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American Gear Guide's Top Picks Logo

American Gear Guide's Top Picks

This is our favorite gear, the top American made equipment that earns our Editor’s Choice and Best Buy Awards.


We have spent countless combined hours testing and perfecting our gear choices, this is what works best for us and our personal preferences. Keep in mind that certain gear choices like boots are incredibly personal. What fits our feet and is best for us may not necessarily be the best for you so be sure to try on footwear. We hope that our positive experiences (and the lessons learned from negative ones) will help others discover exceptional outdoor gear for getting out and enjoying our world.


Regarding our Best Buy And Editor’s Choice Awards: The Best Buy is awarded to gear that presents the greatest value for the price. The Editor’s Choice is given to the highest quality gear, period.

Backpacks

Boots

Zpacks DupleXL Tent Editor's Choice American made Tent
Zpacks DupleXL Tent

Tents

Sleeping Bags

My FF Snowbunting Sleeping Bag
Feathered Friends Snowbunting EX 0 Sleeping Bag.

Sleeping Pads

Water Bottles & Purification

Hiking up to the backcountry goods

Clothing

Camp Cooking

Headlamps & Flashlights

Camping Accessories

*Note that this equipment is made in the USA but some may contain a few imported materials, however we don’t want the perfect to be the enemy of the good. We take more satisfaction in locally produced gear and find the quality of our top gear picks to be superior compared with top name brands produced overseas.

Matt Mullins at Everest Base Camp
Your gear tester Matt Mullins in a February -20F storm at Everest Base Camp.

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Find the most reliable, best engineered flashlights available.

Here you’ll find a lineup of the best headlamps made in the USA for camping, backpacking, running, hiking, biking, fishing, and all things in the dark. ​

The best backpacks made in the USA for hiking, backpacking, climbing/mountaineering, backcountry skiing, and simple everyday use.

​Want the best hiking, backpacking, or work boots made in the USA for Men and Women? Here they are!

Recommendations to find the best American made axes.

My picks for the top ultralight backpacking gear. 
Leatherman makes the world’s best multi-tools. I’m familiar with Gerber, Sog, and Victorinox multi-tools but none compare to Leatherman tools…

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PLEASE! I NEED HELP TO KEEP RUNNING THIS WEBSITE, AND IT’S EASY AND FREE FOR YOU TO HELP OUT! 
Sharing the best locally made gear is a passion project close to my heart and if I’ve helped you find some cool US made gear then please consider helping my site going and growing. Running this site costs me a lot of cash to use secure and speedy web servers, purchase new gear, and to contribute my personal time and effort. Thus, I need your help to cover my costs and continue providing quality free information on the latest American-made gear.
It’s easy and free to help out.

If you ever want to purchase ANYTHING from AmazonREI.com, Cabela’s, or Sportsman’s Warehouse… even for dog food or toothpaste, then you can help me without costing you a single penny. If you use my links to make a purchase within 24 hrs then I will receive a tiny credit that will help my site pay its dues and continue running. So all I ask is that if you find the free info here useful and you need to make a purchase at Amazon, REI, etc. then please use the links on this site. This costs you nothing extra but will help provide myself and this website a dollar or two to help keep on trucking.

You can bookmark the following sites and each time you purchase something it will help American Gear Guide in a small but significant way. Bookmarkable links: AmazonREI.com, Cabela’s, or Sportsman’s Warehouse.

 
Another way you can help is by donating any amount you choose, even $1. If you would like to donate to this site, you can use the paypal donate button below or you can do so by following the DonorBox link here (includes options for PayPal and Google Pay) and enter the donation amount of your choice. I provide this website’s information for free without annoying ads or membership fees so any donation is incredibly helpful. Thank you!