Gear
Backpacking Light offers in-depth gear reviews and gear guides, a used gear swap, a curated gear shop of recommended lightweight backpacking gear, shopping and research tools, and more.
You can also use the Gear Finder to search for gear on sale, and browse gear-related content by Brand or Gear Type.
Featured Gear Reviews
Superior Wilderness Designs Rugged Long Haul Review
The Superior Wilderness Designs Rugged Long Haul is a 35 to 50 L internal frame backpack weighing 2 pounds made from Ultra and EPX fabrics.
Outdoor Research Flurry Sensor Glove Review (Updated)
The Outdoor Research Flurry Sensor Glove (2.5 oz / 71 g, $40) is the warmest glove I've found that I can use effectively with a smartphone.
MSR Pro Bivy Review
The MSR Pro Bivy weighs less than 10 ounces (285 g). It's a very compact, feature-less bivy sack that embodies the essence of bivy sack camping.
Featured Gear Guides
Bear Canisters: Design, Use Cases, and Reviews
We hope this guide will help you understand bear canisters a little bit better. You'll learn about various testing agencies, bear canister design, materials, usability, and user experiences. Lastly, we’ll make some recommendations for bear canisters that reflect unique combinations of value, weight, and capacity.
Navigation and Communication Devices: Strengths, Limitations, and Use Cases
In this video, I will cover various types of navigation and communications devices, their benefits and limitations, and use case scenarios where you might use one or a combination of multiple devices.
Staff Picks 2023
Our staff selects their favorite hiking, backpacking, and other backcountry gear that they’ve used in 2023 - the next edition of our infamous Staff Picks!
Recent Member Gear Reviews
Recent Gear Swap Listings
Shop for Gear
Today's Gear Deals
Backcountry.com
Memorial Day Sale Is Here! Gear Up For Summer Outside. Up to 50% off. Sale ends 5/29/2023.
Enlightened Equipment Warehouse
This deal links to the Enlightened Equipment Warehouse, where you can find both overstocks and "scratch-and-dent" deals (lightly used, or gear with cosmetic blemishes). This is a great way to get high quality EE gear and apparel at 10-20% discounts.
On Sale Today at Gossamer Gear
This deal links to all current items on clearance at Gossamer Gear. These include overstocks, discontinued items, and more. Gossamer Gear makes a popular collection of ultralight backpacks, shelters, and trekking poles in addition to curating a gear shop of ultralight and often hard-to-find accessories.
Patagonia Web-Only Specials
This deal links to current web-only specials at Patagonia. These products include web-exclusive gear and apparel not sold in Patagonia retail stores or outlets, discontinued and overstock items, out-of-season products/colors/styles, and more.
