WBWallace

This pack is great for short trips. I'd look at buying one of the larger packs for longer trips. My dog was able to carry about two days food for our two dogs in the pack. It's adjustable to comfortably fit on your dog. My dog carried the pack through hiking and swimming for three days with no problems.

Perfect base layer. This base layer is great for wicking moisture away from your body. The zip design allows versatility for a great range of temperatures. You can zip it all the way up when the temps dip or zip it down to vent body heat when needed. I wore it on a recent backpacking trip for three days of hiking and bouldering with no smell developing on the mid layer. I'll be purchasing another soon.

We just took our Kid Comfort III on a three day backpacking trip through the Sipsey Wilderness in Alabama and it performed flawlessly. Our year old daughter loved riding in the pack and my wife carried her the entire trip with no problems. The pack was comfortable enough for our daughter to catch a nap when needed. The pack was also great for carrying our daughter's diapers, wipes, food, and clothes. I would recommend this pack to anyone looking to take their young child out in the backcountry.

The MSR Quick 2 Cooking system is lightweight and useful. I ditched the two cups in order to nest my MSR Whisperlite International stove, MSR folding sporks, a salt & Pepper shaker, and a dish cleaning brush. The I have two complaints/recommendations for the cookset. The pots are too deep for cooking pancakes. The set would be better if it included a skillet. Also the nonstick pan isn't really all that nonstick, thus bringing the rating down to four stars. Overall a great buy and the best cookset I've owned.

This tent is great! Do you enjoy backpacking? Do you have a family? Don't carry multiple tents. Don't bother with trying to squeeze into a smaller (most likely heavier) tent. This tent weighs less than one pound more than my Kelty Streamside 2, which is at most a 2 person tent (it's a tight squeeze). This tent is the definition of ultralight, yet has bombproof construction. The tent has amazing floor space and headroom. The fly is ingenious in design. The fly creates two roomy vestibules for your gear and muddy boots. The fly also has an awesome ventilation system that will keep that condensation out of the tent. Who wants to wake up in a terrarium? I can't say enough good things about this tent. You have to try it to believe it. Way to go Big Agnes!

These pants are awesome! First of all they are the most comfortable pants I've ever worn in my life. They maintain this status while also being lightweight, durable, and functional. I recently wore them for several months in Afghanistan and followed that up by wearing them on a three day backpacking trip to the Sipsey Wilderness in Alabama. The pants held up well against rock scrapes, briers, and the occasional scrape across downed trees. I took the liberty of doing a little bit of bouldering in them and was pleased to find the stretch fabric performed excellently. My pants never became an issue while climbing. The water resistant fabric also held up well against a light rain and battles dirt and stains well. I will be purchasing many more pairs of the Piero Pants.

This shirt is 100% awesome! It is super soft and extra warm. I'd say it runs a little bit larger than normal. I wear a medium/large in most brands and this medium fits me well. I'd recommend getting one in every color for the winter months. The only suggestion I'd make for improving the shirt would be adding those neat tab/button combo things to keep the sleeves rolled for those times when it warms up a bit. For the lack of the keeper tabs I'll give it 4 stars.

This shell is awesome. It packs down a little smaller than a tennis ball and is crazy light. At first glance your thought will be: "there is no way a material this light can be durable". Your first though will be wrong. This thing can hold its own! As another review says, if you damage this shell, you'll likely be damaged yourself. Obviously it's not going to hold up as well as a goretex set, but treat it right and this shell will keep you comfortable come wind or rain. Pair it up with the Vicente fleece and a baselayer for those cold rainy days.

These pants are pretty nice. They are a lightweight packable pair of rain pants that look like they will hold up really well. I believe The North Face made the new ones much tougher than the original design. The zippers down the sides are great for putting these on over your boots. These pants do have an "alpine fit" so don't expect to get them on over anything baggy. They would likely work best in inclimate weather over a good form fitting base layer. They bunched up my cargo pants a little in the crotch area when I tried to put them on as a shell. All in all they are a good pair of pants, just keep in mind you may be a little limited on what to wear underneath. If you are looking for a pair of weather resistant pants I'd look more towards the Mountain Hardwear Piero Pants, they are also very water resistant but they also stretch and have more pockets. They may negate the need for a rain shell.

This is by far the best fleece I've ever owned. The 100 weight polartec fleece is great for layering. I plant to use this fleece as a midlayer when the temps dip below freezing. Currently I use it for an "only layer" while lounging around. The side panels on this fleece do a great job of moisture control with a waffle weave wicking inner layer. The front panel of the fleece has a soft comfortable mesh on the inside to improve wind resistance and breatheability. I purchased this fleece for it's technical qualities (not for the style) but it looks great! Immediately after taking it out of the box, I had other Marines asking me where to buy one. I can't wait to hit the trails with it this winter.

Whether you are new to backpacking or a seasoned veteran this is the stove for you. This stove my be a few ounces heavier than some, but it will NEVER let you down. Don't get caught up in those jetboil type fuel canister stoves, they will fail on you when you need them the most. This stove follows the K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple stupid) mantra, making it the most reliable stove in the world. If you have a flammable liquid, you can now cook your dinner. This stove comes complete with two jet nozzles. One for thin liquids such as white gas, alcohol, or paint thinner. One nozzle for thicker fuels such as diesel or kerosene. The international also has a wick in the primer cup for the harder to light fuels such as diesel that makes lighting this stove a breeze. This stove is excellent at boiling water in a hurry, but is capable of doing more delicate "fancy cooking" with a little practice and a little know how. This is the last stove you will ever buy.

This tent is great! Do you enjoy backpacking? Do you have a family? Don't carry multiple tents. Don't bother with trying to squeeze into a smaller (most likely heavier) tent. This tent weighs less than one pound more than my Kelty Streamside 2, which is at most a 2 person tent (it's a tight squeeze). This tent is the definition of ultralight, yet has bombproof construction. The tent has amazing floor space and headroom. The fly is ingenious in design. The fly creates two roomy vestibules for your gear and muddy boots. The fly also has an awesome ventilation system that will keep that condensation out of the tent. Who wants to wake up in a terrarium? I can't say enough good things about this tent. You have to try it to believe it. Way to go Big Agnes!