Michael Lanza

Gear Review: MontBell Torrent Flier Jacket

by
MontBell Torrent Flier Jacket

Ultralight Rain Shell
MontBell Torrent Flier Jacket
$249, 8 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: Unisex S-XL
montbell.us

When a violent thunderstorm caught me on the 9,595-foot summit of Eagle Cap Peak in Oregon, and the skies opened up with booming thunder, lightning, and pounding rain and hail, I was certainly glad to have this shell handy. It fended off strong winds and kept me dry through that tempest, as it did in extended, wind-driven rains in Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park, and when I got caught in a sudden June snow squall a pitch off the ground while rock climbing at Idaho’s City of Rocks.

Read on

Gear Review: Jetboil Sumo GCS and Companion Bowl Set

by
Jetboil Sumo Titanium Group Cooking System and Companion Bowl Set

Camp Kitchen
Jetboil Sumo Titanium Group Cooking System
$190, 12 oz. (weight not including the measuring cup or the pot support)
$130, 16 oz. (for the aluminum version)

Jetboil Sumo Companion Bowl Set
$20, 6 oz.
Set includes two 23-oz. (675 ml) bowls and one 15-oz. (450 ml) bowl
jetboil.com

From boiling water in near-freezing temperatures, wind, and drizzle with two friends in the Olympic Mountains in September, to family backpacking trips in Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness in August and Capitol Reef National Park in March, this cooking system delivered everything I want in a backcountry kitchen for a small group: fast, efficient cooking even in inclement weather, and low weight and bulk in my pack.

Read on

Gear Review: MontBell UL Super Spiral Down Hugger #3 Bag

by
MontBell UL Super Spiral Down Hugger #3

Sleeping Bag
MontBell UL Super Spiral Down Hugger #3
$339, 1 lb. 7 oz. (regular), $359, 1 lb. 9 oz. (long)
Sizes: regular and long
Montbell.us

We tend to buy a sleeping bag based primarily on temperature rating, price, and weight, ignoring a key characteristic that will affect how well you sleep in it as much as its warmth: comfort. I’ve slept in many bags—especially ultralight models—that are cut so narrowly to shave grams that they felt like a straitjacket. Montbell’s UL Super Spiral Down Hugger #3 provides superior comfort through a simple but unique feature: elasticized baffles that stretch and contract with your movements. The bag effectively acts like a second, much thicker and warmer layer of skin, moving wherever you move without inhibiting you at all.

Read on

Gear Review: GSI Pinnacle Dualist Cooking System and Stainless Cup

by
GSI Pinnacle Dualist cooking system

Camp Kitchen
GSI Pinnacle Dualist integrated cooking system
$65, 1 lb. 4 oz. (without included stuff sack)
Set includes a 1.8-liter pot with strainer lid, two insulated bowls/mugs with lids, two bowls, two telescoping sporks

GSI Glacier Stainless Bottle Cup
$13, 5 oz.
Volume: 18 oz.
gsioutdoors.com

GSI Glacier Stainless Cup

Here’s the smartest cook set for two backpackers that I’ve used. At just over a pound, the entire set of two mugs (whose lids have sipping holes), two bowls, and a hard-anodized pot all nest together, with space inside for the sporks and an ultralight butane stove (not included).

Read on

Gear Review: GoLite Rush 20 Daypack

by
GoLite Rush 20

Daypack
GoLite Rush 20
$120, 1 lb. 3 oz. (S-M)
20L/1,220 c.i.
Unisex sizes S-M and M-L
golite.com

For a long dayhike, mountain bike ride, or adventure race, I like a daypack that’s light, well-organized so that I can quickly get what I want from it, doesn’t make my back all clammy, and is almost unnoticeable when I’m carrying it. The Rush 20 is all of those things. On back-to-back dayhikes of 27 miles and 22 miles in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, and a shorter dayhike with my family in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, I hauled as much as 15 pounds for up to 12 hours, and never once thought about my load.

Read on