Gear Reviews

The Altra Lone Peak 8 is a zero-drop trail running shoe that’s good for hiking and running across a wide range of conditions. It’s a moderately cushioned shoe with a very wide toe box so your toes can splay out and relax. …

Dion Snowshoes is a Vermont-based company that’s gaining traction (and flotation) with their lightweight and modular backcountry and racing snowshoes. While you can buy their snowshoes fully assembled, you can also customize and switch between different frames bindings, and cleats, depending on …

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest 40 Backpack is a forty-liter backpack (with an additional 9.8L of external storage) that is suitable for ultralight backpacking trips, off-trail hiking through dense vegetation, or winter day hikes when you need to carry extra clothing layers. …

The Tarptent Dipole 1 DW is an ultralight double-wall trekking-pole tent made with silicone-coated polyester that weighs 30.35 oz. It’s a spacious tent with two doors and two vestibules that can accommodate wide sleeping pads or tall hikers. The advantage of using …

The Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL 2 is the latest generation in the ultralight Copper Spur line of tents, boasting increased interior volume and livability by integrating steeper sides walls into the inner tent. The result is an outstanding balance of comfort …

The Paria Breeze Mesh Bivy is an affordable and spacious single person bug bivy for use under a tarp or by itself in dry weather.  Bug bivies are more spacious than bivy sacks with floors and sidewalls to keep rain from splashing …

The Zpacks Duplex Zip Tent is a single-wall 2-person tent made with Dyneema DCF that weighs 20.4 oz. It has two doors, two vestibules, and requires two trekking poles to erect. Despite its high-tech construction, the Duplex Zip is a remarkably simple …

The Montbell Tachyon Hooded Wind Jacket is a gossamer thin 7-denier nylon wind jacket with a 1-way adjustable hood, a full-length front zipper, two handwarmer pockets, underarm vents, and a stow pocket. This is the second Montbell Tachyon wind shirt I’ve owned: …

The Western Mountaineering Versalite 10 sleeping bag is the sleeping bag I would choose if I could have only one. It can be used very comfortably between 10 and 40 degrees and pushed a little further in either direction. I’ve taken it …

The Senchi Designs Lark is an ultralight Polartec Alpha Direct Hoodie that is quite warm when worn in a sleeping bag or under a rain shell or wind shirt. Weighing just 5.1 oz, it’s half the weight of other types of gridded …

Have you ever wanted to wear long underwear on a cold winter day, but decided not to because you know you’ll sweat too much? Imagine having long underwear with side zippers that you could vent if you get too warm, or even …

The MSR Freelite 2 is a lightweight double-wall tent weighing 32 oz with a rectangular floor plan that is wide enough to use with two 25″ wide sleeping pads. Newly updated in 2022, it is 9 oz lighter weight than the previous …

The Gossamer Gear Murmur is one of oldest continuously made frameless ultralight backpacks available today. While the materials it’s made with have evolved over the years (this is the third time I’ve reviewed the Murmur since 2009), the basic ultralight design remains …

The Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL 2 is the latest generation of ultralight Fly Creek line of tents, boasting increased interior volume by using a steeper door and sidewalls. How significant is the change and what other improvements have been made …