In the Backpacker Magazine 2008 Gear Guide is this year’s winner for lightest freestanding tent: the Big Sky International convertible 1-person tent at 1 pound, 12 ounces with tent, outer shell, and carbon fiber poles. Of course, the carbon fiber poles are an extra $100 and you need to add 2.7 ounces for stakes, […]
Kudos to the editors at Backpacker Magazine who once again have created a must-have annual gear guide. This year, they review 621 packs, 483 boots, 363 tents, 480 sleeping bags and more. As a gearhead and ultralight backpacking hawk, it’s nice to have so much of what’s available out there listed in one place.
In […]
(08-08) 04:00 PDT Jeffrey Grove, Kern Canyon — From our perch on a boulder above the river, you could see three dark silhouettes in the pool below.
“They can’t be fish,” said my brother, Rambob, “because they’re too big.”
The morning light poured down over the Great Western Divide and to the floor of the Kern Canyon. […]
On my recent trip to visit a friend in Lake Shastina, in the shadow of Mt. Shasta, I checked out a couple of backpacking shops in the nearby town of Mt. Shasta. It’s a vibrant little community, which serves as a crossroads and supply station for hiking, backpacking and climbing.
In one shop I discovered the […]
Backpacker Magazine’s 2007 Gear Guide lists the Hilight Tent - 2 Person by Black Diamondas the lightest two-person tent. At 2 pounds, 10 ounces, it’s definitely among lightest — certainly among free-standing tents (those you can pitch without staking down). My own Sierra Design Light Year, a solo tent, weighs in at about 3 pounds, […]
Backpacking Gear List Series, focusing on ways to achieve the lightest possible pack.
Backpacking Gear List Series - Base Pack
Going Lightweight Begins With the Base Gear - backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent
Many of the new small, lightweight tents offer an easy-access side entrance. Having a large opening on a small tent and then being able to literally roll sideways into bed is a big plus.
I've owned several tents that open at one end and require you to crawl in feet first. This is a real pain […]
