Gear Reviews
Honest, spec-driven reviews of backpacking and hiking gear.
Pack
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Gossamer Gear Shoulder Strap Pocket Review
Gossamer Gear's 53 g zippered shoulder strap pocket puts a phone within reach without stopping, and fits nearly any pack, at the cost of some chest bulk.
Gregory Pack Rain Cover Review
Gregory's seam-taped, PFAS-free rain cover fits 50–80 L packs and weighs 108–136 g, a dependable shell that costs more in grams than a pack liner.
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Pack Pod Review
Hyperlite's 34 g Dyneema clamshell pod packs a pack interior tighter and drier than a stuff sack, but at $60 it's a luxury for the weight-obsessed.
Decathlon Travel Packing Cube Review
Decathlon's 65 g travel packing cube brings simple clothing organization to a pack or suitcase for a few grams and a low price tag.
Osprey Ultralight Packing Cube Review
Osprey's 40D ripstop packing cube weighs 19.8 g in medium and 32 g in large. It's tough and well made, but it has no compression and isn't waterproof.
Atom Packs Hipbelt Pocket Review
A 35 g Robic zip pocket that clips onto Atom Packs' padded hipbelts, giving phone-and-snack storage within reach. Great fit, but not waterproof and brand-specific.
Shelter
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Big Agnes Fly Creek HV UL2 Bikepack Solution Dye Review
Big Agnes's Fly Creek HV UL2 Bikepack swaps in a 12-inch Shortstik poleset and a daisy-chained sack for handlebar carry, at 964 g trail weight.
Luxe Outdoor Mini Peak II Review
The Luxe Mini Peak II is a roomy, inexpensive single-pole pyramid for solo hikers. It has two doors and two vents, and its flysheet weighs 1,067 g.
MSR Hubba NX Review
MSR's freestanding one-person Hubba NX trades a few ounces for a roomy, non-tapered floor and a fast hub-pole pitch. Here's how it holds up on trail.
DD SuperLight Tarp Review
DD Hammocks' 460 g ripstop nylon tarp covers a hammock or a solo ground pitch with 19 tie-outs, but its thin 3,000 mm fabric asks for a careful pitch.
Decathlon Forclaz MT900 Trekking Dome Tent Review
Decathlon's 1,300 g semi-freestanding solo dome costs £160 and pitches in minutes. Its weak points are wind stability, a draughty inner and inner-first setup.
Durston X-Dome 2 Review
The Durston X-Dome 2's 499 g silpoly fly anchors a roomy, fully freestanding two-person double-wall system that's light but not ultralight.
Sleep System
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AdventureXpert Evazote EV50 Review
A 1x2 m sheet of 3 mm Evazote EV50 closed-cell foam: a cut-it-yourself pad or inflatable-pad backstop that weighs 300 g and can't be punctured.
Exped SynMat HL Review
Exped's discontinued SynMat HL is a 366 g full-length insulated pad with an R-value of 3.3, a grippy top surface and a narrow, thin feel that divides testers.
Fjällräven Move In Bag Review
Fjällräven's Move In Bag Long is a roomy, hybrid-fill down bag for restless sleepers, but it's heavy for its +5°C limit rating and priced above lighter quilts.
Katabatic Gear Palisade Quilt Review
Katabatic's 30°F Palisade pairs 900-fill ExpeDRY goose down with a pad-attachment system in a 524 g quilt built for three-season thru-hikes.
The North Face Cat's Meow Review
The North Face Cat's Meow is a 20°F synthetic mummy bag that trades weight and pack size for wet-weather insurance and a modest price.
Warbonnet Yeti Underquilt Review
Warbonnet's 319 g torso-length down underquilt for gathered-end hammocks is light, simple and USA-made, but it needs a leg pad and some tuning to hold its 20°F rating.
Cookware
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Navaris Long Handle Titanium Spoons Review
Navaris's two-pack of 21.5 cm titanium spoons weighs 20 g apiece and reaches the bottom of freeze-dried pouches. It's plain, cheap and does the one job.
Sea to Summit Frontier Ultralight Cutlery Set Review
Sea to Summit's Frontier Ultralight camp knife weighs 9 g, stacks with its spork and fork, and carries a lifetime guarantee. Aluminum is the trade-off.
Trangia Saucepan L Review
Trangia's Duossal 2.0 saucepan pairs an aluminum shell with a stainless interior for even heat and easy cleanup, at a real weight penalty over the UL pot.
Fozzils Snapfold Bowl Review
A 40 g origami-style polypropylene bowl that packs flat and handles boiling water, but its snaps need coaxing in the cold.
Ecocup Cup 33 cL Review
A 27 g, one-euro polypropylene tumbler built for festivals that doubles as a featherweight trail cup, with no handle and no insulation.
Light My Fire Titanium Spork Review
Light My Fire's Swedish titanium spork weighs 19–20 g, doesn't break, and cleans easily, but its short 170 mm length and weak "knife" limit it.
Water System
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Forclaz Trek500 3L Hydration Bladder Review
Decathlon's 3-liter Forclaz Trek500 (MT500) bladder weighs 119 g and costs about €16. It's a durable, simple reservoir with a plastic-taste caveat.
Rockrider 2L Transparent MTB Hydration Bladder Review
Decathlon's 105 g, French-made 2L bladder costs about a tenth of a premium reservoir and does the basics well, but it skips thru-hiker niceties.
Katadyn BeFree Gravity Review
Katadyn's 192 g BeFree Gravity filters a 3-liter HydraPak in about two minutes with no pumping or backflushing, but it clogs in silty water and can't handle freezing.
Katadyn Micropur MP1 Review
Katadyn's Micropur MP1 chlorine dioxide tablets add virus and Cryptosporidium protection to a pack for about an ounce, but the 4-hour wait is a real cost.
Smartwater Bottle Review
The $2 Smartwater bottle weighs about 34 g, threads onto Sawyer filters, and has become the default water bottle of the thru-hiking world.
GRAYL GeoPress Review
The GRAYL GeoPress purifies 24 oz in 8 seconds and handles viruses and chemicals, but at 450 g it's a hard sell for gram-counting backpackers.
Clothing
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Arc'teryx Beta SL Jacket Review
Arc'teryx's lightest Beta hardshell pairs 3-layer GORE-TEX ePE with pit zips and a helmet-ready hood at 340 g. It's excellent in storms but costs $500.
Columbia Silver Ridge II Convertible Pant Review
Columbia's Silver Ridge convertible pant is a thin, breathable, UPF 50 zip-off at a budget price, with fit quirks and durability limits that matter on long trails.
Columbia Silver Ridge Utility Lite Long Sleeve Review
Columbia's 240 g recycled-polyester button-up pairs UPF 50, back venting and roll-up sleeves at about $60, but it's a hot-weather shirt, not a cold-weather workhorse.
Quechua MH500 Hiking Pants Review
Decathlon's Quechua MH500 men's hiking pants pair bi-stretch nylon, four zip pockets and a built-in belt at about $40. They fit slim and run warm.
Fjällräven Keb Trousers Review
Fjällräven's Keb Trousers pair G-1000 Eco with four-way stretch panels for rugged, weather-resistant trekking pants that cost real money and weigh 610 g.
Forclaz Trek 500 Long Sleeved Merino Wool Hiking T-Shirt Review
Decathlon's 190 g/m² merino-nylon long sleeve delivers wool comfort and odor control at roughly half the price of Icebreaker, with a few trade-offs in weight and warm-weather range.
Electronics
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Anker PowerPort III Review
Anker's 20W single-port USB-C wall charger with a UK Type G plug is cheap and quick for phones, but it's heavy for its class and offers no folding prongs.
Anker PowerPort III 20W Review
Anker's A2632 is a tiny single-port 20W USB-C wall charger with a foldable EU plug: ideal for phones and earbuds in huts and hostels, too slow for laptops.
Apple Watch Series 8 Review
The Apple Watch Series 8 is a 32 g smartwatch with crash detection and strong health sensors, but its 18-hour battery caps its usefulness on multi-day trips.
GoPro Rechargeable Battery (AJBAT-001) Review
GoPro's AJBAT-001 is a 1220mAh spare for HERO5 through HERO8 Black: light, cheap and genuine, but short on runtime and weak in the cold.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Review
The iPhone 16 Pro is a 199 g map, camera and satellite-text device that most hikers already own, but its battery and antenna fall short of dedicated gear.
Garmin Tactix 8 Review
The Garmin Tactix 8 packs multiband GPS, topo maps, a flashlight and multi-week solar battery into a 92–94 g titanium-bezel watch that costs $1,299–$1,399.
Tools
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Cascade Mountain Tech Aluminum Quick Lock Trekking Pole Review
Cascade Mountain Tech's $30 aluminum quick-lock poles weigh about 298 g each and tolerate abuse well, but lever locks need tuning and carbon poles run lighter.
Forclaz MT500 Hiking Pole Review
Decathlon's 240 g three-section aluminium pole is a cheap, sturdy, single-pole-pricing option for casual hikers, but not for weight-focused thru-hikers.
Opinel N°8 Carbon Review
The Opinel N°8 Carbon is a 45 g French folder with a razor-sharp XC90 blade and a Virobloc lock. It needs oiling and two hands, and it costs about $25.
Black Diamond Pursuit Shock Review
Black Diamond's Pursuit Shock adds a spring-damped grip to a proven three-section aluminum pole, trading weight and pack size for easier-on-the-knees descents.
Opinel No.08 Carbone Review
The 45 g Opinel No.08 Carbone is a French carbon-steel folder that sharpens in minutes and costs little, but it rusts and swells if neglected.
Victorinox Huntsman Review
The 97 g Victorinox Huntsman packs 15 tools, including scissors and a wood saw, into a 91 mm Swiss Army frame. It's a camp-kitchen and repair kit, not a gram-counter's knife.
Miscellaneous
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Exped Fold Drybag Review
Exped's 5-liter Fold Drybag weighs 40 g, with 70D taffeta nylon and fully taped seams. It's a durable, splash-proof organizer, not a submersible bag.
Gossamer Gear Lightrek Hiking Umbrella Review
Gossamer Gear's 164 g chrome Lightrek is a full-size trekking umbrella that thru-hikers rely on for desert shade, with limits in wind and thick brush.
Hammock Gear Sappy Strap Sack Review
Hammock Gear's 2.8 g Dyneema Composite Fabric drawstring bag keeps sticky tree straps away from the rest of your hammock kit for $8.99.
allmansright Hölster Stake Sack Review
A 4 g, US-made Dyneema stake sack with a wide tapered mouth and pull-tab drawcord. It's pricey for a bag, but it's the best-regarded stake sack in the UL world.
Helinox Chair One Review
The Helinox Chair One packs a tent-pole frame into a water-bottle-sized case at 893 g. Here's how it sits, what it costs you in comfort, and who should carry it.
Helinox Ground Chair Review
The Helinox Ground Chair trades height and a pound of pack weight for a square, sink-resistant frame that works on sand, mud, and soft ground.
Camera
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DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Review
DJI's 179 g gimbal camera pairs a 1-inch sensor with 4K/120 video, but it has no weather sealing and a built-in battery that limits long trips.
GoPro HERO11 Black Review
A hands-on look at the GoPro HERO11 Black's 5.3K sensor, battery life, and stabilization for backpackers who want trail footage without the bulk.
Hohem iSteady Pro 4 Review
A budget-friendly 3-axis gimbal for action cameras that trades premium build feel for a screwless mount, 14-hour battery, and splash resistance.
Pentax Papilio II 8.5x21 Review
Compact 8.5x21 binoculars that focus down to 1.65 feet—an oddball but beloved tool for butterfly watchers, macro nature nerds, and thru-hikers who want to see the small stuff.
Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN Contemporary Review
A compact, constant f/2.8 APS-C zoom that punches well above its 290g weight — here's how it holds up in real-world use.
Sony Alpha 7 V Review
Sony's fifth-gen A7 body brings a partially stacked 33MP sensor, AI autofocus, and 30fps bursts — here's how it holds up for travel and hybrid shooters.
Food
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Hilltop Packs Ecopak Food Bag Review
Hilltop Packs' Ecopak food bag weighs 33–45 g, has taped seams and a hanging loop, and is made in the USA. It isn't bear-proof.
Hilltop Packs Food Bag Review
Hilltop Packs' D50T roll-top food bag weighs 36–45 g, is seam-taped and made in Pennsylvania. It's a bargain for hanging food, but it won't stop a bear.
AlpineAire Mexican Style Grilled Chicken Bowl Review
AlpineAire's gluten-free freeze-dried chicken, rice and bean bowl is an easy, shelf-stable dinner for two, but its calorie density trails the best trail meals.
Forclaz Petit déjeuner lyophilisé (Chocolate Muesli) Review
Forclaz's freeze-dried chocolate muesli packs about 397 kcal into a 120 g pouch and rehydrates with just 100 ml of water, hot or cold.
Forclaz Repas Lyophilisé Sans Gluten (Rice and Curry Chicken) Review
Decathlon's Forclaz gluten-free rice and curry chicken freeze-dried meal weighs 140 g, rehydrates in 10 minutes in its pouch, and costs about 8.49 € in France.
Ziploc Freezer Bags Review
Ziploc's gallon freezer bags are the cheap, double-zip workhorse of the resupply box: tougher than sandwich bags, but not built for abuse.
Footwear
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Darn Tough Hiker Boot Full Cushion Review
Darn Tough's midweight, full-terry Merino boot sock (1405) trades a little weight and warmth for cushioning and a lifetime guarantee. Here's who it suits.
Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Midweight Review
The Darn Tough 1466 Hiker Micro Crew is a 73 g Vermont-made merino sock with medium cushion and a lifetime guarantee. It's the long-distance default for good reason.
Lowa Renegade Evo GTX Mid Review
Lowa's Renegade Evo GTX Mid is a stable, durable leather boot with Gore-Tex and Vibram traction, but it weighs 1,179 g a pair and costs $280.
Teva Original Universal Review
Teva's 1984-original strappy sandal is cheap, adjustable and durable, but with no arch support it suits camp, water crossings and easy trails, not loaded miles.
Exped Camp Slipper Review
Exped's insulated Camp Slipper weighs 136–156 g and swaps a boot-sweaty evening for warm, grippy feet, but its thin sole and loose fit limit it to camp duty.
Lowa Renegade GTX Mid Review
The Lowa Renegade GTX Mid is a stiff, durable Gore-Tex leather boot built for heavy loads and wet trails, with a weight penalty ultralighters will feel.
Toiletries
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Nabaiji Microfibre Towel Review
Decathlon's 186 g Nabaiji microfibre towel is a full-size, quick-drying, machine-washable towel for a few pounds, with a coarse feel and no ultralight frills.
Sea to Summit Trek & Travel Pocket Body Wash Review
Sea to Summit's dry-leaf body wash trades lather and shower-grade cleaning for near-zero weight and no leaks. Fine for bird baths, thin for full washes.
Banana Boat Sport Ultra SPF 30 Lotion Review
Banana Boat Sport Ultra SPF 30 lotion is a cheap, oxybenzone-free, sweat-resistant sunscreen, but the 8 oz bottle is a base-weight liability on the trail.
BoglerCo Ultralight Backpacking Trowel Review
At 13.5 g, BoglerCo's aluminum cathole trowel pairs a serrated blade with a palm-saving end cap. It's one of the best-liked trowels in ultralight circles.
Nabaiji Microfibre Towel Review
Decathlon's 80 x 130 cm Nabaiji microfibre towel weighs 188 g and costs about $14. It dries fast and packs small, but it's a smooth-weave towel that absorbs only moderately.
Nabaiji Microvezel Handdoek Review
Nabaiji's 39 x 55 cm microfiber towel weighs 80 g and costs about €3. It's a face-and-hands towel, not a body towel, and a fine one for the money.
Climbing
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Totem Cam Review
The Blue 0.65 Totem Cam weighs 75 g and loads each lobe independently. It's a narrow-headed, flexible trad cam that holds in flared, awkward placements.
Wild Country Friend Review
Wild Country's double-axle Friend pairs the classic 13.75° cam angle with hollow axles and an extendable Dyneema sling. Here's how it climbs and who it suits.
Black Diamond Mondo Chalk Pot Review
A deep-dive on BD's flagship chalk bucket: a cavernous, magnet-sealed pot built for bouldering sessions and made from repurposed factory scraps.
Grivel Air Tech Evo Review
A classic-shafted, hot-forged steel head mountaineering axe that's been a guide-favorite workhorse for decades — still excellent, if not the lightest option out there.
Scarpa Drago XT Review
Scarpa's Drago XT adds structure and a locked-in heel to the famously soft Drago, trading a little sensitivity for more edging power and versatility.
Black Diamond Vapor Helmet Review
A deep dive into the ultralight 155g Black Diamond Vapor climbing helmet — comfort, ventilation, durability, and who should (and shouldn't) buy it.
First Aid
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Compeed Pansement Ampoule Petit Format Review
Compeed's small-format hydrocolloid blister plaster is a featherweight, waterproof fix for toe and side-of-foot blisters, but it's too small for heels.
TickCheck Tick Remover Hook Value 3 Pack Review
A $5 trio of 1-gram plastic tick hooks in small, medium and large, with an ID card. Cheap and nearly weightless, but no match for good tweezers.
Leukotape P Review
A rigid zinc-oxide tape that's become the go-to blister prevention method for thru-hikers who tape hot spots before they turn into blisters.
Neosporin Original Triple Antibiotic Ointment Review
A closer look at whether the classic drugstore antibiotic ointment earns its spot in a backpacking first aid kit.
Tread Lite Gear Cuben Fiber First Aid Case Review
A 7.4g DCF pouch that won't organize your meds for you, but it might be the lightest way to carry them.
Adventure Medical Kits Mountain Series Day Tripper Lite Review
A compact, well-organized 59-piece first aid kit weighing 96g, built for 1–2 people on a single day hike. Solid value, but thin on a few supplies.
Safety
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Counter Assault 32-Foot Bear Spray Review
Counter Assault's 8.1 oz bear spray with holster trades 8 feet of reach for 60 g of weight savings over its big sibling, with the same EPA-registered 2% formula.
Counter Assault Bear Spray Review
Counter Assault's 8.1 oz bear spray pairs the maximum legal 2% capsaicin with a 32-foot, 7-second blast. It's a proven pick for grizzly country at 308 g.
Light My Fire Swedish FireSteel BIO Army 2in1 Review
Light My Fire's Army FireSteel throws 2,980°C sparks for up to 12,000 strikes and has a built-in whistle. It's tough and reliable, but heavy for ultralight kits.
UCO Stormproof Matches Review
UCO's Stormproof Matches burn for up to 15 seconds, relight after a dunking, and weigh 22 g a box. They suit emergency kits better than ounce-counting thru-hikes.
BIC Classic Pocket Lighter Review
The full-size BIC Classic is a dependable, dirt-cheap fire starter rated for up to 3,000 lights, but at 25.4 g it's heavy for ultralight kits.
BIC Classic Lighter Review
The full-size BIC Classic is a dollar-store fire starter with a huge fuel reserve, but at 22 g it costs ultralighters roughly twice the weight of a Mini.