Sierra Designs

There's absolutely nothing like knowing that no matter what the elements are throwing at you all day long you'll be warm and dry come night. Sierra Designs is pretty much single-handedly making sure that is the case for this upcoming summer. SD provided five amazingly warm drizone sleeping bags for our 2005 expedition. In 2008, not only are the sending five more sleeping bags our way -- their Drizone Electra -20 bags no less -- but they are also providing two tents, Chockstone primaloft jackets and ember base-layers. It will be great to be able to pair their toasty sleeping bags with their Stretch Dome and Stretch Tiros tents -- both bombproof, four-season mountaineering tents that can stand up to tundra winds with barely a shrug. Personally, I'm also really, really excited about the Drizone Packable Mitts that they threw in at the last minute. These waterproof prima-loft mittens just might be the answer to "trench hands" -- reoccuring blisters and sores that some of us got on our hands from the cold in 2005.