The Blue Bomber

I spent way too long looking for the perfect headlamp (as I do with most gear choosing), but I came up with this one because I really wanted the ability to easily switch between short-range and long-range modes. The remix works perfect, is very lightweight, comfortable and has fantastic battery life. One thing I especially like about this lamp is the fact that to change between short- and long- range you actually hold the button down, instead of pressing it a certain number of times (that function is for brightness instead). Also, the button is nice, big, and responsive. I even like the different kind of style employed with this lamp. Overall, I can't think of anything negative to say, so five stars all the way. You won't be disappointed.

I really don't get the point of most pack covers. In a total downpour, there is no stopping the rain from soaking the back of your pack, which pretty much renders the entire idea useless, plus YOU will get soaked. As an alternative, I got myself the S2S tarp-poncho, which is simply a GIGANTIC poncho to cover you AND your pack. No water gets in the back of your pack, and you, yourself, stay dry, too. It looks... ridiculous, but functionally it does the job better than any pack cover could ever do. And in the middle of the wilderness, who cares how stupid you look, right?
Anyway, I gave this 3 stars cuz for what it is, it's made of high quality materials and works... but useless in a downpour. S2S ROCKS THOUGH!!!

It's a giant dry bag to cover EVERYTHING in your non-waterproof pack. Works perfect, like all S2S products. Not much else to say; if you don't wanna spend like $500 on a completely waterproof pack that squeaks at you with every movement than get a regular pack and buy one of these for the same effect.

I will have to admit I was surprised by how small it was when it arrived. I mean, I was expecting (and wanting) it to be small, but wow. This is truly a SINGLE serving pot. That being said, I can't imagine a lighter, tougher pot than this for ultralight backpacking. Use it with the MSR pocket rocket for a perfect combo. The gas canister for the Pocket Rocket fits right inside the Titan along with any very small dishes. I use S2S X-Mug, which fits PERFECTLY inside the Titan, with gas canister on top and pack a tiny towel inside so it doesn't rattle around. Great system.

Only con is the outrageous price, but if you wanna go light, you're gonna spend some bucks.

This thing rocks. When it's folded up, it absolutely stays folded, unlike the x-bowl (but I still love the bowl too). Very lightweight, easy to pack, and it isn't as hot to hold as you might think.

I researched and tried out probably twenty 3-season sleeping bags before I found my precioussssss. I'm a warm sleeper, so this is a FULL 3-season bag for me at 30 degrees. Honestly Western is conservative in their temp ratings anyway. Everything about the MegaLite is top notch. The loft amazes me for being so light and compressible, the zipper NEVER snags, and I even like the burgundy color of it (my bag is not straight purple like the picture above, it's burgundy). It has a highly water-resistant shell and with a waterproof compression bag (I suggest Sea to Summit's eVENT) you will have a supremely light, tiny bundle of down goodness you never have to worry about getting wet.What else can I say? Sometimes I pull this baby out of my closet just to look at it cuz it's so beautiful! This is the perfect bag, and my absolute favorite piece of gear.

I wanted to hate this pad so badly. It's SOOOO overpriced, doesn't come with a stuff sack OR a repair kit, and just sounds too good to be true. Turns out I hate to love it.
I bought one a few months back (I was lucky enough to find a large) and it wouldn't hold air overnight. Thus, I promptly returned it and wrote it off... But since I'm obsessive compulsive, I HAD to try again. Once again, I was lucky enough to find a large (after searching EVERYWHERE for a solid month), and this one holds air better than Michael Phelps. I spent the night on it with the perfect amount of air and it was more comfortable than my bed. Seriously. I also thought I'd hate the sticky coating, but found it to be incredibly useful when I turned sideways and my sleeping bag stayed put (I like it that way). I was skeptical about the "reflective heat surface" but actually noticed that where my body was, IT WAS WARM AS HELL. Seriously. The large size is PERFECT for my fat ass, it's wide enough so my arms don't hang off the side when I'm on my back, long enough so my feet aren't hanging off the edge, and so thick that side sleeping is not a problem at all. Perfect...
So, in the end, I am absolutely PAINED to give this pad 5 stars: there is no stuff sack, no repair kit, and it cost more than my TENT... but after all is said and done, the ability to actually sleep comfortably in the wilderness is priceless. And since my large weighs at least a full pound less than any large foam pads out there and stuffs smaller than most REGULAR sized pads I've seen, I grudgingly bow down to my Neoair. The perfect air mattress.

super lightweight and they indeed keep water out. Enough said.

16 x 16 inches is. HUGE. I guess I didn't quite look at the measurements when I bought this. I have a BA aircore sleeping pad that rolls up smaller than this thing! So yeah, this is NOT for backpacking.
However, I must say that for what it is, it is certainly comfortable. I can't imagine any surface that wouldn't benefit comfort-wise from this giant sit pad.
I originally got this because I like to sit somewhat comfortably and needed something in place of a heavy chair for backpacking purposes. After seeing this thing in rolled and unrolled forms, and realizing it wasn't worth the weight, I ultimately went with the Lite Seat by therm-a-rest, which is super compact, light, and ALMOST as comfortable as this one (though not quite).
So, if you're looking for a huge comfy sit pad then get this baby without further ado. If you're a backpacker looking for a sitting solution: get the lite seat.

I bought this because I got tired of sweating my butt off (literally) in other camping chairs. I chose Kelty because I own two of their tents and know firsthand that their mesh is fantastic. Not only is this a comfy, breathable outdoor chair, but as a bonus, the cup holder is very innovative and functional. Firstly, the cup holder is insulated, so you don't have to bring your own can or bottle insulator to keep your beer cold. Second, it is "adjustable" so you can fit just about any shaped cup or bottle into this cup holder. Super bonus: this chair comes with a bottle opener which is attached to the right of the cup holder by a lanyard!
Also a good thing to know is that this chair is noticeably lighter than other outdoor chairs (because of the mesh), and just feels sturdier. I have absolutely nothing to complain about. This is the perfect outdoor chair.

This chair has the exact same dimensions and functionality as the Kelty Mesh Chair, but without the mesh. Mesh is stronger (compare the weight limits), lighter, breathable for outdoor sitting (which is kinda the point) and only $10 more than this chair. I highly recommend the mesh chair (obviously), but if you hate mesh for some reason, this chair is very good, too.

So, basically this pad is the equivalent of the overrated Therm-a-rest Neoair, only without the "reflective surface" heat barrier. However, the aircore is $100 less, it actually comes with a stuff sack AND it comes with a repair kit which fits into its own compartment of the stuff sack. Also, this pad actually holds air, unlike the neoair. At $50, this 2.5" thick pad is comfy, light, affordable, and packs down nice and small. Very good piece of gear. I highly recommend.
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for less than an ounce, you get a fork AND a spoon in an tough titanium package. What's not to like? Well, I guess the price is a bit much... I certainly have never paid anywhere close to this much for any other silverware, but hey, it's worth it. You'll never need another eating utensil while outdoors.

I think that's all I can really say about this sandal. They kinda make me look like a woman too, even though I had the blackest color. I'm telling you, if you're the type of person that sweats a little when you wear sandals, these will make it even worse.

This is the perfect solution for ultralite backpacking if you're willing to carry just 3 extra ounces to provide some comfort. I use it while camping, backpacking, and I even stick it in my computer bag to carry around campus so I can plop down on it instead of the ground. BONUS: I also use this as part of a pillow system -- I take this pad, folded in half, and shove it inside a therm-a-rest stuff sack pillow... THEN I shove my Western Mountaineering cloudrest pillow in the sack on top of the lite seat for an INCREDIBLY comfy, lightweight pillow. All three things together weigh 11 ounces, and since they're all versatile it's worth the weight to me.

Anyway, if you're looking to save your butt from the uncomfortable ground or an airplane seat, OR a movie theater seat, just get this. It rolls up super small to fit just about anywhere and it only weighs 3 ounces.

I'm pretty new to lightweight backpacking and let me tell you: I did my research on sleeping bags! For my use, I needed something under 2 pounds, and rated to somewhere in the 30 degree Fahrenheit range since I'll mainly use it for summer, early fall, and late spring. Also, I needed something WIDER than most mummy bags, cuz I'm a fatty. I finally narrowed it down to 2 choices: this WM megalite [long], and the Marmot Hydrogen[long]. Both are ridiculously comfy, warm, lofty, clever, full-zip, lightweight, and EXPENSIVE bags. I have had both in my possession at the same time for comparison, and I gotta tell you it's been a REALLY hard decision. Honestly, I still haven't made up my mind. Without further ado, here are some PROs about the Megalite (in comparison to the Hydrogen):

*its shell is more water-resistant
*The zipper is closer to the ground, creating less chance of draft
*The stiffening tape zipper guards are TOP NOTCH on this bag. I can't even make it snag if I try! Marmot's are very good, too, but definitely not AS good as WM.
*The stitching right outside the face muff creates a larger pouch for down to collect in, creating an outstanding and comfortable "cloud-like" top portion to snuggle into.
*The Megalite has a draft collar as well, which is far superior to Marmot's (Marmot's shouldn't even be called a draft collar).

And now the CONS:
*When comparing the stuff sacks that are included with each bag, the Marmot packs much smaller: 7x10 compared to megalite's 6x14. I realize that a compression sack would pack the Megalite much smaller, but WM strongly recommends compressing no further than the stuff sack they include, and I'd like to think they know a thing or two about sleeping bags that I don't know about so I'll oblige.
*The stiffening tape, while amazing at avoiding snags, also becomes somewhat annoying when side-sleeping, because you feel it there (even through the draft tube)
*The main zipper pull is two-sided (meaning there is a zipper pull outside AND inside), unlike Marmot's ingenious "wrap-around" singular zipper pull. When the Megalite is zipped all the way up and you're side-sleeping, the bulge it creates is incredibly annoying and JUST in the wrong spot by your face. This may seem nit-picky, but I am a side-sleeper (obviously), and this is almost a deal-breaker for me. I always switch sides, too, so simply getting the zipper on the opposite side would not solve this problem.
*The hood and drawstrings are not quite as comfortable as Marmot's. There is also a small bit of velcro to "fasten" the zipper pull in place, which I found to be completely unnecessary.
*lastly, and this is SUPER ANNOYING: when you unzip the Megalite all the way, the zipper becomes un-done SOOOOOOOO easily, and is a pain in the ASS to re-attach. This is especially bad when you're using it as a quilt on a hot night and then wake up at 3 to discover you're freezing and all you want to do is get in your bag and zip it up but DAMN IT!! It came undone and now you need to get your flashlight to fix it! And thus, you sleep all the worse because of it. The Marmot does not have this problem; it has a truly LOCKING zipper.

So, all things considered, the Megalite's zipper is simultaneously its greatest strength and greatest weakness. And others may not find these zipper problems annoying at all, in which case I HIGHLY recommend this seriously lightweight and AWESOME bag. Since I did find so many things to complain about, though, I'll have to give it 4 stars instead of 5. And now that I've made this list of pros and cons, I think I'm gonna have to stick with the Hydrogen after all. I hate to nit-pick, but for the price of these bags I expect perfection.
FINALLY, allow me to apologize for turning this review into a comparison, but hey, maybe you'll find it useful.

UPDATE 6/10/09:
OK so I re-compared these two bags and decided that the Hydrogen isn't all good after all. It doesn't loft up as efficiently as the Megalite, which is most likely because the Megalite has more baffles to evenly distribute the down. I also discovered a way to not have the zipper annoy me so much on the Megalite, which is a loftier, and sturdier looking bag by far, so I have decided in the end that the WM Megalite is my go-to bag. It rocks the house, and I'm extremely happy with my decision. I suppose when I first reviewed this I was being WAY TOO picky (probably cuz I was worrying about how much money I spent, and was just looking for problems). When I just relaxed, I realized the Megalite tops the Hydrogen. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 30 degree bag. Not to say Marmot makes bag bags, but in this case, WM comes out on top.