Gear Reviews

The Patagonia Black Hole Pack 32L.

Review: Patagonia Black Hole Pack 32L Travel Pack

by

Travel Pack
Patagonia Black Hole Pack 32L
$169, 32L/1,831 c.i., 1 lb. 12.6 oz./810g
One size
backcountry.com

If you’re like me, whenever you’re flying somewhere for a few days, maybe a week or more, you ask yourself the same question: Can I do this without checking luggage? Not only do I loathe paying a luggage fee, but I don’t want to give an airline the opportunity to lose my luggage. Plus, I like the convenience, low expense, and the ethically and morally correct choice (in this age of climate crisis) of using public transportation to and from airports—which is really only feasible when carrying one small, light, portable bag or pack. For me, the carry-on of choice is the Patagonia Black Hole Pack 32L.

Read on

A backcountry skier in Idaho's Boise Mountains.

The Best Clothing Layers for Winter in the Backcountry

by

By Michael Lanza

There’s one thing we can confidently say about the clothing layers we use in winter: We get our money’s worth out of them. While a rain shell or puffy jacket may rarely come out of our pack on a summer hike or climb, we almost invariably wear every article of clothing we carry when Nordic, downhill, or backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, trail running, or climbing in winter. That’s money spent wisely to make us more comfortable and safer.

Read on

The Hoka One One Speedgoat 6 trail-running shoes.

Review: Hoka One One Speedgoat 6 Trail Running Shoes

by

Trail Running/Hiking Shoes
Hoka One One Speedgoat 6
$155, 1 lb. 3 oz./539g (US men’s 9)
Sizes: US men’s 7-15, women’s 5-12
backcountry.com

Hoka’s popular trail-running shoe, the Speedgoat, has passed through several updates since it first emerged on the scene in 2015, named for the American phenom ultrarunner Karl “Speedgoat” Meltzer. The latest, the Speedgoat 6, builds upon that legacy again, with a more durable, breathable woven upper, a more responsive midsole, and even better traction—maintaining the Speedgoat’s standing amid an expanding field of copycats and its stature as a solid performer for trail ultra-runs and ultra-hikes, lightweight dayhiking, and ultralight backpacking.

Read on

The Biolite Firepit+

Review: BioLite Firepit+ Portable Backyard Fire Pit and Grill

by

Portable Backyard/Camping Firepit and Grill
BioLite Firepit+
$250, 20 lbs./9kg
backcountry.com

Many of us learned a lot about what we liked during the pandemic and many of those newly discovered or rediscovered likes have stayed with us—like sitting out in the back yard to eat and socialize. We realized (or were reminded): Hey, it’s nice sitting out here! That included evenings when cool temperatures might have previously driven us indoors. So we sought ways to heat our domestic outdoor spaces. Enter the BioLite Firepit+, a more civilized and controllable evolution of the old stone-ringed (sometimes smoky and not very heat-efficient), backyard fire pit.

Read on

Sea to Summit Spark Pro -9C/15F ultralight sleeping bag.

Review: Sea to Summit Spark Pro -9C/15F Sleeping Bag

by

Ultralight Sleeping Bag
Sea to Summit Spark Pro -9C/15F Bag
$649, 1 lb. 11 oz./765.4g (regular)
Sizes: unisex regular and long ($689)
seatosummit.com

We woke up from our first night in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains in mid-September, at well over 10,000 feet beside a creek that sang soft lullabys to us all night, to find ice crystals in our water bottles and one full water bladder that had been left outside the tent partly frozen. But the overnight temperature dropping to below freezing had hardly registered with me as I slumbered soundly zipped up inside my Sea to Summit Spark Pro -9C/15F sleeping bag—one of the warmest for its weight, most packable, and well constructed ultralight sleeping bags you’ll find.

Read on