Gear Reviews

The Outdoor Research Helium Down Hoodie.

Review: Outdoor Research Helium Down Hoodie

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Water-Resistant Down Jacket
Outdoor Research Helium Down Hoodie
$299, 15.4 oz./437g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-3XL, women’s XS-XL, plus sizes 1X-4X
backcountry.com

The wind blew strong and steady and the temperature sat just several ticks above freezing on our mornings and evenings backpacking the three-day loop through Owl and Fish canyons in southern Utah in early May. I was happy to have not brought an ultralight insulated jacket on that trip—as I often do in spring in the Southwest—because my Outdoor Research Helium Down Hoodie had the heft to keep me warm in that below-freezing wind chill. And it delivers rare protection from wet weather—at a price lower than most high-quality down jackets.

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The Mystery Ranch Coulee 30.

The 10 Best Hiking Daypacks of 2025

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By Michael Lanza

Choosing a daypack for hiking can seem overwhelming when you see the dozens of choices available today, which range all over the map in terms of volume, weight, carrying capacity, features, and cost—as well as fit and comfort. Look no further. This freshly updated review spotlights the best daypacks for hiking and offers expert buying tips that explain the subtle differences between packs to help you find the right one for your own adventures.

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The Gregory Zulu 24 LT daypack

Review: Gregory Zulu 24 LT and Jade 24 LT Daypacks

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Daypack
Gregory Zulu 24 LT and Jade 24 LT
$150, 24L/1,465 c.i., 2 lbs. 5 oz./1.05kg (men’s Zulu 24 LT)
One size each for men and women, non-adjustable
Zulu 24 LT: backcountry.com
Jade 24 LT: backcountry.com

This first thing I noticed about carrying Gregory’s Zulu 24 LT on spring dayhikes of up to about 12 miles from southern Utah parks to New Zealand, with plenty of uphill and downhill and a bit of scrambling thrown in, was its exceptional comfort even when testing its maximum weight capacity: This daypack does not wilt under loads that push some daypacks beyond their “I’m still liking this pack” limit. But the more I used it—and actually interacted with the pack, pulling stuff out, stuffing stuff back in, using its various pockets—the more I liked how its design constantly rose to my demands.

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The Black Diamond Pursuit 15 daypack.

Review: Black Diamond Pursuit 15 Daypack

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Daypack
Black Diamond Pursuit 15
$150, 15L/915 c.i., 1 lb. 7 oz./652g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s and women’s S-L
blackdiamondequipment.com

From dayhikes up to 16 miles with spurts of running on trails in my local foothills to steep, hard dayhikes from Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rockies to New Hampshire’s White Mountains, the Pursuit 15 struck an unusually effective balance between traditional hiking daypacks and running vests that’s most useful to avid dayhikers and mountain scramblers moving fast and light.

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Nemo Riff 30 Endless Promise sleeping bag.

Review: Nemo Riff 30 Endless Promise Sleeping Bag

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Sleeping Bag
Nemo Riff 30 Endless Promise
$360, 1 lb. 15 oz./879g (men’s regular)
Sizes: men’s and women’s regular and long
backcountry.com

Nemo’s Riff down sleeping bags have long carved out a unique space among high-end backpacking bags with their spoon shape and comfortable dimensions, as well as the zippered “thermo gills” on the chest area for adjusting the bag’s degree of warmth to vent on mild nights or batten down the hatches on chilly nights. Spending eight nights in the 2024 update, the Riff 30 Endless Promise, in Glacier National Park in September and in southern Utah in early October, I found that Nemo maintained or improved on the Riff’s exclusive features—while making the bags fully recyclable.

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