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REI Kingdom 6 Tent Review

REI Kingdom 6 Tent Review

REI’s Kingdom Series was created for families and groups whose priority is space, comfort, weather protection, and livability while camping. The Kingdom 6 feels huge and sturdy in camp, but packs down small for your car and storage at home. REI Kingdom Tents are our top all-around luxury choice on our list of the 10 Best Camping Tents.
REI Grand Hut 4 Tent Review

REI Grand Hut 4 Tent Review

REI Co-op designed the affordable, yet high-quality Grand Hut 4 and Grand Hut 6 to make camping comfortable while keeping nasty weather out. The Grand Hut has lots of headroom and will allow you to fully stand up inside, but it also comes in a compact, easy-to-pitch package.
Jetboil Flash Cooking System Review
A hiker at camp, sitting in front of a tent, screwing the JetBoil Flash pot onto its burner. One hand stabilizes the burner and fuel while the other hand tilts the bottom of the stove into the burner to screw it in place.

Jetboil Flash Cooking System Review

Among integrated canister stoves, this is one of the most affordable and dependable options with lots of nice extra features.
REI Magma 15 Sleeping Bag Review
A man sits up in a sleeping bag with the hood over his head. He is smiling and looking off camera.

REI Magma 15 Sleeping Bag Review

This sleeping bag is ultra comfy, warm, and much easier on your wallet than others with similar specs.
Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol vs. NEMO Switchback Review

Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol vs. NEMO Switchback Review

Closed-cell foam sleeping pads are a popular option among thru-hikers and lightweight backpackers on a budget, and the Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol has dominated that market for many years with very little competition. New in 2019, the NEMO Switchback offers some long overdue updates. We were curious to see how the two matched up, so we tested them side by side to determine a winner.
SlingFin Portal Tent Review

SlingFin Portal Tent Review

This tent excels in stormy weather with features borrowed from 4-season mountaineering designs like reinforced internal guylines, the ability to attach trekking poles for more stability, and thicker dedicated poles.
Osprey Exos & Eja Backpack Review

Osprey Exos & Eja Backpack Review

The Osprey Exos 48 & 58 (men’s) and Eja 48 & 58 (women’s) are extremely comfortable, lightweight backpacks…
Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Sleeping Pad Review

Sea to Summit Ether Light XT Insulated Sleeping Pad Review

New in 2019, the Ether Light XT Insulated is their lightest and thickest insulated sleeping pad yet. This new model incorporates the comfortable “air sprung cells” we love from their other pads with a lofty 4-inch thickness to prevent bottoming out. With an r-value of 3.8 and a durable build, the Ether Light will be a great fit for most 3-season backpacking trips.
35 New and Exciting Products From Outdoor Retailer 2019

35 New and Exciting Products From Outdoor Retailer 2019

The CleverHiker team spent last week walking the halls of Outdoor Retailer in Denver, drooling over all the awesome new gear coming to the backpacking world in 2020. Outdoor Retailer is one of the largest gear conferences in the world and last week we were fortunate enough to meet up with some of our favorite companies to get a sneak peek at their upcoming innovations.
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Junction Backpack Launch

Hyperlite Mountain Gear Junction Backpack Launch

On Friday, June 21st, Hyperlite Mountain Gear just released a new ultralight backpack to their line and they’re calling it the Junction. The Junction features an almost identical setup to the excellent Southwest and Windrider backpacks, but has a versatile pocket configuration that will allow for ventilation and visibility in the front mesh pocket, and durability and privacy in the side pockets.
NEMO Switchback Sleeping Pad Review

NEMO Switchback Sleeping Pad Review

For years, the Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol Sleeping Pad has been the industry leader foam pad with very little competition, but the NEMO Switchback Sleeping Pad brings some long overdue updates to the closed-cell foam pad market. The Switchback features improvements to comfort and packability, and we find it to be superior to other foam pads we’ve tried.
Big Agnes Q Core SLX Sleeping Pad Review

Big Agnes Q Core SLX Sleeping Pad Review

The Big Agnes Q Core SLX is a super cushy sleeping pad that differentiates itself from other pads with its large side rails that help keep users centered.
REI Co-op Flash 55 Backpack Review

REI Co-op Flash 55 Backpack Review

The REI Co-op Flash 55 Backpack is one of the most affordable and customizable packs we’ve ever tested. It boasts a lightweight design without sacrificing comfort or features, which earned it a spot on our 10 Best Lightweight Backpacks and Favorite Budget Backpacking Gear lists.
REI Magma 30 Trail Quilt Review
A man sits with a sleeping quilt wrapped around his back looking over an alpine lake with mountains behind it.

REI Magma 30 Trail Quilt Review

This quilt has an excellent warmth-to-weight ratio, packs down small, and is priced fairly for its quality.
Therm-a-Rest Vesper Quilt Review

Therm-a-Rest Vesper Quilt Review

Therm-a-Rest’s new Vesper Quilt is one of the lightest, most packable quilts on the market. Therm-a-Rest accomplished this  by using a simple, effective design with a trim cut, free of all non-essentials, and by using the highest quality materials available.
Feathered Friends Flicker Quilt Sleeping Bag Review

Feathered Friends Flicker Quilt Sleeping Bag Review

The Feathered Friends Flicker Quilt Sleeping Bag is an excellent trail quilt with a great design that will help you sleep comfortably in the wilderness under many different conditions. We absolutely love how it can be opened fully like a blanket or cinched up tight like a mummy bag to hold in heat on chilly nights. It’s a very smart, comfortable, effective, and well-designed quilt sleeping bag.
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