Nat Geo Adventure Announces 2012 Spring/Summer Gear of the Year

Looking for some new gear to add to your arsenal of outdoor equipment? Than National Geographic Adventure has you covered. They've just announced the winners of their 2012 Spring/Summer Gear of the Year and as always there are plenty of great items competing for your hard earned cash.

Items on the list include the new Sierra Designs Zissou 15 sleeping bag which uses the new waterproof down that has been all the buzz in recent months. The Outdoor Research Axiom jacket get a nod for its use of a more flexible version of Gore-Tex and the Canon 5D Mark III DSLR sets a new standard for cameras as well.

A couple of items that I've had the pleasure of reviewing make the list, including the Atmos 50 backpack from Osprey and Camelbak's ingenious All Clear bottle, which uses UV light to purify drinking water. I found both of those products to be fantastic and highly recommend each as well.

Of course, the Gear of the Year list always inspires some gear-lust in my personally and the 2012 edition is no exception. I'm personally looking forward to trying out the Suunto Ambit watch, which I've heard really great things about and the North Face Havoc Mid GTX XCR hiking boots have me intrigued as well.

Most of this equipment is available now and makes perfect gifts for moms, dads and grads. Of course, they also make perfect gifts for yourself as you gear up for the summer adventures ahead.