Jim Saunders

I was apprehensive as I waited for delivery. I ordered one from another three letter company that will remain nameless. I had a gift card... so sue me. Anyway, I do not always carry a water bottle but when I do I don't want it in my pack. This pack was purchased to keep my climbing gear and light pack stuff in. My old method was a stuff sack w/ cold water bottle inside and it always sweated on my gear. I don't like bladder systems much but this has a cool exterior pocket for that too. I was not sure this had side bottle holders... it does! Yay!!! The hiking pole holders and other inventions are beautiful design and well received. I saw one review where someone was blasting Osprey for the inability to put your cell phone in the little pocket on the shoulder strap. Why do you take a cell phone on a hike? Leave that electric leash at home. Gum fits. Snack bars fit. My E-trex Vista Garmin fits. Just saying. This pack rocks as a mid size and is bigger than you think. I would 3-4 day hike with this easy. Plenty roomy and I am 6'1 and 235

Can loose it due to color. Current temps in NC hovering in the 93 degree range. I hope this proves to be as warm as it looks with a bit less weight. Nice fill. No apparent loose or full spots. Zips seem to be well designed. Not sure about draft collar or any other features yet. Guess I could go sleep in the freezer at the Grocery

I have an older adventure. The good. Clean fresh tasting chem free water. Immediate results. No pumping, no cleaning, no wet pump and filter bag in your pack. Light easy and really cool. With the new flashlight feature (although I use a headlamp) multi-purpose is always good. Great for out of country trips.

The not so good: (batteries and no sun means no clean water so a redundant system is almost always necessary) I camp with Boy Scouts... who always want to use my steripen. It really does not do well when needing 30 liters of water at one time. Has problems some times with not so clean water and cold water.

I for one love not tasting chemicals in my water after 4-5 days on the trail. It goes with me.

Only two problems I have with these socks. One is I got a pair for Christmas and now I am hooked and the other is that the price is pretty high. Good news is that I always pick these first if they are clean and sometimes when they are not. My favorite summer weight socks bar none. Fit like a dream and never smells.

This bag took me down to 20 easily in the back of a pick up bed without cover. The head draw strings were a bit unusual. Only major problem is the zipper set up on this. The double zippers zips only halfway and that was not working for me. I guess if you spend time sitting up in the bag this may be for you. When I am up I am out. The half zip made midnight necessity trips near impossible. This one is going back. Also the stuff sack failed. Be careful as it is sil-nylon and is not really rugged. If you need a warm inexpensive bag to sit up in this is it.

I wrote another review on here about my first one that leaked after a while. I did get a replacement from REI but still go to BackCountry first (if I am not in a rush). The new pad is leak free so far. I have logged at least 30 trail days and several hundred miles with this pad and would not trade it. Light and thick. Just too dang expensive. Come on therma rest... give us a break :)

Cant adequately rate yet. It is much smaller, lighter than the 0 degree bag from Northface. I am not sure what I am loosing in thermal tolerances. Seems well put together. The stuff sack is a bit strange but seems to work ok. There is a small pocket for ear plugs and other sleep related things. I have not pulled it on so I cant comment yet about size, fit or function.

Seems to last longer than a typical snack. The first bite has a slightly rancid taste like peanuts beginning to turn... very very slight but then by bite two or three it is gone. Perhaps I got some old stock that needed to be rotated. It would not stop me from eating these or buying again.

Great color in high vis yellow. I used it skiing and was very easy to spot on the slopes. Has just want you need with no extra weight or useless stuff. Fits snug and has loads of face protection. Have not been in rain yet but it does a great jub slicing through cold winter wind with a polar fleece layer.

I should preface this by saying this is not recommended for me. It may be a great bag for someone that does extreme cold camping but this just does not pack small enough for me. I have about a 4,000 ci pack which is big enough to do Philmont 10 days of Rockies but this bag takes up half that space. I ended up compromising to a 15 degree that drops a pound and a half of weight and about half the size. Have not used either on trail yet.

I can't rate the effectivness of this bag as I never used it. It was nice looking. Glow in the dark zippers and the small pocket for ear plugs seemed very well thought out. The hood was pretty sweet I thought as it seemed to be cut to cover most of your face. I sent back the MontBell Spiral Hugger 2 down bag and the difference in weight and size was mind blowing. Montbell was about 1.5 pounds and the size of a nalgene. I was getting cold in the montbell in the teens and this was to replace with a synthetic. This bag weighed in at a mega 4 lb 6 oz. Worse was the fact that it just won't compress... It is huge. It looks like a bag of football gear and even in the compression sack was too big for my Osprey 70 liter pack. I bet it is warm but I can't justify the weight or size. Probably fine for car camping or really really cold camping but the size is just too much. The picture may not be a fair comparison but it is the mountain hardware ultralamina 15 degree... 15 degree difference in the bags, this one is almost 1 1/2 pounds lighter and is less than 1/2 the size compressed. Also about $20 bucks cheaper on sale. Proof is in the pudding. Hiking 5 days in the teens this coming week. I will let you know on the MH ultralamina

Have not used it yet. Climbing wall the 11th of December and will get some use then. It is comfortable and adjusts well. Just wish back country would put a black goat sticker in the mix... or red or carolina blue... so I could put it on the helmet.

We finished Philmont last summer Trek 22 which was a South to North route over Tooth of Time and Baldy. Approximately 110 miles with pack and 10 days of provisions including the extras that adult leaders always feel obligated to carry and this puppy is just plain awesome. If it broke tomorrow I would buy another instantly and will be the only pack I recommend to our troop. If you are new to packs, this is comfy and cheap. Buy it now!

I hate hats of any kind, so to write a review of a hat is off-putting but this one is a necessary evil. Fits well, does not block view. Easy to adjust. I bought the white to reflect hot summer rays and it works ok... hat free would be better but I could get a nasty bonk and subject myself to further school absences. My only questions is when will Backcountry send me a black goat sticker for my white helmet?

Nice fit althought the neck hole is a bit large for me and I am not a superfit person so the slim european fit of these is a bit unflattering but I really like the antismell properties. It is very lightweight. More reminds me of a nightshirt which is what I will use it for. Very light!!

Heavy weight cloth and really feel bomb proof. They seem to dry quick. The zipper hole could be longer as it is a bit uncomfortable to me for... well you know!

As summer has just arrived have not worn this much as I hate hats in general but the wide brim and larger than average but adjustable fit won me over. Also pretty light. Mesh keeps me cool. I expect this to be my saving grace this summer in the heat of central NC

Update. Love this hat!!! Love it love it love it!!!

Great until your butt touches the ground at 3:00am. Mine leaked. I got it from REI due to a gift card for Christmas and I hope to take it back but not likely to get a replacement like BackCountry... It is an air mattress and I kind of expected it to leak but have only had it about 6 months and used it less than 5 times. I am pretty careful with it and have always used a sheet of tyvek under it.

Love the new longer length. They are comfortable and save the knees. I think you would have to really try hard to find lighter trek poles for the price and with the flicklocks locks and the straps they are really easy to use or stow. Never had em slip once and I am 6'2" 235 lbs. Only problem I have is when you loan em to someone and can't get them back. Love em.

Super light weight and really waterproof these are great for small stuff in the small sizes. I would recommend seeing this before buying unless you are really good at mentally judging the space you need. I would recommend also buying one size. They apppear to be pretty tough too.

Nice light weight bivy. The inside of the sack is somewhat silicone feeling and it is a bit grabby on my bag. Be very careful of your sleeping bag zipper. Mine caused a catastrophic tear on the first use. I am waiting for another. My thought is to use this + the thermolite reactor from Sea to Summit as a combo for warm weather camping without the sleeping bag, add a summer bag plus this for fall and spring and add a winter bag plus this for cold temps. I have a tarp tent from Henry Shires that really keeps the rain off, so I am not sure if this cover performs with heavy rain or not. It did well with condensation, so I will be using this as my tent this weekend... All in all, it is right on time weight and size-wise... just be careful. One hundred and fifty + beans is a bunch of cash for 7 ounces of fabric if it won’t stand up. My only other suggestion is a zipper on the bivy as it is difficult to get in and out of. There is another RAB ultra bivy that may not be quite as waterproof but is seam free, sports a partial zipper, and is about the same weight for less money (90-100). Still, Gotta trust the Montbell name

This pad is comfortable. I will give Therm-a-rest that. The price is way too high and they should be embarrased charging additional for the stuff sack. That said the only other suggestion I can muster is that they should make a 25 inch wide by 45-60 inch long version. Less weight and less time to inflate. I just hope she holds up to abuse. I also agree with one of the other users and slept in the back bed of a pick up at about 25 degrees and it was not holding the cold at bay. I usually keep an old peice of therm-a-rest pad cut down to about 20"x30" to sit on, kneel on, wave at the fire...etc. and I put this under my core. That helps!!!

I have had this pack for 3 months and have logged at least 100 miles with my German Shorthaired Pointer. This is the only thing (and the bike rides) that keep her sane. She requires miles of exercise daily and the pack weight helps wear her out. Otherwise she just does laps around our 2 acre yard all day. We have been building her up with about 10% body weight. So far the only problem is that the felt lining on the straps sometimes allows the excess tails to come out. Not a big deal and I am not going to cut them off. Very well balanced pack.

Great backup water supply container but hard to drink out of and the small top is easy to loose. Weighs nothin.

Love em!

Has a metallic taste... Easy to clean and refil. The top not being attached may get lost but guess you could tie it with a peice of string. Mouth is a little big to drink comfortably on the move but much better than the Quart Nalgene. I found a thing called the "top top" for my nalgene that is a screw cap that has another screw cap that is smaller for drinking and now prefer the nalgene.

After a 25 year hiatus from living in a nylon home I am preparing for a trip to Philmont with my local BSA troop. I have to get geared up again. I was looking for a tent that would sleep me and gear and have room for a friend if one came along. I tried the Mountain Hardware LightPath but I could not sit up. At 6'1 and 240 I am not made for todays bivy sack mentality and the sheer thought of sleeping in a tent that small for extended stays in the rain even alone was claustrophobic. I found this tent online and was worried about buying a tent from a company online without the chance to "test her out". Backcountry showed me their "warranty" and I was blown away. I got the tent on a Wednesday and was missing parts. I called at 5 EST and told them I was due to sleep in the rain on Friday with the scouts I called and told them of the problem with missing parts. Thursday morning at 10:30 am EST a new tent was on my doorstep no questions asked and the tent had been checked before being sent. This tent for the size is huge. I am used to the old Timberline pole tents of BSA lore and this is bigger, and taller. Pretty light as well. I have not used it yet as the Friday trip was canceled due to Tornado watch and flash flooding. Hope to get it out there soon. Thanks Backcountry for superb service!!!