1. Timbuk2 Tandem Pannier
These dueling saddlebags are built from burly waterproof tarpaulin, giving your gear protection from the elements and the road. Bonus: built-in magnets convert the two saddlebags into one shoulder bag. Fits on any rack.
$120. timbuk2.com
2. Zoic Tourist Short
The Tourist rides like a bike short (the full liner is super cush and removable) but looks like a hip pair of cargo shorts, which is nice when you transition from the bike into a café where skin-tight lycra is out of place. The pockets come in handy when you want to quickly stash a phone, bar, or map.
$79. zoic.com
3. Showers Pass Elite 2.0
There are lighter jackets and there are burlier jackets, but the Elite 2.0 successfully walks the line of supreme packability and usability. It weighs 14 ounces and packs down to a water bottle, but is fully waterproof and blissfully breathable thanks to the eVent fabric.
$240. showerspass.com
4. Princeton Tec Push
A 100-lumen, self-contained headlight with blinking sidelights for 260-degree visibility. Add the Swerve ($29.95) taillight to your seat post, and you’ve got supreme visibility if you get stuck on the road at night.
$49.95. princetontec.com
5. Bolle Draft
These super-light specs wrap your entire eye for full protection, and the polarized lenses adjust to the sun intensity automatically, so there’s no need to switch lenses. The result is a crisp, clear view regardless of conditions.
$149. bolle.com
6. Pearl Izumi X Road
Forget the super stiff, carbon-soled road shoes you race in. For long miles day after day, you want a shoe that’s stiff enough for pedaling, but soft and flexible enough to walk without causing you to wince.
$100. pearlizumi.com
The Wringer: Drift POV Video Camera
The concept of point-of-view cameras is alluring—strap a rugged digital camera to your head, bike, or paddle, and capture raw action footage on the go. But the actual practice can be far more complicated. I’ve tested POV cameras before, and I typically get a bunch of clips, half of which are of my face looking into the camera asking, “Is this thing on?” The other half are pointed straight at the ground.
Not so with The Drift HD 170 Stealth, which comes with an LCD screen so you can see exactly what you’re filming, then play it back immediately after you shoot it. I took the camera on a multi-day backpacking trip, and without even looking at the instruction manual, I was able to figure out the controls within minutes of charging the battery. The Drift captures action beautifully in an almost idiot-proof package perfect for amateur videographers.
$349. driftinnovation.com
Watch footage from the Drift on a gear testing trip to Yosemite.
