste and pollution by circulating products and materials for reuse. Oler explains that MPB puts this model to work by buying, selling, and trading used gear. In addition, MPB was the first camera reseller to transparently , while also publishing its goals and progress.

鈥淥ur sustainability efforts are linked directly to our purpose: to open up the world of visual storytelling in a way that鈥檚 good for people and the planet,鈥� Oler said. 鈥淲e make it easy and worthwhile to give unwanted gear a new life, which puts affordable used gear into the hands of more creatives.鈥�

is the largest global platform to buy, sell, and trade used photo and video equipment. MPB provides a simple, safe, and circular way鈥攆or amateurs to pros, with any budget鈥攖o trade, upgrade, and get paid for gear.

*MPB is currently not buying or selling film or analog cameras, with occasional exceptions.

The post The Best Platform for Buying, Selling, and Trading Used Camera Gear appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.