Gear Reviews

Gear Review: Sea to Summit Comfort Light Insulated Air Mattress

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Sea to Summit Comfort Light Insulated Air Mattress
Sea to Summit Comfort Light Insulated Air Mattress

Insulated Air Mattress
Sea to Summit Comfort Light Insulated Air Mattress
$170, 1 lb. 5 oz. (regular, including stuff sack)
Sizes: small (66×21.5×2.5 ins., $170, 1 lb. 4 oz., packed size 5×9 ins.), regular 72×21.5×2.5 ins., packed size 4.5×9 ins.), large (79x25x2.5 ins., $190, 1 lb. 9 oz., packed size 4.5×10 ins.)
moosejaw.com

I like to hike long days when I backpack, so I want the lightest gear that does the job. But I also like a comfortable air mat to sleep on after a 20-mile day. Those objectives of comfort and low weight sometimes conflict. But on a four-day, 86-mile backpacking trip in northern Yosemite National Park in September, I slept just about as well as I do in my bed at home on a Sea to Summit Comfort Light Insulated air mat, which weighs under a pound and a half and packs down to about one-and-a-half times the size of a liter bottle.

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Sahale Arm, North Cascades National Park.

Ask Me: Which Boots Cross Over Well From Dayhiking to Backpacking?

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Hi Michael,

I was wondering if you would recommend these Aku SL Sintesi Mid GTX boots for an average day of hiking as well as backpacking. I’m about to retire a pair of Merrells I’ve had for six years and my biggest complaint was that they were one dimensional, I took them backpacking, but they weren’t really sturdy enough. I am looking for a good, all-around boot that I could wear in intense, mountainous/snowy conditions or on a casual day of hiking with the family. I think I’ve narrowed down to these: Salomon Quest 4D GTX, Vasque St. Elias, and the Oboz Bridgers that you also reviewed. Any suggestions?

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Jetboil MiniMo

Review: Jetboil MiniMo Personal Cooking System

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Solo Camp Cook Set
Jetboil MiniMo Personal Cooking System
$165, 1 lb. 1 oz.
backcountry.com

When I’m backpacking long days and traveling as light as possible, I want a cooking system that’s not only lightweight, but efficient and easy: I need it to boil water fast in the morning, and by the time I get around to dinner in the evening, I’m too knackered to want to make much effort. Jetboil’s solo cooking system, the MiniMo, delivered that kind of performance and convenience on a four-day, 86-mile ultralight backpacking trip in northern Yosemite National Park in September; a nine-day hike of nearly 130 miles through the High Sierra in August, mostly on the John Muir Trail; a five-day, late-summer hike in the Wind River Range; an overnight hike down Zion’s Narrows in early November; and a pair of hut treks in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park in March.

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Stong, Iceland.

Ask Me: How Do I Find Waterproof Boots That Won’t Leak on Rugged, Wet Hikes?

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Michael,

I am an active backpacker and trekker. I have become disappointed in the use of Gore-Tex in hiking boots. I know you test many boots, but I wonder if you use many of those you test to experience the durability of the Gore-Tex and other waterproof-breathable linings. In addition to the extra warmth and the longer drying time of Gore-Tex-lined boots, my experience in the past year has me thinking I will be better off going back to a heavier, quality leather boot such as a La Sportiva Karakoram (the non-Gore-Tex version).

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Review: Outdoor Research Superlayer Jacket

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Outdoor Research Superlayer Jacket
Outdoor Research Superlayer Jacket

Breathable Insulated Jacket
Outdoor Research Superlayer Jacket
$225, 15 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL
outdoorresearch.com

What would you think if I told you that I went for a backcountry ski tour that involved climbing uphill for an hour, sweating enough to get both my base layer top and my hat wet, then skied for a while along rolling terrain, and finally turned around and descended fast to my car—all without making any layering change? That was just my first outing wearing OR’s new Superlayer Jacket. Over the course of several winter days field-testing it, in temperatures ranging from the low single digits to the 30s Fahrenheit, I found it so remarkably breathable that it often never left my body.

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