Gear Reviews

Rab Men’s Downpour Light Waterproof Jacket.

Review: Rab Downpour Light Waterproof Jacket

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Ultralight Rain Jacket
Rab Downpour Light Waterproof Jacket
$165, 7.7 oz./219g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL (8-16)
backcountry.com

Two startingly loud, sharp, and sustained crackles of thunder and a flash of lightning gave us about a two-minute warning before the skies opened up while we hiked at well over 11,000 feet on the Continental Divide Trail in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in mid-September. I got Rab’s Downpour Light Waterproof Jacket on and zipped up moments before the thunderhead began bombarding us with wind-driven rain and hail. And this ultralight rain shell kept me dry hiking through that storm and setting up our tent in steady rain and wind once we found a campsite.

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The Nemo Hornet Elite Osmo 1p ultralight tent in the Grand Canyon.

Review: Nemo Hornet Elite Osmo 1p Ultralight Tent

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Ultralight Solo Backpacking Tent
Nemo Hornet Elite Osmo 1p
$580, 1 lb. 7 oz./657g
nemoeequipment.com

From the Grand Canyon’s Gems Route to Montana’s Beartooth Mountains, Nemo’s top-of-the-line Hornet Elite Osmo 1p solo ultralight tent withstood winds gusting to around 30 mph/48 kph and shrugged off light rain, while providing comfortable living space, excellent ventilation, and a tiny footprint that enables pitching it on the most improbably small patches of flat ground—all in a surprisingly compact package that weighs less than the low-cut hiking shoes I wore in the Beartooths.

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The Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5 ultralight backpack.

Review: Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5 and 45+5 SL Backpacks

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Ultralight Backpacks
Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5
$285, 55L/3,356 c.i., 2 lbs. 15 oz./1.33kg
Deuter Aircontact Ultra 45+5 SL
$250, 50L/3,051 c.i., 2 lbs. 11 oz./1.21kg
One adjustable size in both models
Aircontact Ultra 50+5: backcountry.com
Aircontact Ultra 45+5 SL: rei.com

To put Deuter’s updated-for-2024 Aircontact Ultra 50+5 ultralight backpack through the paces, I took it on a pair of quite rugged but also quite different backpacking trips this spring: a three-day hike through southern Utah’s Owl and Fish canyons with a max weight of about 30 pounds in the pack, and six days and about 60 miles backpacking the Grand Canyon’s Gems Route, repeatedly carrying extra water—and starting out with more than 40 pounds inside, including over 10 pounds of water and 11 pounds of food. As I expected, those trips revealed much about the Aircontact Ultra backpacks and why they might appeal to lightweight and ultralight backpackers.

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The Outdoor Research Shadow Wind Hoodie.

Review: Outdoor Research Shadow Wind Hoodie

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Ultralight Wind Shell
Outdoor Research Shadow Wind Hoodie
$140, 5.8 oz./164.4g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XXL
backcountry.com

We ask a lot of ultralight wind shells, these wispy jackets that often weigh no more (and sometimes less) than your hiking shorts. We want them to breathe well when we’re hiking or running uphill while, of course, blocking the wind effectively—and not feel like a kitchen trash bag with sleeves and a hood. On trail runs, dayhikes, and a backpacking trip from the desert Southwest in spring to the mountains of Southwest Idaho, in a wide range of fall and spring weather that challenges any outer layer to keep you comfortable, I found that OR’s Shadow Wind Hoodie did just that, quite well.

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Montem Ultra Light 100% Carbon Fiber Trekking Poles.

Review: Montem Ultra Light 100% Carbon Fiber Trekking Poles

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Trekking Poles
Montem Ultra Light 100% Carbon Fiber Trekking Poles
$90, 14 oz./396.9g (per pair)
$One size, adjustable 105-135cm
montemlife.com

The biggest question with inexpensive gear is always: Will it work? And best way to answer that question is to field test it in places that are hard on gear. Backpacking six days on the Grand Canyon’s Gems Route, five days in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains, and three days on southern Utah’s rugged Owl and Fish canyons loop, and dayhiking in a couple of southern Utah national parks and on two of the steepest, meanest trails in my local Foothills, I found that Montem’s remarkably affordable Ultra Light 100% Carbon Fiber Trekking Poles met virtually all the demands I placed on them through some very hard use and left me with only a couple of relatively minor critiques.

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