The Thermarest Space Cowboy 45 is a good summer backpacking sleeping bag. It’s small size and light weight make it easy to carry. It’s a synthetic-fill, ultralight sleeping bag designed for summer use. The list price for the bag ranges…
“Thermarest? Don’t they just make sleeping pads? How would they know anything about a good sleeping bag?” Those were my thoughts when I first heard that Thermarest had released a newly-designed “Fast and Light” line of human warmth burritos (sleeping…
I’m a big guy that loves light gear and often times those two things don’t go together. At 6’1”, 225 lbs (and being a side sleeper who actively rolls from side to side at night), I can easily become the…
William O. Douglas recalled fondly of his friend Roy Schaffer in his book “Of Men and Mountains,” “He slept in a bed with white, clean sheets and commented, ‘Never slept inside but what I caught a cold. Wish I had brought…
During the summer months, I’m in the mountains as often as the weather (and my job) allow me to be. Over the years I’ve tried to make my hiking pack as light as possible but there’s one thing I just…
Let me preface this review by saying that my search for a replacement multi-day pack has just about pushed the boundaries of friendships, store clerks and maybe even manufacturers. Whether it’s that I have somehow grown into in-between sizes that…
The Gregory Baltoro 65 L is a feature-filled pack that’ll feel comfortable through long days on the trail, and hold up through a beating. I took the Baltoro out on an overnight into the Alaska backcountry in February. We toured…
The Mountainsmith Scream 55: the ultralight backpack for those who wish to carry more than the bare, 3-season essentials. In testing the Scream 55, I wanted to take this backpack out of the traditional, 3-season ultralight backpacking environment, and highlight…
When it comes to backpacking gear, especially anything ultralight, I’m like a kid in a candy store – well when I first got wind of the Octal 55 Ultralight Backpack by Gregory it was no different! Reading the specs on…
When I go backpacking, it’s typically to reach a highpoint. I’m going to be covering a lot of ground and gaining a lot of elevation, I’m going to carry my overnight essentials along with my summit assault necessities. I’m looking…