My personal recommendations for ultralight and lightweight backpacking gear for 2018-2019 – gear that I’ve used all year in 2018 that includes the good stuff that’s staying in my kit for 2019!
Gear Guides
Gear Guides offer a cursory overview of a product category, with a summary of available products with their features, specifications and applications compared. Gear Guides offer less emphasis on field performance than in a State of the Market Report (i.e., this is sort of a “SpotLite” version of a State of the Market Report), but increased emphasis on showing the breadth of the product category. Gear Guides are a great resource for comparison shopping as a starting point for further research.
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Lightweight Trekking Pole Reviews & Gear Guide
This lightweight trekking poles gear guide discusses the scientific justification for/against poles, and features reviews of 14 models.
Dehydrated and Freeze-Dried Backpacking Dinners (Gear Guide)
This gear guide features several dozen options for freeze-dried and dehydrated backpacking dinners from many different brands and provides nutritional information on each one for comparison purposes.
2017 Backpacking Light Staff Picks
The Backpacking Light Staff Picks Gear Guide offers what we consider to be our personal recommendations for high-quality, high-performance, lightweight backpacking gear that we’ve actually used this year.
Publisher’s Gear Guide: My Personal Lightweight Backpacking Gear Recommendations
A summary of gear that I’ve used in 2017, and enthusiastically recommend for lightweight backpackers this holiday season.
Staff Picks 2016: Our Favorite Backpacking Gear of the Year
View our staff picks for the best backpacking gear of the year – recommendations from our editors and guides for hiking and backpacking gear.
Hiking Underwear & Shorts – Men’s (Guides’ Notes)
Underwear acts as a moisture (sweat) transfer layer to keep you reasonably dry “down there”. This guide highlights some important considerations about materials, design, fit, weight, and performance criteria when selecting a pair of hiking underwear (or shorts).
Best Ultralight Backpacking Gear of 2015: Our Staff Favorites!
This article summarizes our staff’s best backpacking gear of the year – the ultralight hiking, backpacking, and camping gear they pick as their favorites for their annual adventures.
2014 Staff Picks
Backpacking Light’s staff is some of the most passionate backpackers around. Take a look at the ultralight gear we use and treasure.
Gear Guide: Ultralight Inflatable Pillows
Neck problems? Back problems? An ultralight inflatable pillow may be an ideal solution, but don’t dive in head first. Read this first to see which ultralight pillows are the best.
Gear Guide: Packrafts
Review the current offerings in the packraft market and find out which boats are most appropriate for a variety of purposes including alpine lake fishing, incidental river crossings, flatwater boating, expedition packrafting, and whitewater paddling.
ISPO 2014, Munich, Part 3
We’ve covered the materials, the combinations, and now ISPO wraps up with a look at some innovative ski gear.