REI introduced the REI Co-op Editors’ Choice Awards, a designation honoring gear and apparel from brands sold at the co-op that represent REI employee and customer favorites. The choices are based on field testing, REI expertise, and co-op member and customer feedback.

Products recognized meet various parameters such as being best-in-class in a category, bringing innovation to the outdoor community, or for being time-honored equipment the co-op has recommended for years.

REI Co-op Editors’ Choice Awards are developed by REI’s in-house editorial team who also creates the co-op community’s rich content sites including Co-op Journal, Uncommon Path, and Expert Advice, to help educate and inspire REI’s growing co-op community.

“For more than 80 years people have turned to the co-op to find great gear for their outdoor adventures,” says Michelle Flandreau, senior editor at REI. “Through this new editorial awards program grounded in rigorous field tests with our members and staff, we’re establishing yet another way for our community to discover and learn about best-in-class gear and apparel.”

The inaugural set of REI Co-op Editors’ Choice Awards recipients are:

  • AeroPress Go Travel Coffee Press
  • Big Agnes Copper Spur HV Tent (UL1, UL2, UL3, and UL4)
  • Black Diamond Spot 350Headlamp
  • Deuter Kid Comfort Child Carrier Osprey Poco Plus Child Carrier
  • Kelty Cosmic Down 20 Sleeping Bag – women’s and men’s
  • Petzl Actik Core Headlamp
  • REI Co-op Kingdom 6 Tent
  • Salomon Sense Ride 3 Trail-Running Shoes – women’s and men’s

Products recognized are top performers in a head-to-head round-robin test and include both longtime standouts and the latest innovations to hit shelves at REI. Product reviews on REI.com and customer feedback, along with sustainability attributes, based on REI product sustainability standards, are also considered in the process. Testers include REI employees and co-op members from across the nation, who evaluate everything from a product’s usability to its features in a variety of climates, terrain, and weather. They report back on their experiences with qualitative and quantitative data collected along the way.