Gear of the Year 2014 – Part 1

We’re nearing the end of the 2014 year and all the major brands have shown their hands for the products which will find their way into homes this holiday season. Lots of gear comes through our office and almost all of it is pretty great, but there are always a few items that really seem to shine in one aspect or another.

Below are some of the pieces of gear which really stood out this year and impressed us.

Garmin Fenix 2 – $500

The Fenix 2 ended up in our office because it’s a GPS watch. We see plenty of those and, generally, they all work great. There are differences between models and brands. They all have their pros and cons (including the Fenix 2), but for the most part they track your GPS movement and use it to calculate pace and distance.

The Fenix 2 of course does this, but it also does so much more. The number of features packed into the Fenix 2 is eye-opening. The watch is also equipped with an altimeter and barometer to track altitude and pressure. It has a compass and temperature sensor. In short, though this unit is a great running watch, it was never intended to be just a running watch. It’s not even a trail running watch. It’s an outdoor adventure watch.

You can set waypoints with your phone or computer and the watch will take you there. You can save your location and leave, and the watch will help you find your way back later. It’s difficult to get lost using it. The watch can even load up a map and show you the route you’re meant to follow on-screen. It’s a pretty low resolution map, but it works.

As mentioned, with all this comes a downside. The watch is heavy, so much so that you would generally not want to wear it out running unless you were intending to first get hopelessly lost and let the watch help you find your way home (which would actually be pretty fun). It serves a small niche of users and, in terms of running, those users will be subset of the ultrarunning and trial running community. Still, the device is very impressive and it got a lot of deserved attention in our office. It certainly makes the list for Gear of the Year.

The North Face Feather Lite Storm Blocker – $230

We raved about this jacket last spring when we were testing it through unpredictable spring weather. It stood up great.

On its own, the Feather Lite jacket is a minimalist wind and rain shell. It blocks wind and will keep you dry. there are no pockets and it won’t keep you warm, but that’s not a problem. the jacket really shines because of its versatility. At only 54 g and paper-thin, you can pack this coat anywhere to take with you. It packs into the pocket of another jacket if you want to bring it along.

The Feather Lite is the perfect shell for a rainy day when it’s not overly hot outside. The coat will cut the wind and you own body heat will keep you warm. When it’s colder outside, the jacket serves as a great coat to put over warmer base layers. You won’t need much else until the coldest days of winter if you pair the jacket well.

Some see the lack of features, such as pockets, as a downside, but we found the coat to be a perfect match for many other pieces of clothing. It pairs well in most weather and the Feather Lite Storm Blocker really shines because of its versatility. It was the most useful jacket that came through the office.

Nikon Coolpix AW120 – $350

The Nikon Coolpix AW120 is pretty rugged. It’s waterproof, it says, up to 18m. We have to admit we didn’t get it that deep, though it does hold up as an underwater camera. The camera is also shockproof and has a fairly slim profile. It’s not particularly light but it will withstand whatever you throw at it. If you’re heading out for a long, scenic trail run this is a great camera to bring along with you.

Admittedly, the uses are a bit limited for most situations. Runners with an iPhone will know the weight and 8-megapixel camera built in to that phone shoots pictures most runners can’t complain about , but at 16 megapixels the AW120 shoots some very impressive shots, though it’s heavier than a smartphone. The lens has a sharp 5x wide optical zoom.

The AW120 also includes built-in WiFi and GPS, features which seem to be becoming standard in digital cameras, but seem even better suited to this device. The GPS tagging makes a lot of sense if you’re out on a trail somewhere. GPS tagging is a handy feature in the city, but it’s not too tough to figure out where a picture was taken in an area everyone sees each day. Out on the trail the GPS tagging means you know exactly where you were when the photo was snapped, an awesome feature for sharing with friends.

The one downside of the AW120 is that it’s only meant to work to -10C, , a major downside for Canadians. There will be a few months each year it won’t be reliable.

Though not for all your runs, the Coolpix AW120 is the perfect camera for those runs you really do want to document; those gorgeous trails when you’re away from home and might not get another chance to see.