Gregory pack reviews

A backpacker above Macon Lake and Washakie Lake in the Wind River Range, Wyoming.

The Best Backpacking Gear of 2026

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By Michael Lanza

The Wind River Range, Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, and the Grand Canyon (all numerous times now). The John Muir Trail. Glacier National Park and the Tetons. The Canadian Rockies. Southern Utah’s Owl and Fish canyons, Buckskin Gulch, and Paria Canyon. Utah’s High Uintas Wilderness, Montana’s Beartooths, and Colorado’s Weminuche. New Hampshire’s Presidential Range. Iceland’s Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls trails and New Zealand’s Milford Track, Routeburn Track, and Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

These are just some of the places where I’ve recently tested the backpacking gear and apparel that I’ve reviewed at The Big Outside—so that I can give you honest and thorough, field-tested opinions that help you find the best gear for your adventures.

And that’s exactly how I came up with the following picks for today’s best backpacking gear.

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A backpacker descending from Texas Pass into the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range, Wyoming.

The 10 Best Backpacking Packs of 2026

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By Michael Lanza

Backpacks come in many sizes and designs for a reason: so do backpackers. Some of us need a pack for moderate loads, some for heavy loads, and others, increasingly, for lightweight or ultralight backpacking. Some prefer a minimalist pack, others a range of features and access. Everyone wants the best possible fit and comfort, and almost everyone has a budget. But no matter which type of backpacker you are, this review covers the best packs in each of those categories.

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The Gregory Kiro 24L.

Review: Gregory Kiro 24L Daypack

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Daypack
Gregory Kiro 24L
$120, 24L/1,465 c.i., 1 lb. 12 oz./793.8g
One non-adjustable unisex size
backcountry.com

I can say this about Gregory’s Kiro 24L: I made a genuine effort to hike too far for its comfort limits, but I failed. From a 12-mile (19.3-kilometer), 4,400-foot (1,340-meter) dayhike in New Hampshire’s Southern Presidential Range in late May to a nine-mile (14.5-kilometer), more than 5,200-foot (1,600-meter) dayhike of 12,662-foot Borah Peak, Idaho’s highest, in July, and a roughly 19-mile (30.6-kilometer), 4,500-foot (1,370-meter) October dayhike and off-trail scramble up and down 10,716-foot Mount Cramer, the second-highest peak in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, the Kiro 24 had the capacity and all-day comfort for it all.

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The Gregory Paragon 60 in the Grand Canyon.

Gregory Paragon 60 and Maven 58 Backpacks

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Backpack
Gregory Paragon 60 and Maven 58
$300, 60L/3,661 c.i., 3 lbs. 12 oz./1.7 kg (men’s SM/MD)
Sizes: men’s Paragon S/M and M/L, women’s Maven XS/S and S/M
Paragon 60: backcountry.com
Maven 58: backcountry.com

Since Gregory first introduced the men’s Paragon and women’s Maven packs, I’ve found myself choosing the Paragon repeatedly for a variety of backpacking trips, including pounding out 77 miles in five days (averaging over 15 miles and 8,000 vertical feet per day) on the Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier and a more casual, four-day, 36-mile family hike on the Ruby Crest Trail. With the 2025 update of these packs, I took the Paragon 60 on a four-day, 40-mile walk in the Grand Canyon in late March that included humping up the brutally steep and rugged Boucher Trail—convincing myself that the fully featured Paragon 60 and women’s Maven 58 still offer everything that many backpackers look for in a pack for every kind of trip they take.

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A backpacker at Evolution Lake on the John Muir Trail in Evolution Basin, Kings Canyon National Park.

The Best Backpacking Gear for the John Muir Trail

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By Michael Lanza

So you’re planning to thru-hike the John Muir Trail and making all of the necessary preparations, and now you’re wondering: What’s the best gear for a JMT hike? Having thru-hiked the JMT as well as taken numerous other backpacking trips all over the High Sierra—mostly between late August and late September, which I consider that the best time to walk the Sierra, to avoid snow and the voracious mosquitoes and blazing hot afternoons of mid-summer—I offer the following picks for the best ultralight and lightweight backpacking gear and apparel for a JMT thru-hike.

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