| NATIONAL PARKS QUICKLINKS |
Also on Backpacker.com
Backpacker Magazine – April 2009
Get This Gear: Essentials From A to Z
We tested more than 500 products–stoves, clothes, cameras, filters, tech tools, knives, and meals–to find these proven performers.
-
Tags:
- Gear |
- Audio players |
- Binoculars |
- Cameras |
- Camp stoves |
- Climbing gear |
- GPS |
- Headlamps |
- Hydration packs |
- Knives |
- Sunglasses |
- Trail tools |
- Watches |
- Water purifiers |
- Lanterns |
D
Dessert
Add water. Stir. Wait two minutes. Devour Cache Lake's Lemon Cream Pudding. Lick bowl clean. $3; serves 2; cachelake.com
Dog gear 
BOWL Guyot Designs' Squishy Bowl Pet is the dog version of the mashable, packable people bowl that earned Editors' Choice honors in 2007 (April). It's made of food-grade silicone, sits without spilling, and has rounded edges for easy cleaning. $10 to $20; 3 sizes; guyotdesigns.com
LEASH Ruffwear's Just-a-Cinch system auto-tightens when your dog charges that tempting squirrel; soon he'll learn to heel rather than yank. The 10mm climbing rope will last a lifetime, the webbing handle is comfortable, and a friction device prevents the collar from over-loosening. $20; ruffwear.com
PACK Here's a smart way to go ultralight: Let your dog carry his share. Ruffwear's Palisades is built with durable materials, and the load stays balanced, thanks to load-compression straps and onboard 1-liter water bladders that you can use to fine-tune weight distribution. Capacity (up to 1,098 cubic inches) is perfect for a weekend. $100; 3 sizes; ruffwear.com
Dutch oven
Iron Chef, move over. Nothing beats the Lodge Logic Camp Dutch Oven for gourmet campground cooking. Make a roast sirloin, lasagna, or a pineapple upside-down cake–and earn undying gratitude from family and friends. $40-$175 (depending on size); lodgemfg.com
Subscribe to Backpacker magazine
Sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter
Reader Rating:
Editors' Choice 2013
412 trail-tested products
Boost Your Apps
Add powerful tools and exclusive maps to your BACKPACKER apps through our partnership with Trimble Outdoors.
Carry the Best Maps
With BACKPACKER PRO Maps, get life-list destinations and local trips on adventure-ready waterproof myTopo paper.
FREE Rocky Mountain Trip Planner
Sign up for a free Rocky Mountain National Park trip planning kit from our sister site MyRockyMountainPark.com.
Get 2 FREE Trial Issues and 3 FREE GIFTS
Survival Skills 101 • Eat BetterThe Best Trails in America
YES! Please send me my FREE trial issues of Backpacker
and my 3 FREE downloadable booklets.
Free trial offer valid for US subscribers only.
Canadian subscriptions |
International subscriptions
and my 3 FREE downloadable booklets.
READERS COMMENTS
What an excellent list you've put together. Honestly, this is by far the best essential gear list I have seen online so far. I am going to be buying several things off this list as both presents for others and treats for myself. So thank you for sharing this!<a href="http://www.bladehq.com/cat--Kershaw-Scallion-Knives--402">.</a>
Are you kidding me with the $30 chopsticks?? I thought this magazine was about appreciating outdoors, not marketing a bunch of needless crap.
I use the nite ize s biner as a key chaine. I hook it to my belt loop. Numeros times my keys have fallen off. I usually can hear the sound of keys hitting the ground. On a recent end of Fly fishing adventure. I turned the car around to do a final check for any forgoten equipment. The metalic reflection came from the ground. I got out and there was the nite Ize S-biner. BackPacker Editors award and all. Spring not strong enough!
How many backpackers do you know that carry $600 binoculars? Get real.
I'm really surprised to see MSR's quick 2 system at the same time that GSI's dualist system is not mentioned yet it has the 2008 editor's choice and lighter than MSR's. This really makes me question the credibility of the whole backpacker's site that I have always had it as a flagship.
ADD A COMMENT