Backcountry Pole FAQs: Your Questions Answered

Feb 18, 2015

As many winter hikers, snowshoers, skiers and splitboarders will attest, backcountry poles help you maintain stability and safety as you cross snowfields, navigate icy switchbacks, and traverse frozen hillsides. Plus, they help you reduce joint impact and minimize fatigue, so you can save strength and better endure the elements. Adjustable winter poles are especially useful for navigating steep inclines and descents, letting you shorten or lengthen poles to match the terrain for improved efficiency. Adjustable poles also pack up and stow away easily while in technical terrain, or when splitboarders are ready to ride down. Here are five frequently asked questions (FAQs) of our customer service department along with information to help you select and use MSR® backcountry poles that are right for you, for your environment, and for the…

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MSR Backcountry Pole Technology: Rethinking Traditional Design

Jan 19, 2015

For winter backcountry travelers, poles are simply essential pieces of gear. Whether your route contains snow-laden log bridges, endless switchbacks or a rocky alpine approach, poles help increase your safety and efficiency while traveling through demanding terrain. But not all poles are engineered equally. Here we take a look at the unique technology behind MSR’s backcountry poles, and explain how our engineers employed fresh ideas to solve many frustrations plaguing traditional pole designs.

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Gear Overview: The New WindBurner™ Personal Stove System

Oct 8, 2014

The new WindBurner Stove System is the first truly personal stove system from MSR. The latest in our line of the world’s fastest, most fuel-efficient stoves systems, it features the same radiant burner and windproof technology that makes our Reactor a powerhouse in weather that shuts other stoves down. Yet, the WindBurner brings with it personal features that solo travelers or minimalist backpacking pairs seek most.

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Gear Overview: New Revo™ Explore Snowshoes

Sep 24, 2014

New for 2014, our Revo series snowshoes combine the confidence-inspiring grip of MSR’s perimeter traction with the unrivaled durability and torsional flex of our proven plastic decks. Together, they offer a light, rugged snowshoe built for surefooted stability through any conditions you find beyond the packed trails. The Revo Explore model features our new HyperLink Binding, which provides exceptional comfort and ease of use, making long days in the backcountry even better. In this video, we explain the key features and technologies of the Revo Explore—and how it maintains the legendary versatility that have defined our performance plastic decks.

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Gear Archives: The Simple Perfection of a Good Bowl

Jul 14, 2014

In the 1970s and 1980s, focused on using the latest technologies, MSR made its early cookware of the lightest modern materials available—titanium, aluminum and non-stick aluminum. While carrying the lightest possible gear was the priority of most backpackers, the MSR product development team recognized the undeniable benefits of stainless steel as well, which was more durable, conducted heat more evenly, and ultimately was more affordable than aluminum or titanium.

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MSR Kitchen Sets: Behind The Gear

Jul 9, 2014

Product Manager Steve Grind answers a few questions about the design and performance of the various sets of kitchen tools offered by MSR. What is the process behind deciding which utensils go into each set (Ultralight, Alpine, Alpine Deluxe)? We’re always working to understand our customers as well as we can, and the customer for one product is often different in some ways from the customer for another product, even within a single product line. In the case of a kitchen set, we know that users are likely to cook differently in a base camp or car-camping scenario than they are in an ultralight backpacking one, and this informs what we design and what is included in each kit.

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Trekking Pole FAQs: Your Questions Answered

Jun 23, 2014

As many hikers and backpackers will attest, trekking poles offer great benefits—from helping you maintain stability over changing terrain, to minimizing fatigue and reducing joint impact. Adjustable trekking poles are especially useful for navigating steep inclines and descents, letting you shorten or lengthen poles to match the terrain for improved efficiency. Adjustable poles also pack up easily when not in use. Here are five frequently asked questions (FAQs) of our customer service department along with information to help you select and use MSR® poles that are right for you, for your environment, and for the activities you like to do.

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APPALACHIAN TRAIL THRU-HIKERS HAVE A BURNING QUESTION ABOUT OUR STOVES

Jun 18, 2014

Last month, over 4,000 hikers and 15,000 visitors descended on the small town of Damascus, Virginia, for the annual Trail Days Festival. This multi-day event celebrates the Appalachian Trail community, providing hiker workshops, food, gear repairs, and plenty of entertainment, including the hiker talent show. (What happens at the talent show, stays at the talent show.) We’ve been attending this festival for many years, providing free maintenance and repairs on MSR products in the gear tent located in the main campground. It’s always a great time meeting the thru-hikers and geeking-out over gear. We find that we help and learn in equal proportions. This year, MSR’s Stove Category Director Steve Grind attended and was asked one question far more than any other: What’s the difference between the MSR PocketRocket™ and…

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