Gear Reviews

Gear Review: Jansport Tahoma 75 Backpack

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My son, Nate, hiking to our high camp below California's Mount Whitney.
My son, Nate, hiking to our high camp below California’s Mount Whitney.

Backpack
Jansport Tahoma 75
$310, 70L/4,270 c.i., 4 lbs. 11 oz.
One size, adjustable
jansport.com

After carrying this pack on a four-day climb of the Mountaineers Route on California’s Mount Whitney in April, my 15-year-old son made the most persuasive demonstration of his opinion of it several weeks later: The next time he was carrying a backpack, this kid with an unusually large quiver of packs for his age (and many backcountry trips under his belt) chose the Tahoma 75 again. The reasons, I think, are simple: As a pack for both multi-day mountaineering and backpacking, it’s comfortable, tough, and nicely featured.

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A backpacker at Sapphire Lake on the John Muir Trail in Evolution Basin, Kings Canyon National Park.

Ask Me: How to Load a Bear Canister Into a Backpack

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Michael,

When carrying a bear canister, where and how would you place it in the pack? Toward the bottom above the sleeping bag? More toward the top of the pack just below the shoulderblades? Would you store it vertically and pack stuff around it, or just store horizontally across the pack? This is my first year going places that require a canister, and I can’t find an answer.

Rickard
[Originally submitted as a comment at my story “Video: How to Load a Backpack.”]

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Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Ultra air mattress.

Review: Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Ultra Air Mattress

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Insulated Air Mattress
Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Ultra
$100, 1 lb. 6 oz. (regular, with stuff sack)
Sizes: petite ($90, 66x20x3.5 ins.), regular (72x20x3.5 ins.), long ($110, 78x20x3.5 ins.), wide regular ($130, 72x25x3.5 ins.)
backcountry.com

The ultimate measure of an air mattress comes at the moment when my family discovers it—and when my wife and kids saw the new Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Ultra, they all wanted to sleep on it. I used this air mat for two nights backpacking in the Panamint Range of Death Valley National Park in May, and I (reluctantly) shared it with my family while camping at Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve and on a mid-July rafting and kayaking trip on the Green River through Lodore Canyon in Dinosaur National Monument, and I haven’t found an air mat for backpacking that’s more comfortable and this compact.

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The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Daybreak daypack.

Review: Hyperlite Mountain Gear Daybreak Daypack

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Daypack
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Daybreak
$229, 17L/1,040 c.i. 1 lb. 4 oz. (medium)
Sizes: S (fits torsos 15-17 ins.), M (torsos 17-19 ins.), and L (torsos 19+ ins.)
hyperlitemountaingear.com

Lightweight and tough aren’t adjectives I usually use together when describing gear, but they both apply to this daypack. I’ve used it for everything from dayhiking up to several miles on a four-day whitewater rafting and kayaking trip on the Green River through Lodore Canyon in Dinosaur National Monument, on multi-pitch rock climbs at Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve, and ski touring. Besides carrying comfortably with about 10 pounds inside, it still looks brand new.

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Gear Review: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite MAX SV Air Mattress

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Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite MAX SV air mattress.
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite MAX SV air mattress.

Insulated Air Mattress
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite MAX SV
$180, 1 lb. (regular, with stuff sack)
Sizes: regular (72x20x2.5 ins.) and large ($210, 77x25x2.5 ins.)
moosejaw.com

Who enjoys blowing up an air mattress? At the end of a full day of backpacking, it always seems to take more breaths than you have left in reserve. Therm-a-Rest solves this problem with its SpeedValve, a large, fabric tunnel that draws in surrounding air when you blow into it, making the inflation process significantly faster and easier. After using the lightweight and compact Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite MAX SV on family backpacking trips in Utah’s Dirty Devil River canyon and while car-camping in southern Utah in late March, backpacking in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains in August, and on an 80-mile, five-day backpacking trip in the North Cascades National Park Complex in the last week of September, and my 15-year-old son sleeping on it for three nights on a mid-July rafting and kayaking trip through Lodore Canyon in Dinosaur National Monument, I give it high scores for comfort and convenience.

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