stg-sectionhikercom-buttons.kinsta.cloud Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs

The Nashville Packs Cutaway Backpack is a 40L frameless rolltop pack that’s a dream to carry for ultralight backpacking, thru-hiking, and even day hiking. While it’s loaded with external pockets so you can reach everything you need during the day without having to stop and take off the backpack, its most innovative feature is its vest-style shoulder strap system and …

Winter tents and shelters for mountaineering, winter backpacking, and backcountry skiing tours need to be stronger for camping in exposed windy terrain that is subject to snow loads. Our preference is for lightweight tents and tarp shelters because no one wants to lug a heavy tent all day when climbing a peak, snowshoeing, or backcountry skiing if it’s avoidable. What …

Black Diamond Distance Spikes are microspikes (lightweight winter traction devices) specifically designed for use with trail runners. They’re really quite ingenious and worth getting if you use low shoes with a soft mesh or textile-covered toe box for winter running and hiking. The main thing that makes them different from Hillsound Trail Crampons Ultras or Kahtoola Microspikes is a softshell …

What are the best gifts you can buy for an ultralight backpacker who’s a minimalist and eschews material possessions? It’s a quandary, isn’t it? Here are some tried and true gear favorites that all ultralight backpackers lust for. They may be minimalists, but they like great gear just like everyone else! Here are 20 of our top gift ideas for …