Backcountry Magazine

For the last 34 years, Backcountry Magazine’s Gear Guide has informed skiers and riders in their prep for the upcoming season. That means we don’t just have decades of experience, but years of refining our review process. While our values—thorough testing, diligent research, honest feedback and well-written reviews—haven’t changed, the way we assemble and design the Gear Guide constantly evolves with our readers’ needs. That’s why the 2027 Gear Guide is different.

Our core hardgoods reviews are still front and center: skis, splitboards, boots, bindings and tele gear. But they feature longer wordcounts paired with a short summary so you can skim or dive deep. Plus, we added a glossary so you can better understand all the tech jargon.

In the apparel section, we expanded coverage to include more full shell kits, while still reviewing the usual insulating layers: puffies, midlayers and baselayers. And, new this year, we added a slew of accessory reviews including goggles, packs, beacons, skins and more.