It’s time to look back on 2025 in gear, one of the GearJunkie edit team’s favorite assignments. In the last 12 months, we tested hundreds of products selected from thousands of launches, pitches, and cold-call emails.
As with every Gear of the Year roundup, some wonderful products had to be left out to winnow everything down to 10 winners. This list represents the most innovative and forward-looking products our editors got their hands on.
That includes all the outdoor sports we cover, from hunting and fishing to hiking and climbing. We even make time for gear aimed at airline travel, skiing, and much more.
Everything on this list hit consumer shelves this calendar year, and it’s all available to purchase right now. If you are looking for last-minute presents or post-holiday gifts, be sure to check out our list of Gift Guides.
Enjoy the list, and we’ll see you again in 2026!
Leatherman Built Different Line
Leatherman stepped squarely into the world of top-shelf knives in 2025, and it made quite a stir. The brand’s debut pocket knives and fixed blades catapulted it into direct competition with high-end knife brands. It leveraged precise engineering and premium ingredients at a comparably hefty price.
Fortunately, the products delivered. Offered through its “Built Different” initiative, the campaign introduced the iconic multi-tool brand to the market as a knifemaker through five new knives.
The line consists of three fixed blades and two folding knives for outdoor use. All of the knives use MagnaCut steel. The fixed-blade knives have full-tang construction and G10 handle scales, while the folding knives utilize Cerakoted 416 stainless steel for handles.
GearJunkie had a chance to test the knives. And our team was consistently impressed. The Leatherman Glider — an EDC folder with a sheepsfoot blade and aluminum handle — proved its worth over rigorous testing. It has become a go-to blade for one GearJunkie tester. Most importantly, the Built Different line signaled a new direction for Leatherman. It proved it can build world-class products, even in an entirely new niche.
Garmin inReach Mini 3 Plus
The inReach Mini line has been a quiet staple in the backcountry for years. It was never flashy, but it worked, and that’s what mattered. In 2025, Garmin gave it a serious update. The inReach Mini 3 Plus adds a touchscreen, voice messaging, and photo sharing, all without losing the compact form that made the Mini so popular in the first place.
What pushed this device into Gear of the Year territory is not one single feature, but the way the upgrades come together. Messaging is faster. Communicating context is easier. Sending a quick voice update or a photo from the field removes friction in moments when clarity matters. It modernizes satellite communication without turning the Mini into something bulky or fragile.
Just as important, Garmin split the line smartly. The Mini 3 keeps things simple for users who want text-only reliability, while the Mini 3 Plus delivers richer communication for those who want it. That flexibility, paired with strong battery life and a familiar rugged build, makes the Mini 3 Plus one of the most practical and forward-looking pieces of outdoor tech we found this year.
CRKT Provoke X
The CRKT Provoke X is wild and choppy in all the best ways. The full-size tomahawk folds down to an 8.69-inch steel rod. It will literally fit in a large pocket, protecting the carrier with its folding design.
Then, pull it out and give it a hard forward flick, and the two blades at the end fly open with an intimidating clank. It flips open into a seriously intimidating axe and spike. It might not be exactly practical for outdoor use, but it is downright cool. And if you do happen to find yourself in a lot of knife fights, this would be a go-to product that will probably leave most adversaries running for the hills!
The Provoke X made waves with its super-unique design and advanced engineering. CRKT calls it “Kinematic technology,” and while this iteration is more tactical than campground, we can’t wait to see how the brand applies it next.
KUIU Waypoint Roller Bag
The Waypoint Roller Bag solves a problem most hunting brands ignore. Getting all your gear, including a bow, through airports without turning check-in into a stress test. This is a hunting bag built for travel days, not trail miles, and it’s essentially the only one of its kind. What stood out immediately was how much gear it swallowed without feeling sloppy.
The internal layout is smart and deliberate, with space for a bow, boots, layers, and all the loose odds and ends that usually end up scattered across multiple bags. The structure holds its shape, the wheels roll smoothly, and the whole thing feels stable when fully loaded. It moves through airports like a bag designed by people who actually fly with hunting gear.
The Waypoint earns its Gear of the Year spot because it takes a painful part of traveling to hunt and makes it easier. It protects expensive gear, simplifies packing, and cuts down on travel-day chaos. It’s a well-built travel bag that does exactly what it’s supposed to do, which is why it stood out this year.
Salomon X Ultra 5
Not an entirely new product, this update enhances one of the best hiking boots on the market. In 2025, the Salomon X Ultra Mid 5 continued the legacy of one of hiking’s most beloved lightweight boots by striking an impressive balance of comfort, traction, and trail performance.
Built for day hikers and light backpackers who spend most of their time on established trails, this fifth-generation mid-height boot delivers grippy traction, reliable waterproofing, and noticeably more support than a trail runner without much weight penalty. At about 1 pound, 15 ounces per pair, it sits squarely in the sweet spot for fast, agile hiking where long days and nimble footing matter most.
Salomon refined the upper and fit for this version, adding a tougher textile with high-tenacity Kevlar yarns that withstand abrasion from rocks, cacti, and trail debris while still feeling breathable. The midsole’s responsive EnergyCell foam and molded chassis bring lateral support, yet are more pliable than stiff platforms.
On the trail, the Mid 5 impressed right out of the box with true-to-size fit and minimal break-in. Testers found the boots to be comfortable and waterproof, handling shallow streams with ease and demonstrating durability across varied terrain.
The boot that caters to hikers who want lightweight comfort and versatile trail capability. It excels on established routes and will serve day hikers and fast backcountry travelers extremely well. Its combination of grip, weather resistance, and durability — all at a strong value — makes it one of the standout lightweight hiking boots of the year.
Hyperlite Mountain Gear: Dyneema Woven Composites
Trust the ultralight backpacking nerds to continue the industry arms race toward light and tough. In 2025, Hyperlite Mountain Gear made waves when it debuted updates to its trio of classic packs — the Southwest, Windrider, and Junction — including a material upgrade to a new woven Dyneema Composite Fabric, which promises greatly enhanced durability.
This new laminated textile makes some big claims. Among them, the promise of 10x strength and 5x abrasion resistance compared to previous laminates is impressive, but the fact that it achieves all of this while weighing the same as Hyperlite’s previous white 50D DCF material changes the equation.
This new Dyneema Woven Composite 3.9 material hosts a 200D woven Dyneema face fabric, distinct from the 50-150 denier polyesters found in most other laminates. For the layperson: this makes an already strong backpack material even stronger.
We got our hands on a 55L Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest early this year and took it to some of the more demanding terrains we could find in southern Patagonia. After being drug across talus, glaciers, and a few tyrolean traverses, the results were clear: Dyneema and Hyperlite Mountain Gear have a winner here.
Besides the new woven material, the packs also received some well-appreciated tweaks, including easier-to-access side bottle pockets, removable compression straps, and a more secure sewn-in foam back panel. The shoulder strap design has also been refined to add more contour around the neck.
The trio of core packs from Hyperlite has been around for a while now, but these updates cemented these legacy rucksacks as some of the best of 2025.
COAST EAL35R: Voice-Controlled Lantern
“Coast on.” “Coast off.” “Coast red.” “Coast bright.”
Stay tucked in tight while you set the right light in your tent. Coast previously debuted the voice-control technology last year in the RL35R headlamp, and while it impressed, the utility of voice activation in a headlamp gave us pause. After all, headlamps are, by design, always within arm’s reach.
But a lantern — well now, that’s a product worthy of Gear of the Year. In our testing, the EAL35R was as fun to use as it was convenient. Bright light, warm light, low light, and red light — no need to cycle through, just tell the lantern what you want. And when it’s time to turn in, kill the lights without leaving the comfort of your sleeping bag.
The fact that this one-of-a-kind camp lantern costs only $40 and runs on both rechargeable Li-ion or alkaline power makes it a shoe-in for this year’s short list of top gear.
Peak Design Pro Tipod
Peak Design worked with photographer Jimmy Chin to design a tripod specifically for professional outdoor, travel, and adventure photography. The result is the brand’s Pro Tripod — a piece of gear we fell in love with during our testing last summer.
Camping editor Will Brendza took the whole family of Peak Design Pro Tripods on a working road trip while testing gear across Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. The buttery smooth action of all the moving pieces, durable carbon fiber construction, and rock-solid stability blew him away.
“It’s a highly functional and thoughtfully engineered piece of camera gear,” he wrote in his review. “Hands down, [the Pro Tripods] are some of the nicest camera accessories I’ve personally interacted with.”
The Peak Design Pro tripods come in three sizes: Pro Lite ($800), Pro ($900), and Pro Tall ($1,000). They all feature flanged center columns, aluminum leg locking cams, an Arca-compatible camera quick-lock, and CNC-machined leg angle adjusters.
The Pro Leveling Base is compatible with pro video heads, gimbals, geared heads, three-way heads, and more. And a Tilt Mod (purchased separately) converts the ball head into a fluid pan or tilt head.
Brendza used this premium tripod for shooting gear and taking personal photos, and conceded that for casual photographers like him, the $900 Pro Tripod might be overkill. But for more seasoned photographers, professionals, and dedicated hobbyists who spend a lot of time in the field and money on camera gear, you couldn’t find a more capable tripod for the price.
Black Diamond Deploy Down Jacket 0.5
If there’s such a thing as a “blink and you’ll miss it” insulator, this is it. Black Diamond’s Deploy Down Jacket 0.5 is widely regarded as the lightest down jacket in the world, tipping the scales at just over 5 ounces (5.2 ounces for men’s, 4.9 ounces for women’s) while still delivering legitimate warmth thanks to premium 1,000-fill down. It packs down to virtually nothing, making it an easy add-on for fast-and-light missions where every gram matters.
Despite its barely-there feel, the Deploy proved its worth during shoulder-season rock climbs, ultralight treks in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, and snowy day hikes. The streamlined, no-frills design focuses on what matters most for moving quickly in the mountains: efficient warmth, exceptional packability, and a clean fit that layers easily under a shell or harness. It’s a purpose-built piece that shines when you’re active and conditions are variable.
This is not an everyday puffy, and it’s not trying to be. Instead, the Deploy Down Jacket is a finely tuned tool for alpine climbers, endurance athletes, and ounce-counters who demand the absolute minimum weight without sacrificing performance. For anyone chasing fast ascents, long routes, or minimalist mountain kits, it’s one of the most impressive ultralight insulators on the market right now.
Antigravity A1
This is the Antigravity A1: the world’s first flying drone with a 360-degree camera. That would be enough to excite any drone photographer. But Chinese brand Insta360 took this invention one step further. By including Vision goggles and a Grip controller that offer real-time immersion, this drone becomes an experience like no other.
So far, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that the Antigravity A1 is a triumph of engineering. As the world’s first-ever, 360-degree quadcopter drone, it brings to the sky the camera tech that has long made Insta360 so popular among YouTubers and other outdoor media creators.
Instead of offering a complex, byzantine interface only usable by veteran drone photographers, the Antigravity’s three-prong system — drone, goggles, and controller — is approachable even for rookie hobbyists like myself.
Like many drones aimed at U.S. consumers, the A1 weighs exactly 249 g — just below the 250g threshold that triggers mandatory registration with the FAA. The low weight also exempts users from dealing with licensing requirements in many other countries as well.
Its seamless interface means that previously complicated drone photography tasks requiring two or three people can now be accomplished by a single person. Moreover, the experience of using the Antigravity A1 is so fun and so immersive that I often found myself forgetting to hit the record button. For those of us who will likely never put on a wing suit and soar like a bird, it’s hard to imagine a closer simulacrum than this.
Read the full article here
