2022 Backpacking Light Members Choice Awards

I have at least one item from each of these categories. It’s interesting how these rise to the top in popularity. I wonder how much of that is from social media and marketing. Regardless, these items stay in our packs, so the proof is in the pudding.

One minor note: the Sea to Summit spoon pictured is actually aluminum, not titanium.

the Sea to Summit spoon pictured is actually aluminum, not titanium.

Why do you say that?

Edit:  Oh, I see a correction slipped in before my post….  “Never mind.”

Of the backpacks mentioned, which best carries a bear canister? I have stuck with my heavier Granite Gear Blaze 60, because it carries the load so well with a bear canister inside. I’ve seen people recommending emptying all your food out and carrying a canister on top or bottom, bleh. But maybe one of these packs does it well with a pound less pack weight. My total weight is never over 30 pounds, even with the bear canister.

> Of the backpacks mentioned, which best carries a bear canister?

I’m curious also.

I’m currently using the Bearikade Weekender (31.45 oz) inside the 50L Arc Haul Ultra (20.4 oz).

I haven’t done trips with it yet. Although the can sits above the middle stay it presses into the mid/upper back a bit. My current issue is trying to pack around it well enough so that it doesn’t rock back & forth as I walk, especially given the Arc design. But to cinch it up tighter means the can pressing into my back more. I’ve played around with strapping it on top but that’s worse. I’d need a new strap system to try it on the bottom. I’m not opposed to repacking each time if it’s only got a few days of food in it, which would simply mean dumping rather than careful repacking.

The can will go down to the bottom, but it presses the middle stay out a considerable amount. And – it’s on the bottom and not accessible for midday meals.

Always something to work on.

Mark

“Anecdotally, from reading many BPL threads, I know that an awful lot of people are very happy with ZPacks shelters and packs, so it’s quite odd to me that none of them made the list at all”.

The herd goes for whatever’s trendy at the moment. Joe at ZPacks has been in business for over 12 years now and does about 10 million dollars a year in sales. He’s had mountains of feedback from people who’ve collectively used his gear for literally millions of trail miles. The updated Duplex with its improved cat cuts is a fantastic shelter and that’s why you see HMG copying the fly portion almost to a T (even though the Unbound 2’s HEAVY zippers and floor make it inferior to the Duplex). The Plex Solo and Altaplex are wildly popular worldwide. Also ZPacks Arc series packs are the cutting edge of ultralight….the lightest framed, full featured backpacks of them all (very comfortable as well). The fact that none of Joe’s tents or packs are on the list has me scratching my head too.

I’m not overly crazy about ZPacks sleeping bags though.

Though if you want a cheap backpack that can carry a bear canister very nicely – Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor 40-60 is an awesome pack. Carries weight great and the pack expands to 60 liters and can hold the can nicely and since it is slightly arched – you will not feel the can. It can be had for lesser than 170 bucks right now with sales going on. And when you dont have a bear can, you can compress the pack to 40L or 50 L or whatever. I used this pack for my first JMT hike….

I just finished a thru-hike of the AT, and I used many of the items on this list, some of which I can recommend and others which I cannot (at least not for an AT thru-hike).

Durston Gear X-Mid Pro 2 – I used this tent for the final 6 weeks of my thru-hike, from Damascus to Springer, but I can’t recommend it for an AT thru-hike. The footprint is too large to make pitching on a platform easy, the sides must be guyed out if there is anything stronger than a light breeze, there is no internal storage, and the stuff sack is too short to be able to securely strap it to the outside bottom of most backpacks.

MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe – I started out with this stove, which was great until the brass threading came off on a fuel canister after less than 2 months. I had to go without a stove for several days until I got to the next town. Cascade Designs said it would take 8-10 weeks to get it repaired or replaced (no offer for a loaner to enable me to finish my thru-hike). So I bought the Soto Windmaster and finished my thru-hike with it, because Cascade Designs never updated me on the repair status. Once I got home 5 months later, they claimed they had emailed me to ask for a shipping address (I searched my emails, including Spam and Trash, but no such email was ever sent.) Terrible customer service.

Toaks 750 Light Titanium Pot – I started with this pot, which was fine, but since I only use my pot to boil water I soon switched to the “light” 650ml size, which saved a bit of weight for the same performance.

CNOC Vecto – Mine sprung a leak less than 2 weeks into my hike. I patched it and all was fine, but I eventually switched to using 1 liter LifeWater bottles because I didn’t trust the CNOC when it came to long water carries. I met other hikers who also had to patch their CNOC at some point.

Ursack Major – I used the Major XL, which has a 7-day capacity. But a black bear attacked it just 3 weeks from the end of my hike, puncturing much of the food inside, so I recommend using the aluminum liner accessory that REI sells.

Enlightened Equipment Visp – I was initially impressed with the rain performance of this jacket, but by the 3rd rainstorm it was wetting out almost immediately. It also starting pilling under the shoulder straps. Other hikers experienced the same issues. It’s fine for walking the dog in the rain, but it’s simply not built to withstand a thru-hike.

ZPacks Possumdown Gloves – I like these gloves, but they began to deteriorate towards the end of my hike. They also shed a lot of fuzz. Mice also like them, because one of them chewed the ring finger off one of my gloves (which Zpacks replaced for free). Probably not the best glove option for AT thru-hikers.

Altra Lone Peak – I made the mistake of pre-buying 3 pairs of these for the AT, and my feet suffered for it. Just not enough cushioning and protection from the roots and rocks on the AT. The Olympus are a better option in this regard.

Anyway, that’s my experience after over 6 months on the AT.

Re: carrying a bear canister. People are sick of hearing this, but I use the frame and belt from a LuxuryLite pack, but not the cloth canisters this pack uses. Instead I simply strapped on a large volume frameless pack bag. The LL frame has an L shaped ‘bench’ on the bottom that holds a canister perfectly, sideways. The pack bag I use is large enough to hold a Bearikade weekender sideways inside. It’s absolutely comfortable and the whole gizmo weighs about 2 1/2 pounds. Weight is off my shoulders entirely and onto the luxuriously padded hip belt.

AK Granola, Mark L:  The Mariposa fits a Bearikade Weekender comfortably vertically.  Sleeping bag/kit in the bottom inside pack liner, BW vertically on top of that, with smaller items (cook kit, water filter, etc.) either aside it or atop.  Many folks seem to want the bear canister to go horizontally but I like it to be vertical so I can open and root around in it without extracting it from the pack during the day.  Hint:  With the Mariposa, position the Bearkade at a height that places its top edge securely *behind* the top of the framestay, to prevent back impingement.