Brad Carson

Kitchen prep, cooking, and clean-up all became a single integrated process on the Basecamp Kitchen. Having all necessary items in one spot made the task of cooking as pleasurable as cooking at home. It also helped reduce concerns of little hands getting into things they shouldnt as it allow my wife and me to focus on one spot of concern the Kitchen instead of having all these things sprawled out over a campsite.
Overall stability of the Basecamp Kitchen was amazing. Adjustable legs help in the leveling of the Kitchen.
Setup was a breeze.

The overall effectiveness of the variable fill was good. Honestly, I did not notice much. It was warm, comfortable, a decent fit for me.
The warmth was great. Very well insulated.
The comfort of the material and the softness of the fill were great.
The head area was flexible and I could adjust things throughout the night as needed.
The zipper was smooth and worked very well.
It packed well for the backpack-small, light, easy.

My initial impression of the Screenhouse was impressive! Previously, my family had been using a WalMart bought, pop-up shade canopy. The transition to the Screenhouse significantly reduced the cargo capacity needs of our vehicle and significantly increased functionality. Now, when rain, wind, sun, bugs, cold become issues, we simply close up the Screenhouse and the whole family is protected. Additionally, we can now move all car camping gear into the Screenhouse when we depart for the days events with much less worry of damage or disappearance.
Vertical walls on the two door sides and near vertical on the ends. Usefulness of all interior space was incredible!
Overall stability of the Screenhouse was amazing. Between the exoskeleton and the abundant stake-out points, stability was never a concern.
Setup was a breeze. The exoskeleton was easy and very self-explanatory.
Happy wife happy life. Need I say more????

The Fulrum suspension was impressive. As an owner and long-time user of a Dana Designs Terraplane, I am a historic fan of single-stay/frame sheet suspension designs. In all fairness, I was intrigued to see how the Fulcrum suspension would perform during my early visual inspection of the pack. I was initially concerned by the overall flex of the single DAC stay with the partial frame sheets attached that the top and bottom. In the end, I felt the single stay and partial frame sheets did an OUTSTANDING job transferring weight to the hip-belt. Movement was good and overall I felt this pack could carry a significant weight load.
The shoulder harnesses were SUPERB! Rarely can I say that I experienced no trail discomfort from shoulder straps but that was the case with the Revival. Padding was superb and the die-cut ventilation slots were very much appreciated.
The hip-belt was rigid which allowed for good weight transfer without hip-belt sag.
The pockets were helpful. Typically, Im not a huge fan of pockets. The hip-belt pockets were welcome and very functional.
The angled bottom of the pack gives great clearance on awkward descents, it wont catch and throw you off balance.
The overall comfort was very good. Upon visual inspection prior to departure, I was very concerned about the very stiff foam in the hip-bely, lumbar pad and should-blade padding. This concern proved unfounded in the field.
Love the shove-it pocket.

My initial impression of the Lightening XT 4 is that of a game changer. Before the purchase of this tent, I really did not think it was possible to create a truly backpackable, 4-person tent. The Lightening XT 4 rewrites this rule. In the end, this tent has quickly become one of my favorite pieces of gear.
The Lightening XT 4s floor is posh. This is a true 4-person tent efficient in design, but true to its billing.
Interior volume in frankly remarkable! A true vertical main entry door coupled with virtually vertical walls on the other three sides makes this tent a benchmark for all other designers/manufactures to aim for. This currently serves as my familys car camping tent. My 7-year old can almost stand up in it and my 2 year old simply loves it. In the end, my wife has remarked on several occasions on how much she loves this tent making me the hero of the family!