ultralight backpacking gear reviews

The Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5 ultralight backpack.

Review: Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5 and 45+5 SL Backpacks

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Ultralight Backpacks
Deuter Aircontact Ultra 50+5
$260, 55L/3,356 c.i., 2 lbs. 15 oz./1.33kg
Deuter Aircontact Ultra 45+5 SL
$250, 50L/3,051 c.i., 2 lbs. 11 oz./1.21kg
One adjustable size in both models
Aircontact Ultra 50+5: backcountry.com
Aircontact Ultra 45+5 SL: backcountry.com

To put Deuter’s updated-for-2024 Aircontact Ultra 50+5 ultralight backpack through the paces, I took it on a pair of quite rugged but also quite different backpacking trips this spring: a three-day hike through southern Utah’s Owl and Fish canyons with a max weight of about 30 pounds in the pack, and six days and about 60 miles backpacking the Grand Canyon’s Gems Route, repeatedly carrying extra water—and starting out with more than 40 pounds inside, including over 10 pounds of water and 11 pounds of food. As I expected, those trips revealed much about the Aircontact Ultra backpacks and why they might appeal to lightweight and ultralight backpackers.

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The Marmot Hydrogen 30 ultralight sleeping bag.

Review: Marmot Hydrogen 30 Sleeping Bag

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Ultralight Sleeping Bag
Marmot Hydrogen 30
$399, 1 lb. 9.4 oz./720g (regular)
Sizes: unisex regular and long ($419)
backcountry.com

For backpackers prioritizing low gear weight who don’t tend to get cold very easily, a sleeping bag rated 30 degrees Fahrenheit can function as their go-to for most three-season trips. And Marmot’s Hydrogen 30 remains one of the perhaps three highest-quality and warmest ultralight mummy bags at this temperature rating, as I affirmed sleeping in it for two nights on southern Utah’s Owl and Fish canyons loop in early May, four nights in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains in August, and five nights on the Grand Canyon’s Gems Route in mid-April.

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The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Mid-1 ultralight solo backpacking tent.

Review: Hyperlite Mountain Gear Mid-1 Ultralight Solo Tent

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Ultralight Solo Backpacking Tent
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Mid-1
$599, 16.8 oz./476.3g
hyperlitemountaingear.com

After crossing Texas Pass, at around 11,460 feet, a friend and I descended into the incomparable Cirque of the Towers in Wyoming’s Wind River Range, reaching the shore of Lonesome Lake—where the sky suddenly darkened, soon followed by thunder and lightning. We hustled to pitch the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Mid-1 as a temporary shelter and both dove inside just as the full force of that thunderstorm walloped us with pounding wind and rain, even spawning a new, little stream that flowed under one end of the tent. But we stayed warm and dry inside it while waiting 30 minutes or more for the storm to pass. And that’s just one tale of the weather the Mid-1 endured, demonstrating its value as one of the very best ultralight solo backpacking tents available today.

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The Nemo Hornet Osmo 1p ultralight backpacking tent.

Review: Nemo Hornet Osmo 1p Ultralight Tent

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Ultralight Solo Backpacking Tent
Nemo Hornet Osmo 1p
$400, 1 lb. 13 oz./822g
backcountry.com

The wind never cut us a break while backpacking in the Wind River Range in August. For hours a day on the trail, it literally knocked us off-balance at times. And then it pounded us every night. Finally, on our last evening, it blew in with a violent thunderstorm that generated gusts probably exceeding 40 mph/64 kph and perhaps reaching 50 mph/80 kph, accompanied by driving rain for several hours. Although a friend (in another tent) and I didn’t sleep a wink until that storm abated well after midnight, the Nemo Hornet Osmo 1p kept me dry and survived those tempests while demonstrating its strengths and nice design features.

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The Himali Accelerator Down Jacket.

Review: Himali Accelerator Down Jacket

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Down Jacket
Himali Accelerator Down Jacket
$330, 12.5 oz./354g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL
himali.com

On cool mornings and windy evenings in the low 40s Fahrenheit (4-6° C) in campsites while backpacking the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park and the Nigel, Cataract, and Cline Passes Route in the White Goat Wilderness in the Canadian Rockies in August, my Himali Accelerator Down Jacket kept me perfectly warm over just one or two base layers. By many measures, this midweight puffy hits the target for three-season mountain adventures in its balance of weight, packability, warmth, materials, water resistance, and features—all at a competitive price for a high-quality down jacket.

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