U.S. Skier Believed Dead in Avalanche

👋  Welcome back to The Daily Slacker!

📌 In today’s news, here’s one thing to:

• Read: US Skier Kasha Rigby Believed Dead in Kosovo Avalanche

• Watch: Best Truck Camper on the Market?

• Share: FDA Approves Drug to Treat Severe Frostbite

You’ve Been Iced

With 10 Barrel’s help, we pranked our colleagues.

10 Barrel Launches Pub Ice

We partnered with 10 Barrel Brewing Company to play a lighthearted Valentine's Day prank on our colleagues. To celebrate the launch of their new beverage, Pub Ice, 10 Barrel provided us with special surprise packs to distribute among our colleagues.

We documented the amusing reactions and shared them on our Instagram stories. Check it out to see our friends getting "iced" with the surprise deliveries.

🎒 Serving up what’s fresh in outdoor gear releases.  

The Cost Of Cushioned Running Shoes

Running shoes just keep getting bigger as companies integrate more cushioning and foam, raising the feet higher from the ground.

• Brooks is adding 4 mm of cushioning to the Hyperion Max 2

• HOKA has increased the foam in their Mach X2 by 5 mm

Many runners say that these shoes feel like soft, bouncy moon boots or like the shoe is doing the work for you.

Overly cushioned shoes, however, haven't been proven to reduce strain more than standard running shoes. Beyond mere lift, the foam's density also alters your ground interface and running stride. Read the full story and see if you agree with our editors’ thoughts.

Team Thoughts 👇

🎿 Delivering the latest in adventure news.

First Woman Solo Hikes the ADT

The American Discovery Trail (ADT) stretches from coast to coast, covering 6,800 miles. Briana DeSanctis just became the first woman ever to solo-thru hike it.

By the numbers:

• 2 Years: DeSanctis started her journey on January 1, 2022 and finished on February 12, 2024.

• 6,800 Miles: ADT splits in the middle, featuring dual east/west routes, most people choose one route or the other. DeSanctis did both.

• 27 Pairs of Shoes: She burned rubber, but considers her Altra Lone Peak 6 Trail Running Shoes her top pick.

The Backstory

The story of what led her to the ADT, and eventually to the Pacific Ocean, started years before in Maine, where she grew up. Over a decade ago, DeSanctis started hiking sections of the Appalachian Trail (AT) on her days off from work and fell in love with it.

What’s Next

DeSanctis’s journey is far from over. As she travels back toward Maine, she’ll be stopping to give talks at some of her favorite places along the ADT, with the hope of inspiring others.

⚡ Testing all gear so you don’t have to.

Recycled Climbing Gear, Head To Toe If the idea of recycled climbing gear makes you shiver, take a deep breath. Edelrid’s 3R Rock Climbing Collection brings a new level of sustainability to products that still meet specific safety standards. Editor Seiji Ishii put them to the test in this review.

Another Home Run Doug Ritter helped create one of the most iconic outdoor folding knives of all time, the Benchmade Griptillion. Now he's done it again with the Hogue Knives Ritter RSK Mk1-G2. Engineer and knife tester Nick LeFort puts it to the test.

Ultralight Tent for Winter Storms? When it comes to winter camping, the word “ultralight” usually brings with it reluctance. But LeFort took one for the team (photo above) to test the Durston X-Mid 1 and see if it could handle whatever nature threw at it in the colder months.

“For me, it was like, I can’t control how tall I am, but I can control how thin I am.”

—  Competitive Climber Kai Lightner, on Eating Disorders in Rock Climbing

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