Your Best Gear of 2010

[Weiyi Wang]

I think it is the time to do this!
Let me kick off by listing my best three.

NB MT101 running shoe.
I love the minimum design. I almost wear it everyday. And my joints feel awesome on the trail!

SMD Gatewood Cape.
light on the back, bomb-proof on the ground.

Quilts
I switched to quilts this year. started with a golite 3-season, loved it. Just got a Katabatic Palisade, cant wait to use it in the field!

[Stephen M]

PHD Ultra pullover, gooses feets trousers, mitts, balaclava and booties :-)

[kevperro .]

My favorite gear in no particular order:

ULA Catalyst Pack: I love it. This isn't new for me but it is a comfortable pack with plenty of support for the loads I carry. I'm going to buy an Ohm sometime this year for my shorter trips.

Marmot Arroyo: This is new and I only have two trips with it but it is a nice roomy bag that is comfortable to it's temp rating at a reasonable 27oz, packs small and was $200.

WalMart Trekking Poles: No… these are not the lightest or best trekking poles I've ever owned but they are the cheapest! At $18.88/pr they give the cheapskate in me the biggest thrill.

[Mark Ryan]

I second the down booties!!!!

[Mark Verber]

Inov-8 310 Flyroc shoes + Injinji socks for blister free miles
Nunatak Ghost Blanket + NeoAir for sleeping comfort
ZebraLight H51 for perfectly adressing my lighting needs.

Other gear I really like on my perfect gear? page.

–mark

[Vince Contreras]

In no particular order…

Valandre Shocking Blue
Maratac black anodized, CREE Q5, single AAA flashlight
ULA Catalyst
Hilleberg Allak, Red
MLD 475 cup
Pivetta P-8's (actually from 1975, but I just got 'em this year)

[Larry Dyer]

-Montbell Exlite Jacket – so light and so warm
-Esee Izula – bomber knife that weighs just a hair over 3 ounces with the factory sheeth
-Fenix LD10 – I haven't weighed it yet but IPX-8 or whatever it's called water proof standard, multiple brightness levels, a pocket clip (I can clip it onto a trekking pole strap too) and up to 132 lumens off of a single AA? What's not to like other than the lack of headband?
-La Sportiva trail runners – they're like wearing cleats!

[Jack H.]

My Spot 2.

[Alex H]

SMD Swift, 17 oz. and carries 30# with ease.

Holux M241 Data logger, a gps logger that records distance, gives your location plus other details for 1.9 oz. with battery.

[Dave Heiss]

Vincent,

Wow, I had a pair of Pivetta 8's that I bought in the mid 70's and wore for about 10 years. God I hated those boots! They were unbelievably stout, and never really did "break in". When I saw the Pivetta name I had a flashback to the ankle and lower shin pains those boots always gave me. YMMV (and I hope it does).

2010 highlights were a New Balance Fugu jacket, a monocular, and an iPhone4 that also does duty as a GPS and e-book reader.

[jeffrey bennett]

My best gear of 2010 are:
#3 Ibex Indie Hoody
#2 is MLD speedmid with the netting option.
#1 is the awesome Jolly Green Giant pillow from kooka bay(bender).

[Dave Myers]

#2 Inov8 Roclite 288 Boots
#1 SMD Swift '10 Pack

[Mike M]

neo air- I've never slept so comfortable in the back country, it's light and very low volume- w/ a r value of 2.5 I'm good to about freezing w/ it

MB exlite- 6 oz for size large, the small weight belies it's warmth- I cut my down jacket weight in half (Patagonia down sweater) w/ very little to no penalty

Fallkniven WM1- just shy of a 3" blade, stainless- stout 1/8" blade, but still comes in at 2.5 oz, that's a lot of knife for under 3 oz!

[Martin Rye]

1. Gossamer Gear Gorilla pack
2. La Sportive Crosslite
3. Mountain Laurel Design Superlight bivy

[John Devitt]

1. Custom Montbell UL SS
2. Jam Jr. pack
3. Snowpeak Gigapower stove
4. SL-6 tarp w/SL-4 nest (family car camping trips)
5. merino base layers

[philip winin]

Z-Packs zero medium pack w/ padded and pocket hip belt and chest strap

Merril Ottawa pro water shoes – I wear them for hiking, masonry work and concrete work. I just got done shoveling snow in them. Great sneakers.

grog

[Andy Anderson]

1. EB FA Downlight Sweater…it was a steal for $50.
2. A brand spaking new Golite Ion, size large…currently being modified by Javan Dempsey, can't wait to see what he does to it.
3. A lightly used WM Summerlite from Bradford Rogers.
4. Cocoon Down Pillow, small but better than my balled up jacket.
5. Golite SL-1, used but in mint condition.

All of the above were purchased from Gear Swap.

[Kathleen B]

1. KookaBay sleeping pad – way better than the Neoair I tried last year.
2. Liberty Ridge wind shirt – kit from Thru-Hiker.com. I tried 3 store-bought ones before I made this one. 2.5 oz, and I use it constantly.
3. Not really gear, but this has made the gear more usable:

[Brandon Sanchez]

#2 Golite Ultra 20
#1 SMD Swift '10

Both HIGHLY recommended

[Raul Perez]

ULA OHM

Atlas 1230 snowshoes

Salomon XA Pro GTX trail runners

MH Elkommando kilt

Dynaglide Whoopie sling hammock suspension

[EndoftheTrail]

1. Big Sky Mirage 2P tent
2. Gossamer Gear LT4 poles

[David Chenault]

1: Alpacka Yukon Yak w/ spraydeck
-most versatile and inspiring tool for wilderness travel since the rucksack

2: My MYOG packs
-perfect for my needs

http://vimeo.com/15764558

3: Tenkara Amago
-made fly fishing fun again

[as usual, please restrict to items with 5+ night in the BC]

[Ken Thompson]

PT Byte Headlamp

Evernew Pasta Pots, both sizes

FF Down Booties

New Home sewing machine from the thrift store. Like new!

[Miguel Arboleda]

Yikes, Ben. You've gone over to the dark side! ;^P

[Weiyi Wang]

Hi Ben,

What options did you get for your mirage 2p? What is the weight? any comments on the performance of this tent?

willy

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