ultralight backpacking gear reviews

Gear Review: REI Flash Insulated Air Mattress

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REI Flash Insulated Air Mattress.
REI Flash Insulated Air Mattress.

Insulated Air Mattress
REI Flash Insulated Air Mattress
$100, 15 oz. (regular, 72x20x2 inches)
Sizes: regular, regular wide, long, long wide
rei.com

Spending significantly less money on gear usually means getting significantly less performance, but that’s not the case with REI’s newly updated for 2017 Flash Insulated Air Mattress, I decided after sleeping on it for several nights, on a 40-mile May backpacking trip in Utah’s Dark Canyon Wilderness and camping at Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve in June. While it doesn’t rank number one for any usual measure of air mats (like most comfortable or lightest), it just may deliver the best value, dollar for dollar, of any air mat designed for backpacking.

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Gear Review: The North Face Ultra Gore-Tex Surround Mid Hiking Boots

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The North Face Ultra Gore-Tex Surround Mid boots.
The North Face Ultra Gore-Tex Surround Mid boots.

Hiking Boots
The North Face Ultra Gore-Tex Surround Mid
$190, 2 lbs. (US men’s 9)
Sizes: men’s 7-14, women’s 5-11
backcountry.com

The heat and humidity fell onto us like a wet blanket; I broke into a sweat just lacing up my boots for the dayhike of 3,740-foot Cerro Chato, a dormant volcano with close-up views of its larger and more-famous neighbor, Arenal Volcano, in Costa Rica’s tropical Northern Lowlands. And yet, I wanted waterproof-breathable boots for Costa Rican trails notorious for slick mud. The crazy-steep path up Cerro Chato would not only challenge us physically, it would challenge the breathability of The North Face Gore-Tex Surround Mid boots. It would also help me assess whether these very lightweight mid-cuts are the answer to chronically wet hikes in persistently hot, humid conditions—which you don’t have to go to Central America to find, as any hiker in the Eastern U.S. can confirm.

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Gear Review: Black Diamond ReVolt Headlamp

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Black Diamond ReVolt
Black Diamond ReVolt

Rechargeable Headlamp
Black Diamond ReVolt
$60, 3.5 oz. (with 3 AAA batteries, included)
moosejaw.com

Updated in 2017, Black Diamond’s ReVolt rechargeable headlamp quickly became the one I grabbed from a drawer full of headlamps, for trips ranging from backpacking 40 miles in May through Utah’s Dark Canyon Wilderness, to backcountry skiing for four days in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains and camping in Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley. Beyond the convenience of running on either its USB-rechargeable NiMH batteries or standard AAA alkaline batteries, it offers a variety of modes and features not found in other headlamps—including BD’s PowerTap technology to instantly cycle between brightness settings, plus being waterproof—at a competitive price.

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The REI Flash 45 in Utah's Dark Canyon Wilderness.

Gear Review: REI Flash 45 Backpack

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Backpack
REI Flash 45
$159, 47L/2,868 c.i., 2 lbs. 14 oz. (large)
Sizes: men’s medium (45L/2,746 c.i.) and large, women’s small (45L/2,745 c.i.) and medium (47L/2,868 c.i.)
rei.com

The challenge: Backpack a three-day, 40-mile loop in Utah’s Dark Canyon Wilderness, staying as light as possible, but having a pack capable of hauling extra water without compressing my spine. It struck me as a good opportunity to test out REI’s latest iteration of the Flash 45 backpack. Having used and reviewed the previous version of the Flash 45, I was curious to hike with this newly updated sack—which has gained about 10 ounces compared to eight years ago (not bad, compared to most people), but also appeared capable of handling more weight comfortably than its predecessor. I discovered that much is true, and that’s among a few improvements to a backpack that’s still under three pounds and, more remarkably, under $150.

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Gear Review: Scarpa Epic Lite Shoes

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Scarpa Epic Lite shoes.
Scarpa Epic Lite shoes.

Hiking/Approach Shoes
Scarpa Epic Lite
$135, 1 lb. 14 oz. (men’s Euro 42/US 9)
Sizes: men’s Euro 39-47/US 6-13, women’s Euro 36-42/US 5-10
moosejaw.com

The hardest footpath to the top of the highest peak east of the Mississippi, North Carolina’s 6,684-foot Mount Mitchell, runs you through a gauntlet of character-building trail conditions lurking in those rough Appalachian Mountains. Hiking the Black Mountain Crest Trail entails climbing a cumulative 3,500 vertical feet over 12 miles on an earthen rollercoaster that traverses 13 summits above 6,000 feet, over ground littered with wet, slick leaves, while hopping the occasional small pond of mud and carefully treading over slippery roots and granite slabs. I could hardly have thought up a better place to try out Scarpa’s new Epic Lites. And I’ve worn very few models of shoes over the years that handle all kinds of terrain as nimbly as these.

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