Wear the same 23-ounce jacket whether it's slightly cool or downright frosty outside: A new North Face coat becomes more than a third warmer when it's turned inside-out. Its versatility comes primarily from the way the insulation is sewn. The quilted squares on the metallic -- or cool -- side have small pockets at their edges. When worn on the outside, the pockets stretch open and allow air to flow in and out. When reversed, the jacket pushes the pockets together and traps air inside them, providing greater warmth.

Keep your digits toasty without swaddling them in layers. Outdoor Research’s PrimoVolta gloves pack an electric heater that can stay hot for six hours—more than twice as long as others—yet are still flexible enough to grab your jacket’s zipper pull.

Eco-friendly tent poles, retracting rudders, nano-fabrics, kinetic-core harnesses; PopSci takes a look at all the future tech you need to rough it. Check out the exclusive photo tour.