Michael Lanza

Gear Review: REI Traverse 70 Backpack

REI Traverse 70
REI Traverse 70

Backpack
REI Traverse 70
$239, 4 lbs. 13 oz. (men’s medium, including rain cover)
Sizes: men’s S (66L/4,028 c.i., fits torsos 17-19 ins.), M (70L/4,272 c.i., fits torsos 18-20 ins.), L (74L/4,516 c.i., fits torsos 19-21 ins.)
rei.com

Much as I really prefer carrying a light backpack, I have many times hoisted a pack weighing 50 pounds or more, because sometimes that’s the price of a worthy adventure. With no water available along the route of my family’s late-March, overnight backpacking trip into the canyon of Utah’s Dirty Devil River—except the heavily silted river, which would strangle any filter—we had to carry all we’d need for two days. And guess who’s the family porter? As I loaded 15 liters of agua into the Traverse 70, I did some quick math: the liquid weight alone reached just about 32 pounds. With gear, food, and clothes, my pack tipped the scales at nearly 50 pounds. That’s a pretty good test for a pack that weighs under five pounds empty.

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Gear Review: Vasque Inhaler II Low Shoes

Vasque Inhaler II Low
Vasque Inhaler II Low

Hiking/Trail-Running Shoes
Vasque Inhaler II Low
$120, 1 lb. 12 oz. (men’s US 9)
Sizes: men’s 7-14, women’s 6-11
backcountry.com

For much of the trail mileage that most dayhikers, backpackers, and runners pound out, breathability is more important than waterproofing—our feet are hot more often than they face any prospect of getting wet. Since moisture and heat are two of the three elements that create blisters (the third is friction), unless you typically hike or run in a wet, cool environment, keeping your feet cool should really be your top concern when choosing footwear—and even more so the farther you hike in a day. On local trail runs of up to about 13 miles in the Boise Foothills, and southern Utah desert dayhikes in the San Rafael Swell and the Horseshoe Canyon District of Canyonlands National Park, the smart design of the Inhaler II Lows kept my feet dry and happy.

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Backpacking The Narrows, Zion National Park.

Buying Gear? Read This First

By Michael Lanza

Are you in the market for a new pack or boots for hiking or backpacking, or a new tent or sleeping bag? How do you find something that’s just right for you? What should you be looking for? How much should you spend? These are questions I’ve heard from many friends and readers over the years as they’ve waded through the myriad choices that are out there. Here are my five top tips for buying gear that’s right for you, gleaned from lessons I’ve learned from two decades of testing and reviewing gear and helping people find gear they love.

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The Osprey Ace 38 kids backpack.

Gear Review: Osprey Ace Kids Backpacks

Kids Backpack
Osprey Ace 38
$160, 38L/2,319 c.i., 2 lbs. 4 oz. (my scale, not including the 3-oz. rain cover that comes with the pack)
One size, adjustable, fits torsos 28-38cm/11-15 ins., for ages 6 to 11 (approx.)
Osprey Ace 50
$190, 50L/3,051 c.i., 3 lbs. (my scale, not including the 3-oz. rain cover)
One size, adjustable, fits torsos 33-46cm/13-18 ins., for ages 8 to 14 (approx.)
Osprey Ace 75
$180, 75L/4,577 c.i., 3 lbs. 9 oz. (weight stated by Osprey)
One size, adjustable, fits torsos 35.5-48cm/14-19 ins., for ages 11 to 18 (approx.)
backcountry.com

If backpacking is sometimes hard on an adult, it presents a particular set of challenges to a kid who weighs 100 pounds or less. One rule I followed when my kids were young was to not ask them to carry a backpack; instead, I waited for them to say they wanted to carry their own pack. (See my popular “10 Tips For Raising Outdoors-Loving Kids.”) And then, I made sure my kids had good-quality gear, to help ensure they’d want to go backpacking again. My kids (now 15 and 13) have carried Osprey Ace backpacks on trips from Southwest canyons to Idaho’s Sawtooth and White Cloud mountains to Canada’s Kootenay National Park. Built for a huge range of children’s body sizes—from the youngest you’d want to put a pack on to bigger teenagers—the Ace packs have made it a little easier to turn your child into a backpacker.

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Climbers below the East Face of Mount Whitney.

3-Minute Read: Climbing Mount Whitney

By Michael Lanza

At 6 a.m. last Sunday morning, four readers of The Big Outside, my 15-year-old son, Nate, and I, led by three mountain guides from Sierra Mountaineering International, left our high camp at 12,000 feet below the East Face of California’s Mount Whitney en route to climb the Mountaineers Route. I shot the photo above shortly after we left camp. Four-and-a-half hours later, we all stood at 14,505 feet above sea level, atop the highest peak in America outside of Alaska.

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