Backwoods Best Gear is our PREMIUM picks. The best of the best. The gear that stands out among the rest. The gear that is truly exceptional. After we’ve thoroughly tested gear, in some cases we’ll hand out this award for our elite gear pick in it’s respective category. This certainly doesn’t mean others didn’t perform extremely well, but this is what performed the best in our opinion.
The Best of the Best – Our Elite Picks
Best Sleeping Bag
Feathered Friends Raven UL10
WHY? The Feathered Friends Raven and Lark sleeping bag lines are nothing short of AMAZING! If you are looking for a premium sleeping bag while still keeping the weight reasonable, this is your bag. Feature rich, super warm, and the highest quality will make you want to stay in bed.
Best Cold Weather Pad
Exped DownMat
WHY? The Exped Downmat Winter UL is flat out WARM AND COMFORTABLE. This thing is a quilt user’s dream, but pairs amazingly with a good sleeping bag as well. I’ve spent a lot of nights on this pad with both quilts and sleeping bags down into the low teens and never once even felt a hint of coolness coming from the ground. It’s also extremely light weight for a winter pad at just 16.9oz with an R-Value of 7.1. This thing is flat out amazing in warmth, weight, and compactness.
Read our review of the Downmat Winter UL here.
Best Pillow
Exped Down Pillow
WHY? We searched long and hard before we finally settled on the Exped Down Pillow as our elite gear pick in this category. While we tried many excellent pillows, it wasn’t until we tried this one that the selection was made. 5.1in thick and crazy soft, this thing brings home to the backcountry.
Read the review of the Downmat pillow here.
Best Backpacking Quilt
Katabatic Flex 15
WHY? The Katabatic Flex Quilt is one that blew our socks off during testing. It performed much better than its temperature rating, has a TON of features, offers a lot of customization, and just flat out impressed. Even if you aren’t yet a quilt fan, this Katabatic Flex Quilt could change your mind. Being a quilt, it saves you save weight while still letting you keep every bit of comfort.
Best Ultralight Pad
Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated
WHY? The Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated pad encompasses everything you want for a comfortable night’s sleep in the backcountry without adding unneeded weight. This thing is crazy comfortably, feature-rich, ultralight, and warm. If you are looking for that pad that won’t weigh your pack down, but is warm and super comfortable, check out the Sea to Summit Ether Light XT.
Check out our full review of the Ether Light XT.
Best Ultralight 2p Tent
Zpacks Duplex 2p
WHY? At just 19.4 ounces, this thing is a dream. You get a full bathtub style floor, 45 inch width and 7.5ft length, giving you a spacious 2p tent that is easy to set up, waterproof, and the Dyneema fabric is extremely strong for its weight. Top it off with 2 large doors, 2 large vestibules and a 48 inch peak height and you have a shelter that is tough to beat.
Check out our full review of the Zpacks Duplex Tent.
