Gear Reviews

Paria Outdoors Tri-Fold Carbon Cork Trekking Poles are adjustable length, z-style trekking poles that fold away for travel or when they’re not needed. At just $60/pair, they’re much more affordable than other folding carbon trekking poles with cork handles and offer a …

If you use a canister backpacking stove like a Jetboil Flash or an MSR Pocket Rocket 2, you probably have a lot of partially used isobutane canisters in your gear closet. While the ease of using canister gas stoves has revolutionized backcountry …

La Sportiva’s Ultra Raptor Trail Runners are hiking shoes that excel in mountain environments because their soles have sticky rubber which adheres well to rock, including wet rock while providing enough protection for your feet. A thick rubber toe cap and an …

Scarpa Rush Mid GTX Boots are very lightweight waterproof/breathable mid-height hiking shoes with cushioned soles that provide excellent traction and stability. They’re great for use during mud season, that period in mid-sping when snow cover gives way to mud before it dries …

The Kelty Galactic 30 is a hoodless rectangular sleeping bag that compresses down to a surprisingly compact size. It is insulated with water-resistant DriDown with a full-length side zipper, which also makes it possible to combine two bags to create a double. I’ve …

The Grayl UltraPress Water Purifier (16.9 fluid oz) is a convenient bottle-based water treatment solution designed to remove viruses, bacteria, protozoa, chemicals, and heavy metals from backcountry or frontcountry water sources. Unlike other water filters and treatment methods, the Grayl UltraPress does …

The Sawyer Gravity System (1 Gallon) is a group-sized backcountry water filter kit good for basecamp and group use. Costing $40, it comes with a 1-gallon water reservoir, hose, Sawyer mini water filter, caps and adapters, and a syringe for cleaning the …

The Outdoor Research Motive Rain Jacket is an affordable three-layer waterproof/breathable rain jacket made with OR’s AscentShell membrane. Three-layer rain jackets are usually more expensive, work much better, and are much more comfortable than other waterproof/breathable jackets because they have a liner …

The UGQ Outlaw Hybrid Quilt is a hoodless quilt-style sleeping bag that can be used as a quilt, complete with a pad attachment system, or as a sleeping bag with a full-length zipper. The latter is particularly useful if you sleep on …

The Exped FlexMat Plus is a folding accordion-style closed-cell foam sleeping pad with an R-Value of 2.2 (using the new sleeping pad R-value standard). While it is heavier than the comparable NEMO Switchback and Therm-a-Rest ZLite foam sleeping pads, it’s also about …

The Silky Saw POCKETBOY is a compact folding hand saw that is ideal for campfire prep on backpacking trips when you want to process small branches for kindling or fuel. It folds up tiny and comes with a plastic protective belt case …

I am a cold sleeper and except in very hot and humid weather, my feet are often cold in my sleeping bag. If my second pair of wool hiking socks are dry I’ll wear them in my bag, but when it’s colder …

The NEMO Forte 35 is an affordable, lightweight, Primaloft synthetic-fill sleeping bag with a “spoon” shape for people who don’t like the draftiness of a quilt nor the confined feeling of a mummy bag. The NEMO Forte has lots of unique features …

The Osprey Kestrel 48 is a lightweight backpack that’s well-sized for thru-hiking and weekend backpacking trips with moderate loads. Weighing 3 lbs and 5.3 ounces (size M/L), the Kestrel has many of the features you find on higher volume backpacks without the …