Gear Reviews

Review: Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody

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Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody
Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody

Hybrid Insulation Jacket
Outdoor Research Deviator Hoody
$185, 10 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
moosejaw.com

On cool mornings in May while backpacking the Grand Canyon’s Royal Arch Loop, and in late March on a five-day, family backpacking trip down Paria Canyon on the Utah-Arizona border, I did something unusual: I started the day’s hiking wearing the same jacket I had worn while in camp, OR’s new Deviator Hoody. From cool-weather hiking to skate-skiing in winter, I liked the Deviator as a next-generation, hybrid insulation piece whose versatility is limited only by your creativity in thinking about your layering system.

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Review: L.L. Bean PrimaLoft Packaway Fuse Jacket

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L.L. Bean PrimaLoft Packaway Fuse Jacket
L.L. Bean PrimaLoft Packaway Fuse Jacket

Breathable Insulated Jacket
L.L. Bean PrimaLoft Packaway Fuse Jacket
$159, 13 oz. (men’s medium regular)
Sizes: men’s regular S-XXL, men’s tall M-XXl, women’s misses XXS-XL, petite XS-XL
llbean.com

Someday, outdoor enthusiasts of a certain age may reflect back on the dark ages of the early 21st century by saying, “Remember when an insulated jacket was something you only wore when you weren’t moving?” Well, given the growing profusion of jackets with breathable insulation, those “ancient” shells that are essentially half a sleeping bag with sleeves are already obsolete. I wore the most affordable piece of active insulation I’ve yet seen, Bean’s PrimaLoft Packaway Fuse Jacket, at times on wet, chilly, windy days trekking the Dusky Track and Kepler Track in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park in early March, and in camp on cool evenings and mornings (days were quite warm) on a five-day, family-backpacking trip down Paria Canyon on the Utah-Arizona border in late March. It’s as versatile as some pricier competitors and will fit more people than other jackets in this category.

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Gear Review: La Sportiva Core High GTX Boots

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La Sportiva Core High GTX
La Sportiva Core High GTX

Lightweight Hiking Boots
La Sportiva Core High GTX
$200, 1 lb. 13 oz. (men’s Euro 42/US 9)
Sizes: Euro men’s 38-47.5, women’s 36-43
sportiva.com

Whenever a new boot comes along that’s mid-cut and under two pounds per pair, I want to try it out—that’s my preferred type of footwear for many hikes, from dayhikes of any distance, including ultra-hiking, to light backpacking. So I took Sportiva’s new Core High GTX on a very rugged, 20-mile dayhike in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, and backpacking for three days in Idaho’s Sawtooths, and found them ideal for light hiking and super breathable.

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Above the Great Gulf Wilderness, Presidential Range, N.H.

Ask Me: Tips On Gear For an Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike

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Hi Mike,

I am 63 and retired. I have done multiple bicycle tours up to 600 miles around Lake Ontario. Now this boy in and old man’s body wants to hike the Appalachian Trail in the spring of 2016, at 64. Your articles on light backpacking have been valuable in making smart equipment choices. I can use some of my bike gear but the MSR Hubba Hubba tent and MSR WhisperLite stove have to go. I have some questions for you about gear.

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Gear Review: MSR FlyLite Tent

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MRS FlyLite
MRS FlyLite

Ultralight Tent
MSR FlyLite
$350, 1 lb. 9 oz. (not including stakes)
moosejaw.com

More backpackers are realizing what tent makers have known for years: The smartest way to reduce pack weight is by trimming the single heaviest item in your backpack—your tent. And you achieve the greatest weight savings there by eliminating or at least greatly reducing the poles and rainfly. The MSR FlyLite does both. On a five-day, late-March backpacking trip with my family in Paria Canyon, in Utah and Arizona, the FlyLite shined for having an outstanding space-to-weight ratio while proving itself stable in strong gusts, and not very susceptible to the bane of most single-wall tents: condensation.

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