The Ultralight Backpacking Gear Guide (Built From a Real Closet)
A no-nonsense guide to a sub-10-pound base weight — the Big Three, the small stuff, and the real trade-offs — anchored to gear I actually carry and track.
Gear Guides
Real closet.
Honest labels.
Every write-up is tied to gear I actually own — real weights, real prices — and carries a transparency label that says how the claims were earned. Field Report is the earned tier — nothing wears it until there's a logged trip behind it.
Pursuit
Category
Durston X-Mid 1
The best-value one-person shelter on the market on paper — offset geometry, huge vestibule, famously forgiving pitch. Now it has to prove it on trips.
The Ridge Wallet
My daily-carry wallet — 2.5 ounces of aluminum that physically cannot become a leather brick again. The rare EDC buy that ended a category.
Camp Chef Everest 2X
20,000 BTU per burner, real simmer control, and a lid that stays put — picked to make camp cooking feel like cooking. Field verdict pending.
Durston Kakwa 55
A framed, durable UL pack for two-thirds the price of the usual suspects — the best value story in packs right now. Trail verdict pending.
Nitecore NB10000 Gen 3
Class-leading power-to-weight, tough carbon-fiber shell, a premium price — the right trade for the pack, chosen on the math.