ultralight backpacking gear reviews

The Slingfin SplitWing Shelter Bundle.

Review: SlingFin SplitWing Ultralight Backpacking Shelter

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Ultralight Backpacking Shelter
SlingFin SplitWing Shelter Bundle
$355, 1 lb. 5 oz./595g (entire bundle, including six DAC stakes weighing 2.4 oz.)
slingfin.com

Over nearly three decades of testing and reviewing backpacking gear, I’d say the category that has seen the most technological advances is backpacking tents. Still, a radically different tent comes along only rarely—and the latest is Slingfin’s SplitWing Shelter Bundle, a package of three modular ultralight shelter components that constitutes one of the lightest and most versatile, three-season backpacking shelters available today.

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The Petzl IKO Core rechargeable headlamp.

Review: Petzl IKO Core Headlamp

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Ultralight Rechargeable Headlamp
Petzl IKO Core
$105, 2.8 oz./79.4g
backcountry.com

As we skied back to our backcountry yurt through falling snow on a dark night at the end of a full day of touring in Idaho’s Boise Mountains, my IKO Core brightly illuminated our route through meadows and conifer and aspen forest. But brightness and low weight are just two of the measurable ways in which few ultralight headlamps match Petzl’s rechargeable IKO Core, which has unique design features that would appeal to backpackers, dayhikers, climbers, trail runners, and backcountry skiers.

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The Therm-a-Rest Parsec 32 sleeping bag.

Review: Therm-a-Rest Parsec 32 Sleeping Bag

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Ultralight Sleeping Bag
Therm-a-Rest Parsec 32
$400, 1 lb. 9 oz. (regular)
Sizes: unisex small, regular, and long
moosejaw.com

It was an amazing spot to sleep under the stars for our last night on an early-April backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon: perched on a plateau high above the Inner Gorge of the Colorado River, gazing across the canyon at the Tonto Plateau and South Rim. We waited until dusk had nearly faded to darkness to lay out our sleeping bags atop our completely exposed, flat cowboy-camping ledges, hoping the relentless, strong wind would abate with evening’s arrival and not threaten to launch our bags to New Mexico—but it didn’t. So I burrowed inside my Therm-a-Rest Parsec 32 for warmth—and only opened my eyes once or twice briefly during the night, enough to glimpse the brilliant glow of the Milky Way.

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The Gregory Focal 58 backpack in the Grand Canyon.

Review: Gregory Focal 58 and Facet 55 Ultralight Backpacks

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Ultralight Backpack
Gregory Focal 58 and Facet 55
$270, 58L/3,539 c.i., 2 lbs. 11 oz./1.22kg (men’s small)
Sizes: men’s S-L, women’s XS-M
gregorypacks.com

Starting my six-day backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon with more than the recommended max weight in my Gregory Focal 58 and planning some strenuous days of hiking up to 12 miles with over 7,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain and loss—including seven very steep off-trail miles—I knew I’d put this pack to a serious test. Not a problem for the Focal 58, though, which proved not only comfortable but has a nice feature set, too.

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Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 sleeping bag.

Review: Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0 Sleeping Bag

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Winter Sleeping Bag
Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0
$680, 2 lbs. 9 oz./1162g (regular, 72-inch)
Sizes: short, regular, long
backcountry.com

The forecast made me sit up and wonder: Will my bag be warm enough? For the three nights in late December that I planned to spend in a tent in Idaho’s Boise Mountains, lows would drop into the teens and single digits Fahrenheit—slipping below the “comfort” rating and approaching the “limit” rating of my Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0. And this on my maiden voyage with the bag; I had not used it yet. As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about with this extraordinarily warm and packable, ultralight winter sleeping bag.

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