It is that time of year again in NYC!  Yvonne, Selina Chan (visiting us Toronto), myself and two dogs Jacob and Tamu set out for Tuxedo Park to do a little hiking!  We try to get out of town and hike as much as possible even though renting a car and the whole rigamarole to get out of the city with dogs can be tiring, it is worth it once you get to the Great Outdoors!  Yvonne and I received some great new gear for the Spring from some amazing brands that I want to share with you.  Outdoor gear can be tough to purchase as it is never cheap and there are a lot of options.

Below is a grid of some of the items we received.

Tuxedo Park is a great day hike and something Jacob and Tamu always look forward to. They are able to be “dogs” and get off of the leash and out of the city.  From the moment they jump out of the car they are ready to go!

Klean Kanteen is a brand that we love!  Their products are always minimal in design and can take a beating.  Also, something you might want to invest in while hiking around the US is Trimble Outdoors Maps.  They are maps that can be downloaded to your smartphone that highlight trails with category options for State, National Park or County throughout the US.  The coolest thing is you can download the map to your smartphone and only need the GPS function so if you do not have great service you can still use the map!  You can plan a trip on the map or print out your trip onto paper as well!

We used our new Eddie Bauer backpacks to keep our essentials in while hiking.  This is my second Eddie Bauer hiking pack of this size and I love it!  There are a few pockets inside and net pockets to keep your water in.  On a side note these smaller hiking packs make great gym bags!  They are just big enough to fit shoes and your workout gear in. They fit in any gym locker and force you to not pack too much.

Smartwool is a brand that creates high performance merino wool products for all types of outdoor activities year round.  All of the items are made of merino wool which makes them Breathable and stink free.  The great thing about items such as their socks and tops is when it is cool they keep you warm and when it is hot the sweat is wicked away.  This allows their products to work for your activities year round and allow you to be prepared for any situation that you can run into.  Earlier on the hike it was breezy and I was still warm and when the sun came out near the end of the hike I was cool as it wicked my sweat away very quickly, it definitely works!  The shirt I wore was a base layer, however I wore it as my only layer.

La Sportiva is based out of Italy and create top notch hiking gear.  The majority of their products are handmade and posses superior materials.  The shoes that Yvonne and I wore are from their Bushido line, made for trail running.  We didn’t necessarily run the trails, however the shoes were super comfortable on a leisure hike and great for warm weather.  I was blown away at the way they handled the trail.  There are guards to protect your toes on sharp rocks etc.  They have a speed lace system to quickly tighten or loosen your shoes for any adjustments during your hike or take your shoe off quickly to remove a pebble etc.  The material allowed my foot to breathe very well, it was noticeable which was surprising.  In addition, the sole has special rubber for gripping to rock that really worked!  I felt comfortable and confident in them during the entire hike.

Hiking is always a good time, looking forward to the next city escape!

Thanks for joining us Selina, she is an amazing photographer and has more pictures of our hike at www.50mmphotography.ca