Total Items: 0
Sub Total: $0.00
Gear Up for Your Best Life Adventure Trip
Every Best Life Adventure demands the right gear. Our in-store team lives and breathes this stuff. Come in for a chat or shop online and we'll make sure you head out fully kitted out.
Ventilated trekking pack, 30-45L
A suspended back panel, not a foam one. Anything flat against the spine is soaked in an hour.
Shop: Hiking packs
Long-sleeve sun shirt, UPF rated
Covering up beats reapplying sunscreen every two hours. Cooler than a t-shirt in real sun.
Shop: Shirts & sun protection
Ben's pick: Patagonia Self Guided Sun Mens Long Sleeve Shirt - Used across all adventures, stops the sun, stays fresh, go dark to stop stains.
Merino or synthetic tees, two
Merino for the smell, synthetic for the drying time. Two is enough - wash one, wear one.
Shop: Base layers & tees
Quick-dry trekking pants
Full-length beats shorts for sun, scrub and insects. Zip-offs earn their keep here.
Shop: Hiking pants
Packable rain shell
Tropical rain is warm, so this is about shedding a downpour, not staying warm. Weight and pack size win over a heavy membrane.
Shop: Waterproof jackets
Breathable trail shoes
Mesh over leather. A shoe that drains and dries beats a boot that holds water for two days.
Shop: Hiking shoes
Ben's pick: Hoka Speedgoat - Lightweight, mega grippy, good in the heat.
Wide-brim hat and sunglasses
Brim beats cap. Ears and neck are where the damage happens.
Shop: Brim hats · Sunglasses
Water capacity, two to three litres
Bottles over a bladder - you can see what you have left, and a bladder hides a slow leak.
Shop: Bottles & hydration
Water filter or purification
The difference between a good week and losing two days of it.
Shop: Water treatment and filtration
Ben's pick: Sawyer 2L Gravity System - Packs down small, backwash cleaning system, fast filter speed.
Sun and insect protection
SPF50+, zinc, lip balm, repellent. Antifungal powder is the one nobody packs and everybody wants by day four.
Shop: Sunscreen · Insect protection
Headlamp and power bank
Tropical dark arrives fast and early. Heat flattens batteries as surely as cold does.
Shop: Head lamps · Power
Trekking pack, 45-65L, plus a duffel
On portered or supported trips the duffel carries the load and the pack carries the day. Both, not either.
Shop: Hiking packs · Duffel bags
Daypack, 20-30L
Carries the shell, the water and the camera on the move.
Shop: Daypacks
Ben's pick: Osprey Talon 26 - The gun of daypacks - zips that work, logical stuff areas, and bulletproof
Merino base layers, two tops and two bottoms
One on, one drying. Cotton is the thing that ends trips.
Shop: Thermal tops · Thermal bottoms
Ben's pick: Icebreaker Merino Blend 125 ZoneKnit - Heat where you need, vents where you don't. No stink, good year after year.
Fleece or grid-fleece mid layer
The layer that comes on and off six times a day, so it needs to be easy to stow.
Shop: Fleece
Ben's pick: Patagonia R Series - Lightweight, breathable, insulating. Good for summits and cities.
Down or synthetic insulated jacket
For standing still - camp, summit stops, sunrise. Synthetic if the trip is wet, down if it is dry and cold.
Shop: Insulated jackets
Waterproof, windproof hardshell with hood
Wind is what actually takes the warmth. The hood has to fit over a beanie.
Shop: Waterproof jackets
Ben's pick: Arc'teryx Beta SV - his switch from the Alpha SV once it's above zero and humid, the Alpha is too thick and you sweat in it.
Shell pants
Go over everything without taking boots off. Full side zips are worth the money.
Shop: Waterproof pants
Glove system - liners plus insulated outers
Liners stay on for photos, poles and zips. One thick glove alone means bare hands every time you need to do something.
Shop: Gloves
Beanie covering the ears, plus a buff
And a sun hat as well - altitude sun burns while you are cold.
Shop: Beanies
Broken-in boots with ankle support
Bought weeks ahead, not days. This is the single most common trip-ruining mistake.
Shop: Hiking boots
Sock system - thin merino and thick wool
Two pairs of each. Thin liners under thick reduces the friction that makes blisters.
Shop: Socks
Four-season sleeping bag and silk liner
The liner adds warmth, keeps the bag clean, and doubles as the sheet in a teahouse.
Shop: Sleeping bags · Liners
Ben's pick: Sea to Summit Reactor Extreme - Mummy system so midnight toilet runs are still warm.
Insulated flask and a hard bottle
Hot drink on the move, and a wide-mouth bottle that will not freeze shut. No bladders - the hose freezes first.
Shop: Bottles & flasks
High-protection sunglasses and SPF50
Snow and altitude together are brutal. Wraparound or side-shielded.
Shop: Sunglasses · Sunscreen
Headlamp, spare batteries, power bank
Cold halves battery life. Sleep with the power bank in the bag.
Shop: Head lamps · Power
Ben's pick: LED Lenser Neo5R - Small is cool, but robs you of battery life. Separate battery pack works best.
Dry bags in three sizes
Colour-code them - sleep gear, day gear, electronics. Sorting a hatch in swell is not the time to be guessing.
Shop: Dry bags
Day bag with no metal zips
Salt eats metal zips in days. Roll-tops and plastic hardware only - this is the tip people thank you for.
Shop: Dry bags & deck bags
Ben's pick: Sea to Summit Big River - Never go lightweight for true waterproofing. Roll 3 times every time.
UPF long-sleeve rash top
Worn all day, wet or dry. Sunscreen will not survive eight hours of paddling.
Shop: Long-sleeve tops
Board or paddle shorts, and swimwear
Two sets so one is always dry. Quick-dry, no cotton, nothing that chafes under a spray skirt.
Shop: Boardshorts & swimwear
Paddle jacket or light spray top
Wind chill on wet skin is the cold that catches people out on warm-water trips.
Shop: Watersports apparel
Personal flotation device
Worn, not stowed. Comfort decides whether it stays on all day.
Shop: Flotation devices
Closed-toe water shoes or booties
Coral, oyster and rock. Open sandals are how trips end early.
Shop: Water shoes
Ben's pick: Keen Sandals - Same shoes to paddle, hike and around camp.
Brimmed hat with a chin cord, sunglasses with a retainer
Both go overboard without them. The cord costs nothing and saves the trip's sunglasses.
Shop: Brim hats · Sunglasses
Paddling or sun gloves
Hands take sun from above and reflection from below, and blister where the paddle sits.
Shop: Gloves
Reef-safe sunscreen and zinc
Reef-safe is not optional in the places these trips go.
Shop: Sunscreen
Saltwater skin kit
Talcum powder for saltwater rash, plus ear drops. Small, cheap, and the thing that decides how the last three days feel.
Shop: First aid
Waterproof phone case and a dry-bagged power bank
Assume a swim. Everything electronic goes in a bag inside a bag.
Shop: Tech & power
Ben's pick: Sea to Summit Phone Case - Protect your device, might not take great photos when inside, but keeps it dry.
One thing to leave at home
Long free-dive fins. They do not fit kayak hatches and they damage reef - a short travel fin is the right recommendation.
Rugged duffel, sled-hauled
It gets dragged behind you on a sled - tough, but not oversized.
Shop: Duffel bags
Merino or polypropylene base layers, two tops and two bottoms
Plus two moisture-wicking tees and two mid-weight long sleeves. Ample base layers is the one instruction on the kit list written twice.
Shop: Thermal tops · Thermal bottoms
Fleece or warm mid layer
Sits between the base and the shell, and stays on most of the day.
Shop: Fleece
Ben's pick: Arc'teryx Atom - Useful in every scenario, holds heat, vents sweat, rugged as hell.
Down jacket
For camp and for standing still. This is the layer that goes on over everything else the moment you stop moving.
Shop: Insulated jackets
Waterproof, windproof hardshell with hood
Gore-Tex or equivalent. Windproof is the non-negotiable half.
Shop: Waterproof jackets
Ben's pick: Arc'teryx Alpha SV - his go-to shell on the Arctic expedition every winter, good to minus forty and winds to 100km/h. Feels bulletproof once the drawcords are set. Too heavy-duty for Australian conditions.
Thin inner gloves
Merino liners are best - they stay on for anything fiddly, so your bare hands never touch metal.
Shop: Gloves
Insulated over-mittens
Mittens, not gloves - fingers together are far warmer. They go straight over the liners.
Shop: Snow gloves & mitts
Beanie that covers the ears
Ear coverage is specified, not suggested - a beanie that rides above them is no use at all.
Shop: Beanies
Buff, balaclava or scarf
Covers the gap between collar and goggles, which is exactly where the wind finds you.
Shop: Balaclavas & neckwear
Ski goggles, clear or light tint
For storm protection, not glare. A dark lens is the wrong call in a whiteout.
Shop: Snow goggles
Winter boots
Insulated and rated for the temperature you are actually going to. Ordinary hiking boots do not do this job.
Snow shoes
They spread your weight so you walk on the snow instead of through it. On soft ground they are the difference between moving and wading.
Shop: Snow accessories
Ankle-supportive walking shoes, and camp shoes
Town and transfers in one, evenings in the other - ugg boots, sandals or thongs with socks.
Shop: Hiking shoes · Camp footwear
Socks - two thin merino, two thick wool
Warm and breathable, wool blend for the thick pairs.
Shop: Socks
Cold-rated sleeping bag
Check the comfort rating, not the extreme one - the extreme figure is a survival number, not a sleep-through-the-night number.
Shop: Sleeping bags
Ben's pick: Sea to Summit Spark Range - Find the one for the coldest you'll get, zip up, snuggle in and sleep well.
Sleeping bag liner
Silk. Adds warmth to the bag, keeps it clean, and packs down to nothing.
Shop: Liners
Dry bags, and a waterproof pack cover
Dry bags split the gear and double as a pillow. Some packs have the cover built in.
Shop: Dry bags
Backup water bottle
Wide-mouth, hard-sided. It will not freeze shut the way a hose does.
Shop: Bottles
Headlamp with spare batteries, and a power bank
Essential, not optional - and there is limited access to power out there.
Shop: Head lamps · Power
Sunscreen, zinc and lip protection
SPF30+ to limit windburn, which is what actually gets you up there.
Shop: Sunscreen
Personal first aid kit
Bandage, blister plasters, antibacterial cream, antihistamines, headache tablets, foot powder.
Shop: First aid
