Blogs

February 18, 2012
Deuter AC Lite
Courtesy of Deuter

Meet the pack that’s as ready to hike as you are – the Deuter AC Lite 22 Backpack. Deuter (pronounced ‘doy-ter’) makes the AC Lite ready for your sweat. It has a mesh back tensioned with a spring steel frame so there is an air pocket between the hiker’s back and the pack.

February 15, 2012

EcoVessel AquaVessel and BoulderIf you want to drink safely from the stream and still enjoy the chill of stream water, check out the AquaVessel from EcoVessel. This stainless steel bottle comes with a filter integrated into the drinking straw and is double-walled designed to keep water cold all day. The lid features a silicon covered straw for ease of drinking and a loop for security. The filter is made from activated coconut shell carbon...

February 13, 2012
MSR MicroRocket
Courtesy of Cascade Designs

Lightweight, compact and fast. I love all these adjectives when talking about backpacking gear. All three can also be applied to

MSR’s new MicroRocket canister stove. The MicroRocket stove has a micro weight of 2.6 oz/73 g making it lighter than MSR’s popular Pocket Rocket. The Micro isn’t just lighter though.

February 12, 2012

NeoAir XLite Women's RegularIn 2009 Therm-a-Rest revolutionized the sleeping pad industry with the NeoAir which uses a reflective barrier and triangular core matrix. This combination keeps the pad weight down in the ultra light range yet maintains the thickness, warmth and comfort formerly found only in luxury pads.  Therm-a-Rest has expanded their NeoAir line over the last few years and the XLite is one of the newest models.  The XLite has a tapered design to save 15% in weight over the original NeoAir.

February 11, 2012

MountainSmith Scream 25Whatever takes you outside for those quick jaunts or longer dayhikes, the Mountainsmith Scream 25 is a perfect daypack. The pack stuffs into its own side pocket and compresses down to roughly the size of a Nalgene bottle. Weighing in at a measly 15 oz, this 25 L pack can carry up to 20 lb and can hold enough gear for summiting or any dayhikes.