New for 2007, the Big Agnes Big House tents are the ultimate dwelling for 4-6 campers and all their gear. A straight forward floor plan means you’ll be set up, cooking and putting the kids to bed while the guy next door fumbles with his multiple room big-box tent. Because there’s no need to sacrifice comfort when weight isn’t a huge concern, the Big House also features an optional, extra large accessory vestibule for more storage or a shady sitting room. With a head height of 6′ 3″, you’ll be able stand up completely, unless you are taller than most. With The Big House Tent, you’ll feel right at home even when you couldn’t get farther away.
Another year, another tent I must have. Last year Big Agnes lightened up their Seedhouse Superlight tents, making them two of the lightest double wall tents around. The Seedhouse SL 2 was just under 3lbs and their 1 person Superlight was only 2lbs 6oz! They aslo introduced the Seedhouse Superlight 3 tent which sleeps 3 but was lighter than most 2 person tents. With the Superlight tents came sacrifice, and that sacrifice was space. Although you can sleep 2 people in the 2 person Superlight tent, it is a bit tight. Is there a tent that’s lightweight that doesn’t sleep like a can of sardines? Yes, my granola friends, there is. The eagle has landed and hatched the 2007 Big Agnes Emerald Mountain Tent. Slender, voluptuous, sexy…I could go on for minutes. Late night fantasies high in the Tetons have been realized. The Emerald Mountain 2 person tent comes in at 4lbs 3oz. That’s not great on weight, but get this. Two doors and 22 sq ft of vestibule space! Also, the big difference is in the length. This tent is 7′ 6″ from end to end, which should be enough length for just about anyone. The Emerald Mountain 3 gets even more interesting. This 3 person lightweight has 44 sq ft of floor space. The Seedhouse Superlight 3 only had 36. It also comes with 2 doors, 7′ 6″ of length and only 5lbs! Compare this to the MSR Mutha Hubba which has only 40 sq ft of space and comes in at 6lbs 12oz or the Sierra Designs Baku 3 tent which has 42 sq ft and weights 5lb 6oz.
Granite Gear’s latest and greatest pack, Nimbus Meridian, is now available. Granite Gear sent Justin Lichter, also known as “Trauma”, this pack for his 10,000 mile North American journey which he finished on October, 23 2006, a little less than 1 year after he started. 10,000 miles later and a ton of pasta, the Nimbus Meridian was back and performed like a champ. The Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian is available for 249.95. You can read all about Trauma’s trip here.
The new Petzl e+Lite is big on cool and small on size. They say this headlamp is for an emergency, hence the “e”, but I’ll be packing my new toy around as my primary light-weight headlamp. It has 3 white LEDs and 1 red led in the middle for night vision. The strobe mode is for emergency and will blink for days. The light also snugly fits into a nifty red carrying case that is waterproof. Petzl really got it right whe they designed the easy to use yet highly functional e+Lite. MSRP 29.95
3 watts and 104 hrs later, the new Icon finally goes dim. Black Diamond’s new headlamp is an Icon for Headlamps to follow. There have been a handful of 3-watt headlamps come to market this past year but they were either too expensive (see Princeton Tec Apex) or low on quality. The new Black Diamond Icon Headlamp is priced at only 59.95 and made with the quality we have come to expect from Black Diamond. The 3-watt LED also lasts a surprisingly long 104 hours on low, and 70 hrs on high which is longer than some 1-watt LEDs. This headlamp and the new Petzl e+Lite just took over the top two spots on my Christmas wish list.
When I was twelve I tried to retrofit my BMX with speakers that connected to my Walkman. I taped the speakers to my handlebars and my walkman I just put in my pocket. It worked, sort of, but you really couldn’t hear since the Walkman couldn’t punch out enough juice through the headphone jack. Well, times have changed and today I won’t need to retrofit my skiing pack with speakers and an iPod because Camelbak has done it for me. Their new Hellion Skullcandy pack has waterproof speaker on the upper straps and built in iPod and mobile phone support. Apparently it works pretty good too. Next time your making turns down the slope and you hear Dashboard Confessionals whisper through the trees, it’s probably just 1 of 250 Camelbak Hellion Skullcandy packs being sold this year.
The easy and efficient Steripen just go lighter and more compact. The new Steripen Adventure is geared toward backpackers, travelers and those adventurers that need a purifier a bit more rugged. At only 4oz, the new Adventure is about 2.5 oz lighter than the original and about 25% smaller. The unit itself is also made of a hard rubber material that would protect the unit in case it was dropped. They’ve also made a Solar Charger/Carrying Case for the Adventure. Maybe for those remote locations in Africa where you can’t get batteries? Sounds like a good idea to me.
Have you ever fallen asleep with 1.5″ of comfort & warmth beneath you only to wake up in the middle of the night with a hard cold rock poking your spine because your pad sprung a leak in the middle of the night? Well my friend, Thermarest thinks they have the answer. Their new Toughskin pad has a layer of closed cell foam on the bottom of the pad that fits between the air filled open cell foam and the ground. Thorns, rocks, sticks and scorpions won’t be able to put a whole in your pad unless they’re long or freakishly big (the scorpions). Available now for 119.95.
At the semi-annual Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, MSR introduced their long overdue Reactor Stove that will compete with the Jetboil PCS. MSR Claims that the new Reactor Stove will be the fastest, most fuel efficient stove ever. I did get to see the stove in action and I do admit that this little powerhouse has some sophisticated technology built in. They are able to achieve consistant flame output by adding an internal regulator that equalizes fuel pressure. Throw in a heat exchanger, radiant burner and built in windscreen and you have the ultimate, highly efficient stove. MSR claims that the Reactor will boil 1 liter of water in 3 minutes. All this comes at a price however. Expect the MSR Reactor to go on sale in the spring of 2007 for 139.95.
I’m not a big fan of bulky double wide sleeping bags for a couple of reason. First, they are impractical for backpacking because of size and weight. Second, the only air mattresses available are crummy inflatable mats that seem to always spring a leak in the middle
of the night. Enter the Mother of Comfort, Big Agnes. This year Big Agnes introduc