America’s Best Backpacking and Outdoor Adventures
Hi Michael,
I wonder if you could help me shed a few pounds – from my pack, not off my body. I’ve been section hiking the AT, and over the years have gotten my pack weight down from about 45 pounds to the low- to mid-30s. This year, I’m thinking of upgrading/downsizing my pack and sleeping bag, hoping to trim another 3 pounds and some bulk.
Trail-Running Hydration Pack
Gregory Tempo 8L
$149, 1 lb. 2 oz. (M/L, including 2L Hydrapak bladder)
Sizes: S/M and M/L
gregorypacks.com
For trail runs of more than a couple of hours, I want a hydration pack that holds two liters of water, a jacket, hat, maybe light gloves, and enough energy food to get me through several hours—but that also glues itself to my back without jostling. After numerous runs on Boise Foothills trails and a rugged 14-miler in California’s Tahoe National Forest, on steep paths constantly dropping into and climbing out of tributary canyons of the American River, I decided the Tempo 8L may be the best trail-running hydration pack I’ve found.
By Michael Lanza
The sun burns atomically from a sky polished to a flawless blue. Heat reflects up at us from the snow covering this mountainside in southwest Idaho, making March feel like June. New snow cloaks the boughs of the ponderosa pines and blankets the ground, powder light enough to scoop into your hand and blow away like feathers.
It’s a perfect day for any beginning, especially for a first time doing anything outdoors. My 12-year-old son, Nate, 85 pounds of expectation, clicks his boots into bindings and grins at me, displaying equal parts eagerness and curiosity for his first-ever day of backcountry skiing.
Tips for our first family backpacking trip? We have a three year old and a 1.5 year old.
Three-Season Sleeping Bag
REI Igneo (19° F)
$329, $339 long, 1 lbs. 15 oz. (reg)
Sizes: regular and long
rei.com
Sleeping bags have seen a lot of impressive advances recently, including water-resistant down feathers. But many of those advances jack up the price of high-end bags, while inexpensive models tend too often to be heavy, bulky, and not as well constructed. The Igneo and women’s Joule ($360 regular, $380 long, 22° F) stake out the middle ground with a good price for this quality and low weight, and offer protection from moisture with a waterproof-breathable coating on the ripstop nylon shell fabric.