Are hiking poles necessary?

Good for: New product announcements, big-picture trends.

Written by: Amy Jurries, an ice climbing addict and general outdoor enthusiast who left a career in venture capital to make the outdoors her career; and Don Jurries, who covers products available in Australia and New Zealand.

The crew posts nearly every day, about everything, from the latest designer down jacket to a pair of HD sunglasses about to hit stores to a product that will turn your iPhone into a GPS device. Straight-talking, information rich posts make it a go-to for innovation and emerging tech. Avoid the Down Under blog, unless you really want to read about products like the Bug Zappa or the newest Aussie Butt Cream.

Sample post: We first read about Patagonia's release of its own line of salmon jerky in this thoughtful piece.

First music, now food. Seems Patagonia is diversifying itself again with the new Patagonia Provisions group, while helping do good at the same time. Through the sale of salmon jerky, Patagonia hopes to reform the current salmon fisheries and protect the future of wild salmon. 

Between the industrial ocean salmon farms and the large river fisheries, the salmon industry has serious problems. Tackling the industry head on, Patagonia is now looking to develop an entirely new sourcing system for salmon, much the same way the company took on the cotton industry and created an entire organic cotton supply for their products. …