Gear Reviews

Gear Review: Sierra Designs Flash 3 Tent

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Sierra Designs Flash 3
Sierra Designs Flash 3

Three-Season Tent
Sierra Designs Flash 3
$400, 4 lbs. 15 oz. (tent and poles only)
sierradesigns.com

Backpacking with my kids amplifies a challenge any backpacker faces: finding a tent that provides good living space and stability without being a burdensome weight or filling your backpack. My kids are young enough that they carry just personal gear (bag, pad, clothes, snacks, water). So on a recent overnight trip with my kids in the Needles District of Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, without my wife or another adult to share the family food and gear load, I took the Flash 3 for a test drive and was blown away by the amount of space it has for a sub-five-pound, freestanding shelter.

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Gear Review: La Sportiva Thunder III GTX Boots

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La Sportiva Thunder III GTX
La Sportiva Thunder III GTX

Boots
La Sportiva Thunder III GTX
$195, 2 lbs. 15 oz. (men’s US 9/Euro 42)
Sizes: Euro men’s 38-47.5, women’s 36-43
sportiva.com

Very few backpacking trips put boots to the test like a multi-day hike in the Grand Canyon. On a three-day backpacking trip with my 10-year-old daughter in the Grand Canyon, carrying up to 50 pounds—including, at one point, 17 pounds of water—down and up very steep, rugged trails, the Thunder III GTX boots delivered an impressive combination of support and protection balanced with a surprisingly nimble feel.

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Gear Review: The North Face Banchee 65 Backpack

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Backpack The North Face Banchee 65 $239, 65L/3,967 c.i., 3 lbs. 12 oz. (L/XL) Sizes: men’s S/M (fits torsos 16-19 inches) and L/XL (fits torsos 18-21 inches), women’s XS/S (fits torsos 14-17 inches) and M/L (fits torsos 16-19 inches) moosejaw.com On the second afternoon of a tough, three-day backpacking trip with my 10-year-old daughter in the Grand Canyon, I had …

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Gear Review: Osprey Reverb 18 Snow Pack

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Osprey Reverb 18
Osprey Reverb 18

Snow Pack
Osprey Reverb 18
$100, 18L/1,098 c.i., 2 lbs. 2 oz. (S/M)
One size
ospreypacks.com

You’re skiing or snowboarding at a resort, riding lifts, but the groomers have been totally carved up and even the off-piste snow in the trees is hash. So the only remaining option for finding untracked powder is to go where most skiers and riders don’t go: to the slopes not served by lifts, where you have to climb uphill under your own power. For that, you’ll need a lightweight, compact backcountry snow pack—one that has enough space for your safety gear but isn’t too cumbersome to wear while lift-served skiing. A pack like the Reverb 18.

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