America’s Best Backpacking and Outdoor Adventures
Solar-Rechargeable Light
Solio Clip-Mini
$35, 3.5 oz.
solio.com
File this under “very cool.” This LED light recharges using either solar power or a USB cord, eliminating the need to throw away batteries. It recharges in six hours on sunlight or one hour via the USB connection—so a day on the trail with the Clip-Mini attached to your pack (via its convenient, big carabiner clip) juices up the lithium-polymer battery completely.
Tent
Brooks-Range Foray
$425, 2 lbs. 10 oz. (tent, fly, poles)
brooks-range.com
This sub-three-pound, two-person tent defies preconceived notions of an ultralight tent: it has comfortable space, is strong and dry inside in rough weather, and versatile. I found the Foray especially perfect for backpacking with a kid who’s too young to carry much, if any, gear, because living space assumes a lower priority when your companion is a child, while having a lightweight, low-bulk tent makes a huge difference when you’re carrying most of the gear.
Boots
Keen Alamosa Mid
$120, 1 lb. 15 oz. (men’s size 9)
Sizes: men’s 7-12, 13, 14 15, women’s 5-11
keenfootwear.com
Here’s a question that’ll stir impassioned debate in certain circles: waterproof or non-waterproof boots when backpacking? Some adhere to the belief in a waterproof-breathable membrane on a multi-day trip when your feet could get wet; others say no membrane is infallible, and non-waterproof footwear will definitely dry out faster once wet. I put this philosophical debate to an unscientific test, wearing the Alamosa Mids on a four-day, 56-mile trip in Idaho’s Sawtooths in mid-September, a time of year when cold rain or feet getting wet just from dew on trailside vegetation isn’t unusual in the mountains.
Backpack
Osprey Atmos 65
$239, 3 lbs. 7 oz. (medium)
Sizes: S 62L/3,783 c.i., M 65L/3,967 c.i., L 68L/4,150 c.i.
ospreypacks.com
When you’re carrying a heavy pack on a hot day, a breeze across your sweaty back can feel like a plunge into a cool swimming hole. That may be the first thing you notice about the Atmos 65 (which also comes in a 50-liter version; the women’s packs are the Aura 65 and 50): the ventilated mesh back panel keeps the pack off of your back, allowing for excellent airflow. But you get more than just a cool back with the Atmos and Aura packs—you get high-end fit and organization.
Ribz Front Pack
$60, 12 oz. (small)
Sizes: Small (fits waists 26-36 inches), regular (fits waists 32-46 inches)
ribzwear.com
Backpacks are great. They’re an enormously efficient way to carry a lot of gear. The downside, of course, is that you cannot get at most of what’s inside a backpack without taking it off. For years, I’ve used a chest pack for my camera gear and tried other front carrier packs without really finding a system that I loved. The Ribz Front Pack has now solved one of my most enduring gear dilemmas by being everything I’ve sought: convenient, adequately roomy, comfortable, and entirely unobtrusive.