Vintage Backpacking Gear

The Exped SynMat Winterlite insulated sleeping pad is a very lightweight, high R-value sleeping pad (R-Value = 4.9) that is warm enough for camping on snow, in addition to three season use. See Sleeping Pad R-Values. Mummy-shaped, the SynMat Winterlite is filled with a synthetic …

You could say that Mountainsmith ‘has seen the light’ with the introduction of the Haze 50, a minimalist top loading backpack which weighs just under 2 pounds. With just over 3000 cubic inches / 50 L of storage capacity, the Haze 50 is …

The Mountainsmith Mayhem 35L backpack is a great winter and climbing backpack, well-suited for day-long hikes that require carrying heavy winter gear such as snowshoes, skis, a snowboard, an ice axe, and avalanche shovel. A top-loading pack, it has numerous external attachment …

The Sierra Designs Elite DriDown Baffled Parka is the quintessential puffy down jacket that’s equally appropriate for winter camping in subzero temperatures or standing on a windy subway platform. This is a seriously warm down jacket made to keep you toasty in the coldest conditions imaginable, above …

Kelty is not a name that you normally associate with ultralight backpacks. But between 1994 and 2004, Kelty manufactured several versions of a distinctive, all-white backpack called the Cloud which rocked the outdoor industry and helped establish many of the design concepts …

This is an in-depth review of Granite Gear’s Leopard AC 58 backpack for winter use. Here’s a quick summary of my conclusions. Read on if you want the details. Summary The Leopard AC 58 is billed by Granite Gear as an alpine-ready …

The Easton Mountain Products Kilo 2P is a lightweight double-walled tent, weighing just 2 pounds 8 ounces, that features Easton’s latest ultralight carbon fiber pole system and a redesigned exoskeleton over last year’s model. Designed for 2 person camping and backpacking, the …

I always get a kick reading really old hiking and backpacking magazines and seeing the print advertisements that gear manufacturers used to run. I’ve pulled some of them together in this post to give you a look at the gear that manufacturers …

MSR has introduced a new variant of the successful Lightning snowshoe product line called the Lightning Axis snowshoe. It features a new snowshoe binding that is supposed to improve the efficiency of your gait and make it easier to put on and …

The Exped Thunder 70 is an internal frame backpack with an adjustable frame and panel loading access. Weighing 3 pounds 6 ounces (tested), it has a very comfortable hip belt which ensures excellent load transfer to the hips and a single external aluminum …

The Casio PAG240-1CR Pathfinder Triple Sensor Multi-Function Sport Watch has a built-in barometric altimeter that helped transform my off-trail navigation skills this year. While it is a fully featured sports watch and has many built-in functions, including a compass, barometer, thermometer, multiple times …

One of the areas of the ultralight backpacking market that has long been underserved are lightweight (3-4 pound) durable backpacks for heavy loads exceeding 40 pounds and ranging up to 60, 70, or 80 pounds or more. Built using modern lightweight yet durable fabrics, …

The REI Dash 2 is the lightest weight 2 person tent that REI has ever sold. Weighing just 2 pounds 7 ounces (not including stakes or stuff sacks), it is a double walled tent with a conventional hubbed poleset, two doors, and …

The Golite Shangri-La 3 is a classic ultralight shelter that is lightweight enough that it can be pitched as a one person standalone tarp or used as a three-person double-walled tent. It’s rare to find a shelter that is so versatile, reasonably …