backpacking gear reviews

Gear Review: Sierra Designs Flash 2 FL Tent

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Sierra Designs Flash 2 FL.
Sierra Designs Flash 2 FL.

Three-Season Tent
Sierra Designs Flash 2 FL
$400, 3 lbs. 10 oz. (not including stuff sacks and stakes)
ems.com

The rain started as we searched for a campsite by Utah’s Dirty Devil River. Then the wind kicked up. My son and I quickly pitched this tent and stashed our gear inside without anything getting wet. And as we lounged inside, the Flash 2 FL withstood gusts of 30 to 40 mph—even when the swirling winds hit the tent broadside. But its stability is just part of the strong story of the Flash 2 FL, whose features and performance will appeal to many backpackers who want a lighter shelter, but can’t abide the cramped quarters of many ultralight tents.

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Gear Review: Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX Boots

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Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX
Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX

Backpacking Boots
Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX
$240, 2 lbs. 11 oz. (men’s 7)
Sizes: men’s 7-14, women’s 5-12
backcountry.com

On a five-day, family backpacking trip down Paria Canyon on the Utah-Arizona border, these boots helped my teenage son safely negotiate a riverbed of shifting mud, ankle-turning stones, and the occasional plunge into quicksand (where, to be honest, your boots don’t matter); and when we weren’t in the river, he nimbly hiked the trail over rocky, loose ground, with occasional boulder scrambling. Salomon’s Quest 4D GTX stands out for having better-than-average support and protection from the earth and the elements for a midweight.

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Review: Outdoor Research Uberlayer Hooded Jacket

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Outdoor Research Uberlayer Hooded Jacket
Outdoor Research Uberlayer Hooded Jacket

Breathable Insulated Jacket
Outdoor Research Uberlayer Hooded Jacket
$299, 1 lb. 2 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
moosejaw.com

The explosion in breathable-insulation garments has changed the way we think about insulation in the backcountry. But in an increasingly crowded field, some jackets still rise above. I wore OR’s new Uberlayer Hooded Jacket for numerous days of backcountry skiing—including, at times, as an outer layer while skinning uphill—and as a middle layer skiing downhill both in the backcountry and for hours at a resort And I wore it in temperatures ranging from around freezing to wind chills below zero Fahrenheit, and came away convinced this is a jacket you could legitimately use into the backcountry every month of the year.

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Review: Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody

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Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody
Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody

Hybrid Jacket
Patagonia Dual Aspect Hoody
$249, 16 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXL, women’s XS-XL
patagonia.com

What if you could find one jacket that serves as on-the-go insulation in cool to cold temperatures, functions as both a middle layer and an outer layer that sheds snow and light rain like a soft-shell jacket, but breathes better than most soft shells, so that you rarely take it off? Patagonia’s Dual Aspect Hoody does all of that—and this hybrid jacket has design elements that raise it above even many of the cutting-edge, breathable-insulation apparel pieces out there, I decided after numerous days of backcountry skiing in it.

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Looking For Reviews of the Best Gear? Look Here

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By Michael Lanza

I take a bit of a different approach to testing and reviewing outdoor gear at The Big Outside. I don’t try to blanket my readers with reviews of every new piece of gear hitting the market—I can’t do it, but frankly, a lot of it is average and not worth recommending. Instead, I find the best backpacks and daypacks, backcountry tents, shoes and boots, bags, outdoor apparel, and other gear that I actually want to use and would recommend to friends. Then I take it on my backcountry trips and see if it works in real situations. After two decades of testing and reviewing gear, including many years as a field editor and lead gear reviewer for Backpacker magazine, I think I have a pretty good eye for what outdoor gear and apparel performs well and delivers value and what’s not worth your money.

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