Ian Pickard

All of the reviews for the Marmot Helium bag seem to be for the men's version. I bought this bag for my wife to use in the spring and fall backpacking seasons. Some bags, big agnes rectangle bags in particular, claim to be rated to 15 degress but most fall short. This bag easily keeps my wife warm down to the low 30's upper twenties with no complaints, we have never tested it below a temperature of 25 degress. My friend bought his girlfriend a Big Agnes lulu which is also rated as a 15 degree bag but synthetic. The loft between the bags is incredibly different (so is the price). The helium lufts up 3+ inches higher with a noticably more even distrubtion of down. The fit on the regular is great for my 5 ft 3 in wife, enough extra room to bury into the bag or keep your clothes in the footbox. My only complaint is the stuff sack, it takes me about 5 minutes to get this thing packed in and I rarely get the sinch all the way closed. Maybe the down will compress further with more use and this will become easier. You get what you pay for in a sleeping bag and this is one of the best bags in the market.

Pricey tent but you get what you pay for. You get all of Marmot's excellent tent features plus the extra large size. Easily fits a family or a couple with cots and extra gear. Fully set up with all guylines staked out, the tent is very firm. It can easily withstand steady wind without shifting and the full coverage fly is fully taped and waterproof. The fly covers all the way to the floor seam of the tent and stakes out to keep water from touching the seam. The vents on the fly are tiny, in hot and humid weather sleeping with the fly on is uncomfortable. With the fly removed there is a large amount of mesh that allows for great ventilation. Set up is fairly tricky with a peak hight of 6.2 inches. You have to heave the fly over the tent and pull it down to the clips. There is an incredible amount of room inside the tent and you can easily stand up straight in all corners due to the design. The hanging pockets and vestibule ground covers are great additions. I would recommend the ground sheet to keep your tent floor clean and safe. Expensive price tag but a great value with the design and additional features.

I don't have a need for a winter sleeping bag but I do like to camp in the shoulder seasons when temps can drop down to the 30's. I picked up the reactor liner for myself and the reactor plus for my wife. If you really want the extra warmth i'd grab the reactor plus. Its noticeably thicker and does add substantial warmth (Sea to Summit suggests it adds 20 degress while the reactor adds 15). Again, extra comfort, keeps your bag clean, and adds warmth for 9oz. I was on the fence on if this was worth $60 but it is totally worth it. You can also use it as your bag in the summer or take it on travels when you don't trust the bed sheets.

I picked one of these up for my 40 degree bag when an early fall trip dropped down into the 30's at night. This liner is light, very comfortable, and warm. I enjoyed the feel of the liner, no sticky silk feeling. At 9oz it isn't much extra weight and in the summer you could use this instead of a bag.

I bought this after a hot summer trip to the Smokies. After realizing that the campgrounds had no showers and having spent 4+ days on the trail before hand, we really really needed a shower. I didn't want to buy one of those ridiculous 5 gallon showers you can get from walmart so I went with this one. The pack size is great, perfect for backpacking but still holds enough water to get a good shower in. If you are expecting water flow like your shower at home, forget it. You get a steady flow of water but you will have to do a lot of scrubbing and rinsing to get your self clean. I like this thing, sturdy construction, simple design. Its a nice luxury especially if you are sharing a tent and want to keep your wife happy!

I love this pack. I struggled at first when look at the osprey line because they range from 10 to 30 liters in size. I went with the manta 20 becuase I wanted a day pack that could work for short mountainbiking trips to all day rides. This pack is perfect for MTB. Stays super tight with hip belt straps, chest straps, and shoulder straps. The bladder has a rigid back so it doesn't slosh around when you are riding some bumpy singletrack. Perfect for an extra layer, food, your tools, extra tube, and your water. I also love this pack for day hiking. It has all the features of a full sized pack. Hip belt with pocket, trail pole strap, hydration bladder, included rain cover, etc. I bought one for my wife and she loves it. Certainly a little heavy but you won't find another 20 liter pack with all of these features. Get it!

I bought this along with the osprey manta 20 backpack to do both mountain biking and day hiking. The bladder is great on my mountain bike. It doesn't slosh around on bumpy singletrack and stays put on the manta 20. Magnetic bite valve is a huge plus becuase I don't have to stop riding to get a drink. Get this over a camelbak.

Great for backpacking. Super small and light, you can fit it inside your backpack just about anywhere. Its nice for making dinner and sitting around your campsite at night. With a headlamp you are constantly blinding your friends when you look them in the face, with this lantern you can shed light on your campsite without getting your headlamp thrown into the woods. Light output is plenty and the dimming feature is great for inside the tent.

These are great around a campground. Set it on your picnic table and you have 20-30square feet of light. Carry it with you to the car or the bathroom. You can get the fuel canisters everywhere around the US and the mantles are not hard to find either. The mantles last for a long time as long as you are careful when you move the lantern. If you touch the mantle they turn to powder. Everyone should have one of these for car camping.

I needed a new winter jacket for every day use and I decided to go with this. I don't do much winter climbing or mountaineering so I can't speak to its performance with these activities. But for every day use its great. It has a comfortable fit and the hood has great goverage of your face and neck. Its a simple coat with out many pockets or fancy features. Super warm jacket. Now I agree with some comments that the fabric is not really made for everyday use as it is a thin polyester. If you want a warm coat this is great. Pack size is perfect if you are traveling, just fold it into its own pocket and throw it in your bag.

I wear this almost every day. I always get a good sweat going when I'm outside even in cool weather. This hat breathes so well, the sides are an open mesh that breathes. I love the fit and how it looks.

Packs great into a suitcase or backpack and you don't have to worry about bending the bill becuase it folds in half. Great fit and great for sun / rain. Even though it is not water proof it stills keeps your head dry in light rain. Not the most fashionable hat but its great for a hiking and backpacking.

I hate having a cold neck and cheeks in the winter. This does a great job covering your skin and keeping you warm. It stops the wind and keeps your collar draft free. Fabric feels great and it has good coverage.

These stakes are the strongest i've used. You can still bend them but they take a lot of force with out giving way. Good design for rocky soil, but i can't imagine they would work well in sandy soil. The length is the longest i've seen for tent stakes and can get in the way if you are backpacking.

I've never used these for its true purpose as an emergency heat blanket. I use it more as a ground sheet for when I am using a tarp tent. It reflects the heat/cold so you stay warmer at night and keeps you dry when the ground is wet. For $16 bucks it is a great substitue for a heavier ground sheet.

This rack is perfect for 2 mountain bikes, diamond back Overdrive 29'er and a GT Avalanche. I think the fit is tight on a 2" hitch, the threaded bolt needs a 7/16 spanner or ratcheting socket wrench. The threaded bolt really sets the rack tight and stops any wobble. It takes about 30 seconds to put the rack on your car and probably 5 minutes to get your bikes on. The anti-sway bike cradles are stiff and hard to move and the rubber straps can be hard to undo. Great rack though and I trust my bikes on it.

You can't go wrong with the q towers. I have them on a 2010 Nissan Rogue with the q-clips. Fit is great and they are very stable and can take weight. I use them with bikes and canoes. They also look great on my Rogue and give it a sporty outdoor look. No issues at all, I feel very confident that these towers can take it!

I bought this for my wife to go backpacking with me. She loves the fit and it has all of the features of top quality packs. Its tough to buy a pack online and I would highly recommend finding a local retailer to get a true pack fitting. Packs are like shoes and they fit everyone a little differently.

Excellent pack. Tons of features, very comfortable suspension, back padding, and padding in the hipbelt with adjustable fit. Cinch top with buckels to tighten the top towards your back. Easy to pack with the side zippers going from top to bottom behind the front pouch. Hydration compatible with opening for a tube, hiking pole loops with cinching top loop to keep your poles tight on your pack. 2 bottle holders with zippers to hold smaller or larger bottles. Hip belt slowly adjusts to your body over time and gets really comfortable. Tons of adjustments to get the perfect fit and the buckles don't slide under weight. Compression straps on the sides, top and bottom, tighten to pull the weight towards your body. I target 30-35lbs and have done 60+ miles on a 6 day trip with this pack. I love it!

These were marked in backpacker magazine as an editiors choice award in 2010 for having excellent tred and waterproofing. The tred is adequate but the lugs are so deep that they never really get much use unless you are in snow or mud. They are no help in ice or slick pavement. The waterproof has never failed in ran or shallow stream crossings. I found them to be a little too narrow for me and they took a few weeks of regular use to break in before I felt comfortable. I also would not consider them to be a "Mid" level hiker. The ankle doesn't have a close fit so it provides 0 extra support. They are really a low hiker with a little more coverage. I still really like them but I bought them becuase of the review in backpacker magazine and I would of rather bought a different shoe.

I'm not really a fan of keen's original sandal, to wide around the toes and difficult to fit in to. But these shoes are great. They fit like a glove, have great support, and have great ventilation when its hot. If you want a keen shoe I would go with these over their traditional sandal, I think they look great and they go really well with khaki pants if you are dressing casual.

This is my goto rainjacket for backpacking. Its cut tight so it doesn't bunch underneath a backpack, the hood has good coverage and moves well with your head, and the pockets are big enough to hold what you need. I'm average size 6'0" 190lbs and the large is a good fit. It is just big enough to layer the montbell ul down inner jacket in a pinch but if you want to do this very often I would go a size up in the Mica. I've worn this thing in serious rain downpour and the 20/20k rating keeps it all out, it outperforms more expensive jackets. When i'm not wearing it I pack it into a sandwich ziptop bag and keep it in my pack. Its awesome and well worth the money!

These work, nothing fancy, but they lock down your rack and any add-ons. Only thing I found when installing them is that you cant tighten down your Q towers too tight or else the lock will not turn to close.

I've tested this a few times and it is what it is ... I've never had any bears around it so I can't speak to it's ability to stop bears from getting your food. However, this canister is solid and isn't hard to use in normal conditions. It is large, too large for a solo trip, but perfect for 2 people's worth of food. Its true, you can use it as a seat which is actually nice but there are much lighter options for seats when you are backpacking. I would never use this unless actually required to by park rules. Normal bear bag techniques using a stuff sack and paracord works fine.

This is a luxury item if you plan on using this as an overnight shelter. It keeps bugs out and also provides some privacy becuase it is difficult to see through. It makes it a little more difficult to get in and out becuase the zipper is in the middle of the hammock. You can also through a few light items underneath the hammock becuase this net is closed at the bottom.

This hammock is great for so many reasons. First of all it is really comfortable. If you are just napping or sitting around just use the hammock. If you are going to sleep the night, I would use a sleeping pad. I use a thermarest neo air that is slightly deflated to mold with the shape of the hammock. You can set this hammock up ANYWHERE. The slap straps make it easy but you can come up with a 100 ways to hang this thing, just look up pictures on ENO's website. You can also set it up as a chair. I have the double nest and I have no problem using it by myself or with my wife. Combine it with the bug net and the dryfly tarp and you have a great set up.

I really like this bivy. In truth, I don't really consider it to be a bivy becuase it would provide NO shelter from any element except for bugs and maybe the occasional leaf that might blow by in the wind. It won't block the wind, stop rain, protect you from the sun, or provide warmth. I use this as as my 1 man ultralight tarp tent set up. I use a tarp for the fly and I use this to protect me from bugs and other living creatures. Together it is an extremely versatile shelter system for spring, summer, and fall that comes in at about 2.5 lbs. This bivy is fairly roomy especially around the head and shoulders and has a wide opening door to make getting in and out simple.

This isn't an essential item and for $40 dollars really isn't necessary but it is a very nice thing to have. At 1.9oz you won't have any guilt for packing an expensive coffee cup on your next trip and it makes for a great cup of coffee in the morning. Strong and it fits in the titan kettle.

This towel is fantastic for backpacking or base camping. This towel is soft, small, rugged, and well designed. It performs like a shamwow and absorbs an incredible amount of water. This is great to towel off after a swim or drying pots and cook ware.

This helps in the wind / rain / cold. It increases the performance of the stove and makes for faster cooking times. I have had trouble with refolding this and getting it to stand right and effectively surround the stove. It is a lot harder to get the thing to 'close' like the picture shows. I usually have 1-2 inches of space where the 2 ends come together. I use this windscreen every time I use my stove.

This thing is a powerhouse. You can't beat the price for its performance. I love firing this simple stove up and having boiling water in 3-4 minutes. It is tough to use a pot any bigger than 1 liter but if all your are cooking is simple food or just boiling water this is your stove for sure.

These are great. Very durable, a number of sizes, and lightweight. I have the small size for short weekend trips and the large for week long trips. I use about 2/3 of a bottle of the small 11oz on a weekend trip making 5-6 meals. I have had serious problems with overtightening the cap. I had a scare when I couldn't get the cap off and I was 25+ miles from the car. Don't over tighten and you'll be fine.

I will usually use the MSR pocket rocket when I'm backpacking but I choose this stove when I need it. I use this in colder weather, if I'm expecting rain, there are strong winds, or I'm cooking food that takes a little more skill. This stove has a lot of power and works in cold weather. The support arms work well for large pots and you can 'simmer' with this stove to cook food that is a little more gourmet then the food you would cook with a pocket rocket. This is a good stove that works inbetween the boundaries of lightweight backpacking and comfort focused camping.

These are great. So light and an extremely small pack size. This isn't what you want if you like to get head to toe dry but if you are a backpacker that wants to get a quick dry off and dry your cookware, this is perfect. The size makes it a 'no question' item when you are backpacking and you can through it in your pack anywhere. I'm always amazed with how much it can soak up. In warm weather this is all you will need for a towel.

Things I like and things I hate. Small pack size becuase the handle slides up into the trowel but the button is hard to press especially when it is 35 degrees out and your hands are freezing. The metal construction is great and it works well in rocky and hard soil. It is what it is, a way to dig a hole for you to lighten your load in. I still think it is one of your best options.

I didn't prefer the tight fit of this hat. It doesn't have a flatering fit but it does do a good job of blocking the wind. The tight fit also wasn't very comfortable but if you are wearing it under a helmet it might be nice.

I love this jacket. Weighs less than 8oz, packs small, blocks the wind, and keeps you warm in a variety of climates. I've used this during 20 degree mornings and stayed warm while packing up camp and cooking breakfast. Fits tight and is made for layering as the nylon can tear with heavy abuse. I layer it under a marmot mica jacket when backpacking long distances or wear it as an outer jacket around camp. It is incredible how well this jacket can block the wind. I prefer the down over the synthetic version.

It took some convincing for me to pull the trigger and buy this sleeping pad becuase of the $$. However, it was worth it! Light, warm, most comfortable, and packs super small. It is a huge plus over any other sleeping pad out there. The only downside is the price but this isn't for the value minded backpacker. I've heard rumours of a 2011 neoair that uses a less heat reflective material but knocks about $40 bucks off of the price. I love my neo air and all of the jealous looks i get from friends trying to go lite with the z lite or prolite.

These are light weight and very very strong. My only concern is the rope that you use to pull out the stake. They knots that come pre-tied often break, I have fallen over on my a** when one of these broke. If you can retie a better knot, there is no real issue.

This actually makes good coffee. You just keep pouring water through the drip until you have brewed the amount you want to drink. It takes some babysitting becuase you have to poor a little in, wait, and then poor more until you are done. I like it for car camping but I wouldn't bring it on a backpacking trip, not worth the luxury of drip coffee when you can just bring Starbucks Via's.

As far as I can tell there is no difference between these and the tent line kit except that these are made out of metal so are most likely stronger. I love these little tightners and use them all the time to keep guy lines tight on my tent, tarp, or any time I am lashing something down that I don't want to fuss with a tight knot every time I try to get it out.

These are simple to use and very light and small. Tents never come with enough guylines and these are great. 8ft is plenty of cord and the rope tightners really work, I have never seen them slip. The uses for these go way beyond tent lines, any time you need to keep a cord tight.

I have cut this into 8ft sections to use as guylines for my tent. Super strong, light, and thin. I have also used this to replace shoe strings and fix a strap on my backpack. This has so many uses and for only $8 you have got to get it!

This has as many uses has duct tape. My main use is for stringing up a bear line to keep my food and backpack off of the ground while camping. I have also used this to lash a cooler to a canoe, tying things off on my pack, and to string up a tarp. You have to get this.

Good simple stake with a sturdy design, it can stand some heaving hitting without bending. I bought these to replace some Marmot tent stakes that came with my Twilight tent.

This is great if you eat pouch meals while backpacking. You don't have to dig your hand into the bag while using a shorter spoon. You can also stir food in a cook pot with out burning your hands. Also, if you use a stove system with a deep pot like the JetBoil, than this is a perfect utensil to use.

If you are comparing this between the snow peak option, choose the one from backcountry.com! It is light and sturdy and all you need for eating. The quality is fantastic and I haven't been able to see any difference between the 2 brands. If you look, the handle has a brushed look while the business end of the spork has a polished shiney look. I'm not sure what the purpose of this is but it makes for a smooth eating surface. I like it! Also, many of you are probably using a plastic spork, upgrade to the titanium, it is very light and strong.

Not the easiest thing to eat with but still a great backup or lightweight choice. I got this spork to fit inside my cooking pot. I used to use a longer spork but it was akward to pack in my cookware set. This spork is light and short.

There are 2 things I really like about this plate. First of all, it is very durable and would take a lot of punishment before it breaks. Second, it has deep walls. When you are trying to balance a cup on your knee and a plate on your lap while sitting on a log, the deep walls really help you not spill your food all over your campground.

This is a super light pot for backpacking. The shape, tall and skinny, fits perfectly on any canister stoves. Water boils rapidly in this pot but titanium is not the best for even heat conduction so simmering is difficult. This pot works great if you are only boiling and pouring hot water. The lid fits very tight and is hard to get off when the walls and lid are too hot to touch, also the handles can't be touched while cooking unless you have a glove or bandana. If I am going to cook in the pot I just set the lid on top with out pushing it on so I can easily pull it off. I nest the titan cup inside this pot.

Great fit, breaths well, and dries quick. Doesn't get that funky smell after wearing them for a few days. These may be my most favorite pair of hiking socks and I even wear these to work. I like these more than smartwool.