Cowboy-Tested Outdoor Gear, Recommended by Ranchers

What to Know: Ranchers and cowboys test outdoor gear harder than anyone, working outside year-round across hundreds of thousands of acres—where failure is not an option. Outside writer Jakob Schiller visited a Montana ranch and rodeo to find out their favorite, most trusted and torture-tested gear. Here are 10 items they swear by, including military-grade stainless steel sunglasses, a versatile knife, and a cowboy-approved cowboy hat.

John Helle and his two sons, Evan and Weston, run 10,000 sheep on 100,000 acres in western Montana. They use the wool in their clothing brand Duckworth. The Helles and their crew of ranch hands spend all year outside, and I’ve never met anyone who’s harder on their gear. Just to access the sheep, the Helles often drive 80 miles up rough dirt roads, torturing their trucks, dirt bikes, and the tires on both. They work outside in temps that fry your skin in the summer and dip to -40 degrees in the winter—work that is often physical and dirty.

I recently visited their ranch and spent the afternoon driving around with Evan and asking him about the gear he uses most. That same weekend, I headed over to the nearby Dillon Jaycees rodeo to ask the cowboys about the gear they use during training, competition, and the 50,000 to 100,000 miles of driving they do each season.

What I came away with is a surprising list of gear that those of us who don’t ride broncs or herd sheep can still use to be prepared when we head into the backcountry.

Plastic sunglass frames are great for those of us who just use them to drive a car or go for a run. But Parker Murnion out of Miles City, Montana whom I met while he was preparing for the team roping competition, said he needs metal frames for when he’s out ranching. He loves Bex’s version because they’re made from military-grade stainless steel and will withstand two to three years of being dropped, crushed, and regularly abused. The large nose pads keep the glasses on when he’s sweaty and the Wayfarer-style lenses provide plenty of coverage while looking good with a cowboy hat.

Resistol Black Gold Cowboy Hat

Before I went to Montana, I thought cowboy hats were all pretty much the same, minus a few style choices. I was dead wrong. Cowboy hats vary widely not only in shape but also in materials and craftsmanship, and all the cowboys I spoke to have spent years finding their favorite. Quanah Glade, a saddle bronc rider out of Miles City, Montana, said he prefers this model from Resistol because it’s made from a substantial amount of beaver hair—the sign of a quality hat—and because it has always kept its shape, even after he’s been thrown on his head.

Yeti Rambler 46-Ounce Water Bottle

Kim Guinnane lives in Twin Bridges, Montana, and when I met her, she and her teammates on the Ramblin’ Rose were getting ready for the rodeo version of a drill team performance. Like regular drill teams, the Roses perform athletic maneuvers, but they do it on horseback. When I asked her to show me a favorite piece of gear, she grabbed this Yeti Rambler bottle, filled with Moscow Mule mix that she and the other adult drill team members planned to enjoy once their performance was over.

Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/4-inch Cordless Brushless Impact Driver

Ross Griffin, a saddle bronc rider from Tularosa, New Mexico whom I interviewed in the parking lot of the Dillon Jaycees rodeo, said he regularly puts 50,000 miles on his truck each year while traveling from rodeo to rodeo. Other riders I spoke to said they’ll travel nearly 100,000 miles. Flat tires are inevitable with that much time on the road so Griffin always carries this impact driver that makes quick work of changing a tire. He chose the Fuel version because it’s more powerful than a regular impact driver, ensuring that he never has to fuss with stubborn lug nuts.

Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac RT Tires

Evan Helle spends all year hauling feed and supplies up dozens of miles of dirt roads to the Duckworth sheep and shepherds. He has tested several different all-terrain tires but regularly comes back to the Goodyear Wranglers because they’ve lasted thousands of miles more than others and, with a Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake designation, handle the Montana snow. Thanks to a strong, three-ply sidewall, he can also air down the tires for more comfort and traction over bumpy roads.

Buck 841 Sprint Pro Knife

Dirk Tavenner, a steer wrestler from Rigby, Idaho, said he always has a knife on him because he constantly needs to cut hay bale string, trim ropes, or cut steak for dinner. When I found him at the Dillon rodeo, he had this smooth-opening, three-inch Buck knife in his pocket.

Benchmade Mini Bugout Knife

Tavenner said, however, that his regular go-to and all-time favorite is a Benchmade Mini Bugout. He loves the Mini Bugout because the S30V Stainless Steel blade is small but nearly indestructible, and the entire knife, when folded, easily fits in his pocket, where he always keeps it. (He actually takes the clip off because it snags on his horse saddle).

Stark Future Varg EX Electric Enduro Bike

Evan Helle herds sheep on public land with a horse, given strict vehicle regulations on some. But when he’s on private land, this is his tool of choice. Silent and just as capable as a horse (even faster when he has to cover a lot of ground), the bike doesn’t need food, doesn’t get spooked, and lives in a garage without pooping. To avoid flats, he uses special foam donuts inside the tires instead of air. He also uses special, extra-sticky tires made by Plews that provide the traction he needs to climb tracks that would stop other dirt bikes.

C Hanging N Belt Buckle

Haven Wolstein is a breakaway roper, an event where a calf shoots out of a slot and a rider on horseback chases it and ropes it around the neck. The clock stops when the rope pulls tight and breaks away from the saddle. I’d never heard of the event but was impressed with its speed, where a winning time is usually under three seconds. Wolstein, who’s from Helena, Montana, said one of her favorite pieces of gear is the custom belt buckle she built under her own company called C Hanging N, which is also her registered cattle brand.

Capri Retreat Truck Camper

The parking lot at the Dillon Jaycees rodeo was filled with full-size trucks carrying these campers. Sage Newman, a saddle bronc rider out of Melstone, Montana, said they’re the go-to model for rodeo participants because they’re designed for this crowd’s specific needs. Each camper is optimized to sleep as many adults as possible, enabling rodeo riders to carpool between events to save money and pass the time in good company. The campers also come with black-out curtains so everyone can sleep in after a late night of competition. Newman’s camper was on a 2025 Ram 3500 truck that he and his traveling partners regularly drive 80,000 miles a year.

Cowboy Images Wild Rag

Skiers use buffs to protect their neck and face from cold weather. Ranchers and cowboys use something called a wild rag. Often made of silk, a wild rag is similar to a scarf and can be wrapped in a variety of ways to protect the neck. Wild rags are also used during the summer as face masks to keep cowboys from sucking in too much dust. I learned about wild rags at the Atomic 79 store in Dillon, Montana, which has one of the richest selections of high-quality cowboy gear in the country.