If you're looking to buy new outdoor gear this summer, Outside Magazine's already done some preliminary footwork for you. Their 2008 Summer Buyer's Guide lists 392 pieces of top gear across the following categories:

• Run
• Ride
• Travel
• Hike
• Float
• Women

One other nice touch, Outside offers several videos within each category to show you some of the gear up close.

We just purchased an REI Half-Dome 4 HC tent (pictured/www.rei.com) for our family of four as we felt it combined generous space with a low weight. Also, its unique pole design allows for easy set-up in wind, and the fly ventilation flaps deliver awesome airflow. We were right on the money with this tent -- the 2008 Summer Buyer's Guide listed REI's Quarter-Dome (a smaller version of our tent) the winner for Best Space-to-Weight Ratio. Employees at our local REI were raving about the tent, and we saw two other Half-Domes in a field of 15 tents or so during a recent rock climbing weekend with the Chicago Mountaineering Club.

If you're starting to think about winter gear, consult Outside's 2008 Winter Buyer's Guide to get a jump on cold weather gear shopping!

Source