Nordic countries have been doing contrast therapy, and doing it well, for ages, but, unfortunately, not everyone has a fjord or ice-cold river right out of their back door. The only option for those of us not living near the Arctic circle was to find a gym or fitness club with a sauna and a cold plunge tub. This has all changed in the past few years, with dozens of brands popping up, offering at-home saunas and ice baths that will transform your backyard into the Nordic haven you deserve.

One brand at the forefront of the movement is , whose founders, after growing tired of throwing 50 pounds of ice into a stock tank every time they wanted a recovery sesh, developed a premium fiberglass tub with all the bells and whistles. Soon after their cold plunges took off, they launched electric-powered saunas designed for home use. The only problem is this: artificially recreating the power of an Arctic body of water and a wood-burning sauna is very expensive. This month, though, Plunge is offering one of the biggest sales we’ve ever seen, with savings of up to $4,500 on saunas and $2,500 on cold plunges, plus 50 percent off the three-year extended warranty.

The post If You’ve Been Wanting a Sauna or Cold Plunge, Now Is the Perfect Time to Pull the Trigger appeared first on ¹ú²ú³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Online.

The history of denim, and the denim shirt, is long. Invented in Europe several hundred years ago, denim was originally a working-class fabric, popular through the centuries with factory workers and cowboys because of its durability. Denim pants and shirts became more of a fashion piece in the 1930s and 40s among consumers who wanted to emulate the adventurous frontier style. After WWII, denim evolved into a more everyday middle-class fabric, worn widely by both men and women, a trend spurred on by gritty Hollywood actors like James Dean and Marlon Brando.

Fast forward to today and denim is easily the most ubiquitous fabric in American closets. Like most people, I’ve been wearing denim jeans my entire life. Only recently, however, have I been turned on to the versatility of the denim shirt. Still made to take a beating, a denim shirt is perfect for everything from cutting wood to camping trips. It’s also a smart alternative to the long-popular but decidedly mainstream flannel shirt for those of us who spend time in the office and want to look sharp but still rugged.

I’ve been testing a wide variety of denim shirts over the past several months. These are my three favorites.

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The first full month of fall has come and gone, so we’re looking back at October to see what piqued the interest of ¹ú²ú³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ readers in the world of gear.

The crisp air and quiet trails that come with the end of summer offer the perfect opportunity to put in some significant efforts before winter descends upon us. Whether that meant taking a late-season backpacking trip or logging a few high-mileage trail runs, we know you were out and about in October—because one of the most popular trends was recovery slides. Crocs’ Mellow Recovery Slide, Hoka Ora Recovery 3 Slides, and Oofos OOahh Sport Slides were all in the top ten most shopped items of the month.

While recovery was top of mind, we also noticed that readers had at least one eye looking toward winter, because Sitka Gear’s Hyperdown collection and the Blizzard Rustler 10 skis also made the top ten. With snowfall set to start at any time now, it makes sense to get the gear closet ready for ski season.

Read on to see the top ten products you bought during the month of October and what our gear experts had to say about them.

The post The 10 Things ¹ú²ú³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Readers Shopped the Most in October appeared first on ¹ú²ú³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Online.

Whether you’re shopping for a snowboard online or sifting through the stacks at your local snowboard shop, it can be tough to pinpoint the right ride for you. The sheer volume of enticing options on the market can cause intense decision paralysis, side effects of which include anxiety, dry mouth, and purchasing multiple snowboards when you intended to buy just one.

To help you find the best snowboard, our selfless test crew of 31 riders strapped into 59 men’s and unisex boards at the freeride hub of this past spring to bring you the best snowboards of 2026. Below, you’ll find the best of the best, from versatile all-mountain rippers and intermediate-friendly cruisers to buttery jib boards and freeride machines. Whether you’re looking to snag a new daily driver or completely upgrade your quiver, you can’t go wrong with these picks.

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Snowboarding is supposed to be fun. When you’re on the wrong snowboard—one that doesn’t jive with your size, skill level, riding style, or the conditions or terrain at hand—fun can devolve into frustration. Luckily for you, our selfless test crew of 13 women sifted through 47 women’s and unisex snowboards at the freeride hub of and beyond this past spring to bring you the best snowboards for women of 2026.

Even when testers were analyzing snowboards that didn’t wow them or risking high-speed crashes for the sake of data collection, good times were had. As a group, these were the best snowboards we’ve ever had at our annual test, and more often than not, testers loved the boards under their boots. Below, you’ll find the cream of that impressive crop, from versatile all-mountain decks and intermediate-friendly cruisers to buttery jib boards and freeride machines.

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Welcome to The Drop Zone, where we highlight the best new gear in and around the outdoor world.Ìý

This week, we have Noah Kahan’s new Northern Attitude collection with L.L. Bean, Black Diamond’s Piton Purple collection, a new sneaker collab from Veja and Finisterre, a stunning NYC Marathon capsule from Bandit Running, and a vintage sportswear-inspired link up between Puma and Madhappy.

The post The Drop Zone: Noah Kahan x L.L. Bean, Black Diamond’s New Purple Collection, Bandit’s NYC Marathon Capsule, and More appeared first on ¹ú²ú³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Online.

Midlayers are required to fit an outrageously demanding job description. Unlike the super-puffy parkas and belay jackets that we wear to stay warm while hunkering down, midlayers provide insulation for activity–a role that calls for a true multi-tasker. Its duties include keeping us warm–but not so warm that we overheat during exertion–while also whisking away sweat and shielding us from the elements (should we decide to wear our midlayer as an outer layer, which these toppers must be versatile enough to handle when weather permits). It’s a tall order.

Yet our testing team found six of the best insulated midlayer jackets that check all the boxes. These breathable insulators successfully regulated testers’ temperatures while they skied, hiked, biked, and ran in winter weather conditions. Testers typically sandwiched these jackets over a base layer and beneath a waterproof shell. On climbs or in dry weather when they ditched the shell, testers evaluated these toppers for their ability to shed precipitation and buffer gusts. After testing close to 50 women’s insulated midlayers, we recommend these six standouts.

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In a classic winter layering system, it’s the midlayer that holds the magic. A good midlayer has to breathe, wick, and do most of the insulating for you, even when wet—a level of multitasking you would never ask of another layer. Plus, it’s needed all the time, standing on its own in fair weather and providing hidden, essential warmth under a shell in the worst conditions. With those standards in mind, we set out to find the very best midlayers, from super-breathable backcountry pieces to quilted wool jackets for frigid downhill days.

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I’ve had the same pair of snowboarding boots—the Ride Cadence—for ten years. I’ve loved them for their soft, fleecy liner, their stiffness that gives me control of my turns, and mostly, because of the double BOA system that provides a seriously precise fit.

When I started snowboarding over 20 years ago, I found it impossible to tie my boots tight enough, even first thing in the morning. And throughout the day, the laces would loosen, requiring me to take off my mittens and retie them. I could never get them as snug as I wanted, especially over the top of my foot.

My Ride Cadence boots fixed all that with their double BOA lace systems, one tightening the boot around my foot, and one tightening around my ankle and lower leg.

The post I Replaced the Worn-Out BOA Dials and Laces on My Snowboard Boots Myself, but Not Without SwearingÌý appeared first on ¹ú²ú³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Online.

As a ten-year gear tester with six marathons under my belt, I’ve developed a finely tuned radar for what I will and will not need before any given long run. Distances over ten miles merit gels and my favorite hydration vest; weather in the 50s means shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt, even if I’m shivering through the first mile.ÌýI know what percent charge I need on my sports watch and earbuds to ensure they won’t run out on a 20-miler.

But on race day, all that hard-earned wisdom goes out the window. No matter the forecast, I’m packing three different outfits for weather patterns ranging from polar vortex to Saharan Desert. Two pairs of headphones get tossed into my carry-on, along with three extra chargers and a back-up watch. The poncho that’s been languishing in my glove compartment since that one outdoor concert? Sure, why not! My therapist would say that overpacking is a symptom of my anxiety about all the race day variables I can’t control—and she’d be right.

Unfortunately, my neuroses can rack up unnecessary expense. For all they say about running being a (relatively) cheap sport, once you start training for half and full marathons, the essential gear list gets exponentially longer—and more expensive. I’m not here to argue that; I ran the 2024ÌýNew York City Marathon in a fresh pair of $250 like thousands of others—with no regrets. But when I crossed the finish line and took stock of what I actually used from my overstuffed kit, many of my MVPs were all surprisingly low-budget. If you’re running the New York marathon this weekend, these are the under-$30 essentials that elevated my race day from bearable to the best yet.

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