Gear Reviews

The Six Moon Designs Haven Bundle is a lightweight (34 oz), two-person, double-wall, tent that includes the company’s Haven Tarp and Haven NetTent. It checks a lot of the same boxes as comparable tents, and the price point comes in below many of them. The Haven Bundle is exceptionally easy …

The Borah Gear Bug Bivy is a reasonably priced bivy for use under a variety of tarps when there is mild to medium bug pressure. It can add a few degrees of warmth to your sleep setup and is also great for cowboy camping. It weighs between 5.5 – 6.5 …

KEEN’s Targhee High Lace Winter Hiking Boots are full-height (not mids) waterproof/breathable insulated boots rated to -25F/-32C. They are amazingly comfortable for a winter boot, with soft leather uppers that require virtually no break-in period to wear. Specs at a Glance Temperature Rating: -25F/-32C Footwear Height: Over the Ankle Footwear …

The Survive Outdoors Longer Escape Pro Bivvy is SOL’s highest-end (and most expensive) bivvy sack, made of waterproof-breathable Sympatex Reflexion fabric with an aluminum liner which it claims to reflect 90% of your body heat. This fabric is much different from the mylar bivvies The Survive Outdoors (SOL) offers which …

The MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe Canister Stove is a powerful 10,400 BTU backpacking and camp stove with a built-in windscreen, folding pot supports, a piezo ignitor, and pressure regulator. Weighing 2.9 oz, it’s optimized for group cooking with larger cook pots and frying pans with a wide burner head to …

The Waymark Lite Backpack is a 50-liter frameless roll-top backpack made with waterproof, lightweight, durable XPac fabric that weighs between 28-30 oz depending on sizing and features. It’s available in multiple torso lengths and different sized hip-belts so you can dial in a near-custom fit. Waymark also lets you customize …

The REI Quarter Dome SL 1 is a one-person double-wall tent that only weighs 31 oz. Despite its low weight, the interior is remarkably livable, with vertical sidewalls, numerous internal pockets to keep you organized, and a roof vent to help minimize internal condensation. A large vestibule provides plenty of …

The Unitensil Folding Fork-Knife-Spoon is a highly portable and reusable eating utensil that weighs a mere 7 grams. It folds flat for easy storage in your wallet or a food bag and can be reused hundreds of times making it perfect for ultralight backpacking, at home, when traveling, or at …

The REI Quarter Dome SL Tarp is a lightweight waterproof 9.25’ x 9.25’ square tarp with lots of perimeter tie-outs for infinite pitching options. The included guylines connect to the tie-out loops with attached toggles, which makes adding and removing guylines for different pitch configurations lightning-fast. However, the sizing specs …

The Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL3 is a lightweight two-door, two-vestibule, three-person tent that only weighs 2 lbs 10 oz. While it is large enough to fit three people, if you don’t mind crawling over one of your tent partners to get in and out, it’s lightweight enough to use …

The Arrowhead Equipment Westslope Pouch is a 1 oz minimalist organizer designed to hold all of the fishing gear (minus rods) for a day on the river. I use mine to hold my flies, tippet, nippers, and hemostats when Tenkara fly fishing on the hikes I take whenever my path …

The Armored Outdoor Gear Ratsack Food Storage Bag is a rodent-proof lightweight, flexible, stainless-steel mesh bag to protect your food and smellables on camping and backpacking trips. It’s not bear-proof, but it is rodent and small mammal-proof making it ideal for use in primitive cabins, trail shelters, lean-tos, and for …

The Seek Outside Eolus Tent with Nest is a 36.9 oz-tent that pitches with two trekking poles. It is very large for such a lightweight two-person tent, making it extremely livable and comfortable, especially for taller individuals, or people who have to pack a lot of gear. The tent has …

The Enlightened Equipment Recon Bivy is an ultralight bivy sack with a waterproof bathtub floor and a combination of mesh and breathable water-resistant fabric on the top. The layout of materials makes it very resistant to condensation while also providing splash protection when used under a tarp. It is well-constructed, …