Your Favorite Gear in January 2026
The Most Popular Winter Gear of 2025 among Treeline fans
New Year, New By The Numbers! January’s numbers are in for Treeline Reader’s Top Gear Items last month!
We're here to share What's In (and What is Out) so far in 2026 among Treeline Readers.
Because of warmer than usual temperatures across the country in January, readers started running and hiking already. Trending items include: Winter hiking gloves, warm socks, and waterproof hiking boots for walking around in snow and mud.
For skiers and snowboarders, our team on the East Coast is celebrating snow and handling colder temperatures. Colorado and West-coast based readers aren’t getting the snow, so we’re seeing ski and snowboard bags to travel with your gear trending.
We go into details in the section on This Month’s Trends below!
Everyone loves looking at the numbers and at Treeline Review, we’re honest when it comes to telling you what’s hot (and what’s not).
We ran the numbers. Here are the top gear items purchased by Treeline Review readers like you.
Curious what was trending earlier this year? See our most popular gear of November 2025.
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The top 15 items among Treeline Review readers in winter 2026
Our mission is to help you buy right the first time by choosing quality outdoor gear that you will cherish and that will last. We believe in obsessively researching and testing gear and only recommending what stands the test of time.
The items you’ll see on this list of January 2026 bestsellers live up to those principles: time-tested, obsessively researched, and better than the rest.
Overall Winner: Best Men's Winter Boots, Best Women's Winter Boots
Winner Best for Extreme Cold: Best Winter Hiking Boots, Best for Hiking: Best Women's Winter Boots
Budget Winner: Best Men’s Hiking Shoes, Best Women’s Hiking Shoes, Lightweight Hiking Boots
Best for Wide Feet: Best Winter Hiking Boots, Best Men's Winter Boots
Overall Winner: The Best Winter Gloves
Overall winner: Best Ski Travel Bags
Overall winner: Best Ski Boot Bags
Overall winner: Best Snowboard Travel Bags
11. Darn Tough Socks
Overall winner: Hiking Socks, Best Running Socks
Best Merino winner in: Best Women's Hiking Underwear and Best Hiking Sports Bras
Overall winner: Best Running Pants, Best Women's Running Tights
Overall winner: Best Electrolyte Powder
Best overall: Best Collagen Powders
Best overall: Best GPS Dog Collars
This month's Trends
This month is all about smart layering, whether you're skiing, snowboarding, running, or walking outdoors.
Warmer than usual weather in January across the country means people are out hiking and running more than we’d expect in a typical January. Ski gear was less popular (unless people traveled) and instead people jumped right into their running routine with gusto.
Hands and feet are the most important things to keep warm. You're stocking up on winter gloves and winter hiking boots because if any part of you needs to stay warm, it is the extremities. We get it. The North Face eTip gloves are our favorite winter gloves and the affordable MCTi gloves are trending, too.
Feet are worth investing in. Cozy, warm Darn Tough socks and men's winter boots and women's winter boots are trending. We especially see that is true for the Sorel Caribou boot, a winter boot we've found can last more than 20 years.
Want snow? You are traveling with your ski and snowboarding gear. The Thule RoundTrip and Dakine Fall Line bags and Evo Deluxe bag are super popular with Treeline Review readers. They are winners in our Best Ski Travel Bags and Best Snowboard Travel Bag guides and help protect your investment in ski gear from dents, bangs, dings, and cracks during air travel and road trips.
Stay tuned each month for Treeline readers' favorite gear items from the previous month as well as our hot takes on what is trending in the outdoor world.
