ultralight backpacking gear reviews

Gear Review: Klymit Insulated V Ultralite SL Air Mattress

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Klymit Insulated V Ultralite SL air mattress.
Klymit Insulated V Ultralite SL air mattress.

Insulated Air Mattress
Klymit Insulated V Ultralite SL
$120, 1 lb.
One size
klymit.com

Air mattresses for backpacking vary significantly in a few ways: comfort, price, weight, and packed bulk—and you often pay more for better comfort or low weight and bulk. But the Klymit Insulated V Ultralite SL bends that rule. So I took this relatively affordable air mat on a three-night, 39-mile backpacking trip in Wyoming’s Wind River Range in mid-September, and camping in Idaho’s City of Rocks in spring, to see whether sleeping on it proves as sweet as its price.

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Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody.

Review: Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody

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Breathable Insulated Jacket
Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody
$249, 12 oz. (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XL, women’s XS-XL
backcountry.com

The range of activities, conditions, and seasons in which you wear a jacket arguably says more than anything else about its value, so I’ll tell you what I’ve done (so far) in my Ascendant Hoody: On a 39-mile, mid-September backpacking trip in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, I wore it in camp on cool, windy mornings and evenings. I’ve worn it as a middle layer on days of skiing downhill at resorts, and as an outer or middle layer skiing up and downhill in the backcountry. And I’ve regularly pulled it on to ride my bike on errands around town this winter. Its versatility derives from having just the right amount of breathable insulation to make it the insulated jacket you grab more than any other all year.

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Gear Review: Brooks Cascadia 12 Trail Running and Hiking Shoes

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Brooks Cascadia 12 trail-running shoes.
Brooks Cascadia 12 trail-running shoes.

Hiking/Trail Running Shoes
Brooks Cascadia 12
$130, 1 lb. 10 oz. (US men’s 9)
Sizes: men’s 7-15, women’s 5-12
moosejaw.com

Lightweight, low-cut, trail-running shoes that cross over well to dayhiking and ultralight backpacking can look similar, but many share the same three shortcomings: inadequate support and cushioning for rugged trails; not enough toe space, especially for longer outings; and uppers that lack the durability for the abuse of rocky trails. Wearing the Brooks Cascadia 12 on fall trail runs of up to 10 miles, and on a 16-mile, roughly 5,000-vertical-foot dayhike of Utah’s 11,749-foot Mount Timpanogos, I found these shoes excel where other models fail at all three of those performance metrics—while still weighing in lighter than many competitors. Here’s why.

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Arc’teryx Cerium LT Hoody.

Review: Arc’teryx Cerium LT Hoody

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Hybrid Insulated JacketArc’teryx Cerium LT Hoody$400, 11 oz. (men’s medium)Sizes: men’s XS-XXL, women’s XS-XLarcteryx.com In the evening shade of a windblown campsite at around 10,500 feet in Titcomb Basin, an alpine valley in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, I pulled this jacket on and instantly felt warmth infuse my torso and arms. Throughout that mid-September backpacking trip in the Winds, wearing …

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The REI Magma 10 sleeping bag in the Wind River Range.

Gear Review: REI Magma 10 and Magma 17 Sleeping Bags

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Three-Season Sleeping BagREI Magma 10 and Magma 17$349, 1 lb. 13 oz. (regular) 10° FSizes: men’s and women’s regular and longrei.com On the last night of a 40-mile May backpacking trip in Utah’s Dark Canyon, a friend and I slept out under the stars and a heavy dew fell during the night. But I didn’t notice it until after waking …

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