Ultralight Backpacking Gear Reviews

Gossamer Gear’s LT 4 Carbon Fiber trekking poles are adjustable length carbon fiber poles. They’re unlike most commercial trekking poles because they’re so lightweight, just 6.8 oz / pair, and they don’t have hand straps. They are adjustable to 140 cm in length (longer than most mainstream poles), and come with EVA …

The Zpacks Hexamid rocked the Ultralight Backpacking scene when it first came out because it’s a single person, pyramid style, cuben fiber tarp that weighs under 3 oz. It’s made by long distance hike Joe Valesko at Zpacks.com, who has a good rep in the community. He used a prototype …

I’ve taken my 4 season Scarp 1 Tarptent on two late autumn backpacking  trips over the past few weeks and I thought I’d write up some notes about my experiences so far. We’re right on the cusp of full winter conditions in New England, so you should expect at least …

Brain Vargo makes some really nice Titanium camping cookware that’s lightweight and very functional. This little pot has a capacity of 0.9 Liters and weighs 3.9 oz on my digital scale, but a 1.3 Liter model is also available for $10 more that weighs 4.9 oz. You’ll notice that the …

The Vargo Triad XE Alcohol/ESBIT Triad Stove comes in two pieces. The stove itself is a hockey puck like capsule, perforated on the top with a ring of tiny holes. The puck holds up to 1.75 oz of fuel and burns for 30 minutes. Boil time for 2 cups of …

The Mountain Laurel Design’s Bug Bivy is made using very fine netting which prevents gnats, ticks, black flies, and mosquitoes from reaching you. It has a full length, sewn-in silnylon floor which can also be used standalone as a ground sheet if the ground is wet. Entry is via a …

I know my wife really loves me because she bought me a Dyneema DCF Grace Duo Tarp from Mountain Laurel Designs (MLD) for the holidays last year. I finally got to practice setting it up this weekend in preparation for an upcoming trip and I am very pleased with it. …

I purchased a pair of ultralight snowshoes this winter designed for mountaineering and winter backpacking that are manufactured by a company called Northern Lites. Weighing just 43 oz per pair, these 30″ snowshoes are 57 oz lighter than 30″ MSR Lightning Ascents which weigh 100 oz per pair. I got …

Over the holidays, my wife gave me an ultralight cuben fiber backpack cover from Zpacks.com. Weighing 1 oz, it replaces a silnylon Equinox pack cover I’ve been using the past few years that weighs 3.2 oz. A backpack cover is an important piece of gear that you should have if …

? Here’s a nifty new ultralight wood stove that I found on London Backpacker’s blog over the weekend that is manufactured and sold by backpackinglight.co.uk, (which has no affiliation with backpackinglight.com.) I recommend that you visit their site. They have some cool gear that is not available in the US …

The Montbell Ultralight Thermawrap Jacket is a lightweight insulation layer (a size XL is 9.1 oz.) that is exceptionally warm.  I wear it directly over a base layer, replacing bulkier garments like a fleece pullover. It’s also windproof, which means I can shed an outer shell layer during aerobic activities such as snowshoeing or cross-country …

If you are like me and eat a lot of freezer bag or dehydrated meals out of plastic bags, chances are good that you are going to drop some oatmeal or curried chicken down the front of your shirt. That’s not good, because the bears will come for you at …

The Photon Freedom Microlight is an ultralight LED light weighs a mere 6 grams (0.2 oz) and can easily replace that clunker of a head lamp you are wearing today. It comes with a detachable hat clip that you can wear on a baseball style cap or clip to a …

I’m into freezer bag cooking. It’s fast, it’s easy, you can prepare healthy and hearty meals, and best of all there is no cleanup. So when I cook breakfast or dinner on a backpacking trip all I need to do is to boil water and use it to rehydrate my …