Mother’s Day Gift Shed 2024

ML offers a cornucopia of gift ideas for active moms into all-weather shredding.

Arc’teryx Icosa Dress

A summer dress from Arc’teryx is bound to be innovative, and the Icosa doesn’t disappoint. Offering comfort in the heat with a distinctive cape-like flow, its stretch weave ( 86% polyester, 14% elastane) is light and consistently cooling. The back vent’s storm flap creates elegant drape, while the belt works with a subtle elastic insert at the back to refine the relaxed fit. Hand pockets stow small essentials. The Icosa is from Arc’teryx’s Veilance line, which explores the interrelationship of form and motion to our environments. www.arcteryx.com

Buddha Board

The Buddha Board is an easy-to-use, screen-free mindfulness tool to ease your mental caseload through the soothing act of painting with water. Just dip your brush and start painting on the board—then watch as your painting and worries fade away after five minutes or less, ready for a fresh start. This stress-relieving activity for all ages is mess-free and uses no ink, paint or chemicals. As you become centered in the moment you’ll feel the tension drop away, your mind clear and your inner positivity start to make a comeback. www.buddhaboard.ca

Buff 5-Panel Air Cap and Speed Cap

On the trail or in town, the 5 Panel Air Cap is the perfect everyday companion in hot weather. The lightweight, quick-dry fabric (made with recycled fibres) combines with a moisture-wicking sweatband to keep you cool and dry from your first step to your last. The run-oriented Speed Cap offers a similarly snug fit and almost as much breathability, with reflective elements and a crushable (packable) design. www.buff.com/ca

Columbia Konos TRS OutDry Shoes

More than ready for a rainy hike, these waterproof, lightweight trail shoes are built with Columbia’s new Omni-MAX system that combines cushioning, stability, and exceptional wet-or-dry traction for a comfy ride over variable terrain. The mesh upper breathes beautifully with no-sew overlays for added durability and support, while the OutDry membrane blocks moisture, so rain will not slow you down or keep you inside. Especially impressive is the TechLite+ midsole for stability and energy return with extra-light responsive foam—and the Adapt Trax outsole for wet-or-dry traction—to keep feet happy and steady on longer missions. www.columbiasportswear.ca

Fieldsheer Mobile Cooling Hooded Long Sleeve Shirt

2023 was the hottest year on record; there’s more need than ever for garments like the Mobile Cooling Hooded Long Sleeve Shirt. With a UPF 50 rating, it’s built for hot days on the water, long trips on the trail, or before and after your summer workout. Fieldsheer’s eco-friendly DriComfort mineral-infused, chemical-free fabric (made from recycled polyester and spandex) keeps your body cool, wicks away moisture and dries up to 4x faster, and won’t wash out over time. All that, plus Odorsheer odor control to guard against stink-causing microbes. www.fieldsheerca.com

Fjällräven High Coast Crossbody Bag

This lightweight and ultra-functional crossbody bag is perfect for travelling, a quick dash into town, or a short hike. The padded, adjustable cross-body strap can be removed, which means it can also be used as a small-items gear bag in your luggage. With a zippered front pocket and an interior pocket with a key hook, it also boasts two interior mesh sleeves for extra organization. This is the simplest and most comfortable way to carry essentials. Made with recycled materials and zero PFCs, of course. www.fjallraven.com

Gregory Alpaca Gear Box

The new Alpaca Gear Box (45L) offers supreme protection and organization for your gear. The hinged and removable clear polycarbonate lid lets you locate gear at a glance, while Gregory’s lifetime warranty gives you confidence that your gear will be safe and secure for the long haul. The lid’s gasket seal offers IP 65-rated waterproof/dustproof protection. And the burly molded base with side grab handles is designed to take heavy hits when loaded up. You may want more than one; the stacking design allows multiple boxes to stack snugly. Check out more items from Gregory’s new Alpaca Gear Organization Collection.

Hydro Flask All Around 40 oz Travel Tumbler

The new 40-oz. Travel Tumbler is here to help mom hydrate more and refill less. A comfy, durable handle means easy and secure sipping, and the large size can go anywhere for longer, and fits most cupholders. Hydro Flask’s TempShield double-wall insulation ensures cold stays cold longer, and the flexible but surprisingly tough food-grade silicone straw is easy to sip any which way. Also available in a 32-oz. size. Buy Hydro Flask in Canada at Atmosphere.

Kathmandu Baffin Island Fleece Jacket

Kathmandu has reimagined its classic Baffin Island Jacket with REPREVE fibres for this high-pile fleece. Perfect on its own for spring or fall days, or under a shell in winter, this cozy, sustainable jacket is made using recycled water bottles. With a Durable Water Repellent (DWR) woven hood that packs away neatly into its collar, the Baffin Island Jacket boasts versatility in spades and will be your go-to fleece you can wear with the knowledge that you’re helping to manage the plastic pollution crisis. www.kathmanduoutdoor.ca

Mammut Alto Light HS Hooded Jacket 

The lightweight and waterproof Alto Light HS boasts unequaled protection from the elements in a sleek minimalist design. The 2.5-layer PFC-free Mammut DRY Tour laminate (made with recycled poly) blocks rain and wind like nobody’s business. This hardshell delivers a range of features for hikers, including quick-deploy underarm vents and adjustable hood, hem and cuffs. Compact enough to stow in its own pocket, the Alto Light will serve for missions far and near. Buy Mammut in Canada at Valhalla Pure.

MEC Fireside Fleece Snap Pullover

The Fireside Snap Pullover is the type of versatile cozy you’ll always want on hand, whether in the backyard or the backcountry. Made from a light and warm 100% recycled poly, the deep placket (with snap buttons) allows plenty of ventilation control, making this fleece useful year-round—from cutting the chill on a breezy summer evening on a camping trip, to layering under your shell on cool-weather adventures. www.mec.ca

ML Skadi Ceramic Mug

Start your mornings right—with Skadi, a Norse ski goddess who howls with the wolves, hunts with a bow, drinks vodka with glacier chips and once stormed the home of the gods to demand revenge for her murdered father. If that spirit, imbued in each Mountain Life Skai Ceramic Mug, doesn’t start mom’s workday off right… nothing will. To complete the experience, there’s also a Skadi t-shirt. www.mountainlifemedia.ca/store 

MSR Titan Cup

The fastpacking mom on your list doesn’t want to be slowed down by heavy mugs or utensils. The Titan Cup (450 ml) redefines ultralight and even pulls double duty as a petite cook pot. A removable silicone lip saver protects your mouth (just remove it if you use the cup over a stove). Interior graduation lines allow for fast and easy liquid measuring, and the silicone-coated folding handles are comfortable and secure. This season’s expansion of MSR’s Titanium series includes the equally sleek and ultra-functional double-wall mug, long spoon and spork. www.msrgear.com

Nocs Standard Issue Binos

The Standard Issue (available in 8×25 or 10×25 magnification) redefines the compact, travel-ready binocular by packing Swiss optical engineering in your palm. Using high-grade optics (Bak4 prisms and multi-coated lenses) this affordable, waterproof and rugged binocular provides a bright, crisp and wide field of view. Submersible for 30 minutes in up to 3 feet of water (meeting IPX7 waterproof criteria) Nocs dare to go where other optics won’t. With a medical-grade O-ring assembly, and injected with inert nitrogen gas, these binoculars will never fog up in the field, guaranteed. Also available: a Zoom Tube, Field Issue and Pro Issue. www.nocsprovisions.ca

PAKA Everyday Baselayer

PAKA‘s ace blend of alpaca and tencel (a plant-derived fibre) creates an itch-free, temperature-regulating lightweight baselayer for multi-season activities that require extra comfort and flexibility. So why alpaca? This wool derived from the camelid mammal native to the Andean highlands offers numerous benefits to moms who shred all year long. It manages moisture, it’s naturally odor-resistant and it provides warmth even when wet. Plus it requires less washing than synthetics and doesn’t wrinkle. And it might be the most eco-friendly fibre the world has ever known. Learn more about the sustainability of alpaca fibres here. www.pakaapparel.com

RUX Soft Cooler Bag

Lightweight, foldable, and easy to carry, this versatile soft cooler is ready to keep things cool when you need it while doubling as a waterproof tote bag for whatever your trip has in store. Removable grab handles and padded adjustable shoulder strap make for easy carry. And it can be integrated into the RUX system, fitting neatly in the RUX 70L, or attaching via RUX Buckles to the 70L external Utility Rails. Insulated with memory foam, it’s wrapped in ultra-heavy-duty RF-welded 840D TPU. And it packs flat to save space when not in use. www.rux.life

RUX Cooler Cube

If mom requires an ice-cold drink—don’t we all?—the Cooler Cube is perfect for her. And it will hold more than that—an après six-pack or a couple of cold ones plus a sandwich. Built from heavy-duty RF welded 840D TPU, the Cube is ready for anything you can throw at it. Multiple lash points allow for a variety of tie-down possibilities and also enable the use of the RUX Waterproof Bag or RUX Cooler Bag shoulder strap. As with the Soft Cooler Bag, memory foam creates a superior insulation barrier and protective padding layer, and allows for the Cube to be flattened and tucked out of sight when not in use. Four full Cubes will fit in the RUX Soft Cooler Bag. www.rux.life

Therm-A-Rest NeoAir XLite

With improved warmth and comfort and the same crazy-light weight, the NeoAir XLite NXT Sleeping Pad solidifies the legacy of its predecessor as the finest ultralight air sleeping pad, hands down. The ever-thoughtful folks at Therm-a-Rest have also reduced the noise by 83% from the previous model.  It weighs just 368 g (Regular size) and boasts a four-season-ready 4.5 R-value, so this is your pad for every trip, warm or cold. The pad won a prestigious ISPO Award in 2023. www.thermarest.com

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