The Best Gear for Urban Adventurers

Get out of the city and into nature. Try these 9 outdoor gear products built to fuel your adventures in town and on the trail.

You can live in the city and still find nature to explore. Urban forests and greenspaces across metropolitan hubs — like Chicago’s Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, New York City’s Central Park, Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness, and Portland’s Forest Park to name a few — serve as a sanctuary for outdoor adventurers living in the city. 

We want to help you gear up for your next urban adventure with products perfect for use in town and on the trail. No matter if you’re a native urban dweller or just visiting, try blending big city culture with an adventure in urban nature. 

Check out 9 of our favorite products built for the urban adventurer:

We promise you’ll love this hiking shoe that’s just as comfortable in town too. The HOKA Anacapa Breeze is a lightweight hiker that feels more like a sneaker on your foot than a rugged trail shoe. They’re super breathable and durable, giving you the best of both worlds: protection from the elements and a mesh upper fabric that lets moisture escape. Warm-climate dwellers will appreciate their ability to keep your foot cool, even in the hottest of heat. For folks in wet climates, the Anacapa Breeze comes in a mid-height GORE-TEX version too. Pick up a pair at REI. 

This little chair packs in a lot of comfort. The Helinox Chair Zero is a micro-weight camp chair that’s easy to strap to your bike or throw in your backpack — for adventures in and around the city. It’s just 1 pound, which means you don’t have to worry about lugging around a heavy camp chair with you to the beach, your local park, or your backyard bonfire. Its lightweight aluminum frame can hold up to 265 pounds and the Chair Zero packs down to the size of a standard 32-ounce water bottle. Snag one online at REI.

Pair your Helinox camp chair with this lightweight table to make the urban adventure setup. I recently brought this table to Lake Michigan for an early-spring coffee hang on the shoreline. It also makes the perfect companion for a camping trip, local park hang, or a s’mores station in your backyard. NEMO is known for its high-quality, technical design that’s user-friendly. The Moonlander’s legs easily detach from the foldable tabletop and conveniently fit inside of its compact carrying case. You can buy the Moonlander at REI.

Want to go camping? Looking for an affordable tent? The Trailmade 2-person tent was built for car campers and beginner backpackers alike, providing all the comfort you need for a night under the stars without breaking your budget. This 3-season camping tent features an X-pole configuration, which makes for easy setup and teardown — even if you’re on a solo adventure. Its rollable rainfly door and large mesh windows provide ample ventilation. It also comes with a footprint for extra ground protection. Shop this tent (or the whole Trailmade Backpacking Bundle) online at REI.

Birdwatching makes for an amazing city-based outdoor adventure. It’s also extremely accessible, which we love. Avid bird watchers and beginners alike will love NOCS’ compact, lightweight, and waterproof binoculars. They come in a range of colors and are built to withstand an accidental fumble or rainstorm thanks to their outer rubber coating. Grab a pair at REI for your next birding adventure.

A mid-day hang in between the trees? Yes, please. Relax at your local park or head to your local campground in an ENO DoubleNest, a lightweight and portable hammock built for two. This bad boy’s big enough to fit you and an adventure pal or spread out solo while you swing beneath the pines. There’s truly no better feeling than stretching out and chilling in the warm summer breeze in an ENO. Heads up: Straps for the ENO DoubleNest are sold separately. Snag one at Cabela’s.

Sometimes a lightweight daypack is all you need for your urban adventure. Cotopaxi’s 4-liter Allpa waist pack lets you go hands-free with plenty of room to fit some snacks, your phone, a collapsible water bottle, and more. We love wearing it crossbody too (like all the hip kids these days). The Allpa doubles as an ideal bag for the city too — from music festivals and neighborhood events to art and street fairs. Order this hip pack online at REI.

Bigger adventures call for a bigger bag. The Gregory Juno 30-liter pack was made to carry water and all the adventure gear you need in the wilderness. It also doubles as a great backpack for commuting to work, traveling, or carrying what you need around town. This pack also comes with Gregory’s 3D Hydro Reservoir. Fill ‘er up and hit the trail (or city), no matter where your adventure takes you. Grab this pack online at Moosejaw.

Solo Stove built the Ranger so city dwellers have access to a small, sleek, and portable fire pit for their backyards. Designed to let off way less smoke than your average campfire, the Solo Stove’s unique design sucks air in through channels at the top of the fire pit for a more efficient, smoke-free burn. Car campers and overlanders love the Ranger campfire pit too for its compact size and portability. We can’t recommend this fire pit enough and you can buy one at Moosejaw.