Gear Reviews
Backpacking Light has built a hard-won reputation for comprehensive and fair product reviews, reflecting our Editorial Values of Objectivity, Trust, Authority, Inclusivity, and Clarity.
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Latest
Osprey Aether 45 REVIEW
Review of the Osprey Aether 45 frameless backpack.
GoLite Jam Backpack REVIEW
The GoLite Jam Backpack is a frameless pack that carries well. A smaller cousin to the GoLite Gust, the Jam offers a few more features and better load stability for smaller load volumes.
Equinox Katahdin Review
Review of the Equinox Katahdin frameless backpack.
Granite Gear Virga Review
Review of the Granite Gear Virga frameless backpack.
Jetboil Stove (Jetboil Personal Cooking System) REVIEW
One of the most innovative products to hit the market. This review summarizes results from more than 600 boil tests.
Moonstone Nitro Jacket REVIEW
The Moonstone Nitro Jacket is a feature-rich rain jacket for the alpinist wanting helmet headroom and a short hem.
Sierra Designs DT Tech Jacket REVIEW
Excellent ventilation and fit, but a poor DWR and zipper durability issues.
Montane eVENT Superfly Jacket REVIEW
Introduction The Montane eVENT Superfly is the most breathable shell we’ve tested. At an honest 15 oz (425 g) the Montane eVENT Superfly is also the lightest hooded jacket using...
Montane Hydra-Lite Smock REVIEW
Introduction The Montane Hydra-Lite Smock is (as far as we know) the lightest fully waterproof rain shell on the market (Smock is UK for anorak or a half-length front zipper)....
MEC Aquanator Jacket REVIEW
A solid choice for the sloppy mountains of the Pacific Northwest, but deviates unnecessarily from the basic design of general purpose backpacking rainwear.
Mont-Bell Versalite Jacket REVIEW
Introduction At 11.4 oz (320 g), the Mont-bell Versalite Jacket is lightweight and full-featured waterproof/breathable rainwear. The jacket includes some very long (18 in, 45 cm) pit zips, two pack...
Haglöfs LIM Ultimate Jacket REVIEW
At this time, the lightest Gore-Tex (Pac-Lite) jacket available in the world - 8.8 oz.
MontBell Torrent Flier Jacket REVIEW
Overview Slipping into Mont-bell’s Torrent Flier jacket is like going to a concept car show and having one of the dealers hand over the keys. This jacket is loaded with...
GoLite Phantom Rain Jacket REVIEW
The GoLite Phantom Rain Jacket weighs less than 12 oz yet provides full weather protection and good breathability with Gore-Tex Pac-Lite III fabric. This is a full-featured shell providing parka-length coverage, pit zips, and generous pocket space.
Arc’Teryx Sirrus SL Jacket REVIEW
Introduction There are two schools of thought for making apparel lighter. The first one, employed by the majority of manufacturers, is to decrease the weight of materials used in the...
2004 Raingear Review and Gear Guide Overview
Gateway page to BackpackingLight.com's 2004 rainwear reviews and rainwear gear guide.
Montane Superfly Jacket REVIEW (2004)
Overview The Montane Superfly Jacket uses a two-layer polyurethane-coated ripstop nylon (30 denier) face fabric in what is one of the lightest fully waterproof rain shells on the market: our...
Patagonia Specter Pullover REVIEW 2004
Overview Patagonia promises simplicity and ultralight durability with their new generation of rainwear for lightweight aficianados, and they appear to deliver with the Patagonia Specter Pullover. Patagonia has stripped away...
(Archived) – BearVault BV100 Review
About this Archived Gear Review This product reviewed in this article has been discontinued and replaced by the BV500. See our latest BearVault 500 (BV500) Review for updated info about...
