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We did our best to visit every booth at OR Show this summer and keep our ears to the ground for what was impressive and innovative. There were some impressive things happening in the Backpacking department that we thought were worth mentioning. Here is the backpacking gear that is either on the market now, or up and coming and worth a look.
First on the list was pack and gear maker Boreas. They impressed with a 3 pack nesting “Bootlegger” system that shares the same frame and harness through the 3 packs. Just pop one bag off the frame and you can attach the frame to another pack. The largest pack in the set is a dry bag, so everything can be stored inside that for optimal (and dry) space.
When you talk sub 10 lb anything, you don’t normally think of Kelty. The new “Trailogic” line escapes the expectations by offering a 5ol pack designed to carefully and easily store their 800 fill dri-down sleeping bag (with waterproof head and foot box), inflatable 14 oz sleeping pad and 2-person tent. The whole set comes in at 9lbs 9 ounces and has a price point of $799. While not ultralight, the pricepoint is awesome and the quality looks great… My question? Is this Kelty?
The Trailogic 2p tent uses shorter poles to allow it to pack down into a small rectangular package.
The Optimus heat isn’t new, but coming off the John Muir Trail I better appreciate the benefit of this piece of kit… especially after repackaging all my freeze dried meals into Ziplock bags.
It’s not a new concept, but it was nice to see hammock maker eno come out with their own hammock with permethrin coated bug mesh. The Junglenest will really keep the bugs at bay so your evenings include more R&R.
Exped has come out with some new 2-person sleeping pads. They feature left and right inflation chambers so couples can independently adjust the firmness of their side of the mattress. Oh and for a bit of luxury it can be folded in half for a really comfy night.
Grand Trunk has added a sleeping bag to their line. This model fits around the hammock to save weight on an underquilt. You can use it separately and close off the holes for the hammock too! It is a heavier bag at a bit under 4 lbs, but consider the saving of not needing an underquilt or sleeping pad.
Sierra Designs came out of the woodwork with a whole bucket of new products including two new sleeping bags. This model (showed off by Eileen of www.Rockgrrl.com) hybrids a quilt with handholds in the top to allow more flexibility and comfort as well as better temperature control. On the bottom it has a universal sleeping pad sleeve to help you stay on the mattress at night. Oh, and it does away with the zipper completely!
Sierra Designs’ second bag as designed to double as a down vest to be worn around camp. Although it sounds a bit silly, the concept is quite cool. The hood is more like the hood of a jacket too and fits snugly on your head. The bottom of the bag folds up and hooks onto the back of the bag to stay off the ground so you can wander around camp and stay warm without having to get out of your bag. I would definitely leave my down jacket behind if I had this!
As well as pulling out a new 2-person quilt, Therm-a-Rest has tweaked some of their temperature ratings (adding 5 degrees of warmth to the Antares) and added a women’s line of bags.
Another successful kickstarter campaign, the Alpine Hammock has gone through a lot of revisions to tidy it up, make it more breathable and prepare it for market.
This quick deploy mesh Bivvy or IBNS by Catoma Adventure Shelters caught my eye right away. This 30 ounce item that retails for only $115 is sold out online for a reason.
We had to come back to Sierra Designs to show you what they have been doing with their tents. They’ve put the Vestibules on the side of the Flash 2 with access to them through zip vents on this hybrid 1.5 wall tent. There’s lot of breathabilty and airflow and their design has enabled them to raise the overhang to keep weather out while giving you shelter if you want to cook in the entrance of your tent.
The Flashlight line follows the Flash tents philosophy of keeping your gear out of the tent door by having half vestibules on each side. This line can be pitched with Trekking poles if you want to save a little more weight too.
There was a lot more out there in this department, but this is what stuck out to us. What about you? What have you seen that you liked at the show?
