Category: gear

This is the t-shirt I wear most often the past couple of years.

Great price. IF you watch for a sale.

CAD $39.19 (USD $28.50) in 2023.

It’s only a Polyester & Wool blend — but seems to stay relatively odour free. For days.

Light weight. Doesn’t wrinkle in the backpack. Easy to wash. Very durable.

For that price, it can’t be beat.

My gear gurus — Dave and Kraig — consistently list Matador one of their favourite gear companies.

The Matador Freerain22 is an amazing pack at only 300g (10.6oz).

I’d call it water resistant, not submersible. It’s not a dry bag.

Not inexpensive (about $100), I bought the Freerain to replace my last Matador packable which I had used for hundreds of days of travel. Incredibly durable and useful.

It’s my second pack ➙ the one I use for a short day hike, picking up groceries, shopping, etc.

I don’t need any more frame or suspension for short day hikes. I typically push an extra layer down towards the lumbar portion of the bag — and that’s plenty of padding.

Click PLAY or watch the Matador video on YouTube.

Read the Packhacker detailed review.

My favourite layer for hiking — and almost anything. I wear this jacket most days of the year.

I bought 2 MORE Men’s Helly Hansen LIFALOFT™ Hooded Insulator Jackets.

I fear Helly might stop making them one day.

The LIFALOFT™ jackets have been my favourite since 2019 when Kraig Becker sent me one.

LIFALOFT™ is not down. It’s arguably lighter and warmer.

The idea is to trap a maximum amount of air in a small space. And due to the hydrophobic properties of LIFA®, LIFALOFT™ has an inherent water repellency that seems to keep me warm, even when wet.

And I’ve drenched these jackets over the years.

They are light. Durable. Machine washable.

And relatively inexpensive. About half of what I would pay for a Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer/2 Hoody.

If I bought a new pack today — it would be the Unbound 55.

It’s similar to my current Hyperlite 3400 Windrider, but I like the pockets and boxier shape even more.

I want a huge pack for 5-6 days without resupply, but one that I can get on to the plane as carry-on luggage.

I prefer the black as it’s not going to show the dirt nearly as much.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

related – Adventure Alan review

Alan recommends the Unbound 55 over the Unbound 40 for 99% of people. It only weighs an ounce more.

I put thousands of miles on Granite Gear Virga Backpacks — before finally switching to the awesome (but expensive) Hyperlite Windrider.

I feel the black Hyperlite is the best looking light backpack available.

One complaint I had with the Virga line was that they were the ugliest light pack on the market. 😀

The Granite Gear packs — however — are now offered undyed.

Read a GearJunkie review.

Very cool.

You can decorate an undyed pack any way you like.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Granite Gear (@granitegear)

The Virga 3 is also possibly the most adjustable backpack on the market, as well. AND inexpensive.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I could happily go back to the Virga 3 using my inflatable Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Uberlite as the ‘frame’ support.

I’d decorate the pack with the ‘theme‘ of my trek.

By BestHike editor Rick McCharles

The Ultra 3R sleeping mat is just one of a number in the Ultra series.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

My Medium (20.5 in wide) weighs 16.4 oz so I don’t take it for multi-day hiking — only car camping and bikepacking where weight is less an issue.

I got the heavier rectangular shape to completely cover the bottom of my 1-man-tent.

Exped offers 1R to 7R. I’m a warm sleeper and — so far — the 3R option has been plenty warm enough.

After about 30 nights on the mattress, I’ve already had 2 punctures. Happily, they are easy to repair with the included glue. The system does not require a patch on top — only the glue. So it’s quicker to seal the hole.

The Schnozzel Pumpbag does not work nearly as well for me as in the Exped video. 😀

I do use the Schnozzel as a waterproof dry bag, as well.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.