Backpacking Big 4 Reccomendations

December 5th, 2023

*I have no personal incentive to place items on this list, and there are no affiliate links. I have not personally used everything on this list, but based on past experience, research, observations of clients, and opinions of people I trust, I have full confidence in it.

Big 4 Explained

The heaviest singular items that backpackers carry are our backpack, shelter, and sleep system, commonly called the Big 3. But wait, sleep system isn't a singular item, it consists of a ground pad and a sleeping bag or quilt. Thus, I call these the Big 4.

"But what about hammocks?" - I don't know. I spend most of my backpackinsg days in desert or alpine environments where trees are absent. In other ecosystems, hammocks are absolutely a viable strategy, but they are irrelevant for me.

Whether buying your own backpacking equipment for the first time or upgrading, the Big 4 aren't the only things that matter. But they are the items that define the activity. They are the foundation. It's important to get them right.

Is light right?

Strong hikers can carry heavy packs and move freely, go long distances, experience joy, or avoid injury. But even the strongest hikers can't do all of those things at once. If you get any of your joy on backpacking trips while on the move, that joy will be increased by carrying a lighter load. The strongest hikers know that their experience is better when they are not excessively weighed down by their backpack.

This issue is often advertised as "comfort on the trail versus comfort at camp". I don't buy into that dichotomy. The gear I recommend on this list is supremely comfortable at camp. It's more comfortable than most gear that weighs twice as much.

The gear I recommend here is not ultralight, nor is it ultraheavy, ultracheap, or ultraexpensive. It is full-comfort and full-performance while being weight-conscious. It is priced on par with other options that weigh much more and provide little to no real benefit. It is exemplary of gear that will serve 90% of hikers best on 90% of trips.

Cost

Good gear is an investment. The gear I recommend here is not cheap, but will provide excellent value to people who are looking to commit to the hobby of backpacking. That doesn't mean you have to become a guide or even backpack more than once a year. But, don't spend money on backpacking gear if you plan to only go on one trip. Go on the trip first and fall in love with backpacking, then come back to this page. Lastly, don't let your search end upon seeing the MSRP of these items. Much of this gear can be found on sale or used for excellent deals. Hunting for those deals would be much better than buying lower quality alternatives.

Do ounces matter? Three common gear lists

I guide backpacking trips for a large company, which provides our clients with heavy backpacking gear. This is a reasonable decision, because they want their gear to last many years of near-daily use in the hands of people who do not know how to take care of gear. It also needs to stand up to weekly washing. It serves it's purpose well, but for most people there is a better way, without moving to the ultralight extreme.

The weights in the first list are measured from the best examples of company-provided gear. The weights in the second list are approximate of state-of the art ultralight gear. The weights in the final list are approximate of the gear I recommend below.

Heavyweight gear list

• One person freestanding tent - 60oz

• 20 degree synthetic insulated sleeping bag - 53 oz

• Foam filled inflatable pad - 24oz

• 75 Liter backpack - 70oz

• Total weight - 12lbs  15oz

Ultralight gear list

• DCF flat tarp and head net - 8oz

• Premium 30 degree down quilt - 20oz

• Torso-length foam pad - 10oz

• Frameless 35L backpack -  16oz

• Total - 3lbs 6oz

Reccomended gear list

• One-person trekking pole tent - 20oz

• 20 degree down quilt or sleeping bag - 28oz

• 3" insulated air pad - 16oz

• Framed 55L backpack - 32oz

• Total - 6lbs

Shelters

Fully enclosed tents will be the most versatile option for backpackers. They can be nearly as light as tarp systems, and are much more liveable and storm resistant. I will recommend one-person tents on this list, but they all com in 2-person versions. I do not recommend buying a two person tent unless you plan to sleep with another person often. One-person tents are adequately sized for one person, without excess weight.

Tent fabrics do not need to be very heavy duty, because with basic precautions they will not be coming into contact with sharp objects. All of the tents I recommend use lightweight fabrics, but are durable enough to last hundreds of nights. I don't use groundsheets with tents because they add weight and I find them fussy and unnecessary. Even the lightest tent floors are adequate to protect your sleeping pad from abrasion.

Most backpacking tents are "three-season", meaning they are made to withstand moderate wind and rain, and light snow loads. For mountaineering, "four-season" tents are made to withstand heavy winds and moderate snow loads. Do not confuse confuse these terms; three-season tents can be used in winter, and they can even be used in some snowy environments without issue. Double-wall designs keep the sleeper away from the walls and provide slightly more warmth inside than single-wall designs (especially if they have a solid fabric inner), but these can be found on three-season tents for a small weight penalty.

Trekking Pole Tents

Because freestanding arch-pole tents have always dominated the retail landscape, most hikers are surprised when they first see or read about trekking pole tents. But it doesn't take long for them to understand the appeal, and trekking pole tents are surging in popularity. The benefits of trekking pole tents over freestanding tents are numerous and significant:

• They cost dramatically less money

• They use poles that most hikers are already carrying, allowing them to be much lighter

• They can provide much more interior area at a given weight

• They pitch fly first, allowing the inside to stay dry when setting up in the rain

• They have a much more wind-resistant geometry than arch-pole tents

• Trekking poles are much stonger and more rigid than arch poles

As of this writing, the gold standard of trekking pole tents is the Durston Gear X-mid 1 ($240). At 30oz, the X-mid 1 strikes the optimal balance between weight, cost, liveability, ease of use, and storm resistance for most backpackers. A basic pitch requires anchoring only the four corners, which save a lot of effort when the ground is hard. In bug-free conditions users can bring only the fly to save weight, and in dry but buggy conditions users can pitch only the inner for ventilation and stargazing. The X-mid 1 provides enough interior length for very tall users to stay dry. It is made of durable silpoly fabric, which doesn't sag when it gets wet, important for designs that rely on fabric tension for structure. Durston Gear's website does a great job selling the features of this tent, and everything they claim is believeable because Dan Durston is an honest guy who respects the advantages other products have over his own. The disadvantages of the X-mid 1 are few. Historically Durston Gear struggled to keep the X-mid in stock due to the intense demand, but availability is more guaranteed now. Other tents are more specialized and do particular things better, but the X-mid 1 is a great tent to which all other trekking pole tents are now compared. Personally, I have used the two-person version of this tent as my shelter for 3 years now whenever I go on trips with my partner or friends. We have always really enjoyed using it.

The next tent on my list of recommendations is the Gossamer Gear The One ($255). I personally sought out The One 2.5 years ago because I was looking for a solo shelter that was lighter than my X-mid 2 without costing too much. I find it funny that Gossamer Gear uses the phrase "less than two pounds" on The One's product page. The X-mid 1 is less than two poounds. At 20oz, The One is way less than two pounds. The One is also storm-resistant and easy to use. With six mandatory anchor points, it is slightly harder to set up than tents than only need four. It uses a single-wall design which is light and simple, but allows sleepers to easily come into contact with the walls. As a tall person, this is my primary problem with this tent; to have hope of keeping my quilt away from the walls I have to use the tireouts on the end panels, requiring two more anchor points. In most conditions this is fine, but in wet conditions I have to tolerate drying my quilt out each day in exchange for the weight of The One. Shorter users would be better served by this tent. My other complaint about The One is the use of silnylon fabric. Compared to my experience with the X-mid, The One gets much more saggy when it absorbs water. I like that the fabric is lightweight, but I wish they would use 10D silpoly so that this tradeoff doesn't have to be made. Perhaps ultralight silpoly is not strong enough for tents, I'm not sure. Despite all of this, I enjoy using The One because it's performance:weight:cost ratio is excellent.

Heading the other direction from the X-mid baseline is the Tarptent Dipole 1 DW ($300). For 32oz, this is the most liveable and storm-worthy shelter on this list. The supplemental struts at the ends significantly increase headroom and keep the walls far away. The solid fabric inner blocks blowing sand or snow and significantly increases warmth. It's pitch requires only four anchors, and it can be used with only the fly or just the inner. The fly of the Dipole 1 DW is made of durable, sag-resistant silpoly fabric and the floor is made of a tougher nylon than other tents on this list. Besides the slight increase in weight over the tents above, one disadvantage is that the Dipole 1 DW requires packing two end struts that fold to 11". This may be annoying for some users, but is necessary to creats the excellent usable volume inside the tent.

For avid hikers who want the lightest possible gear, tents made of Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF) are a huge advantage. DCF typically weighs half as much as comparable silpoly fabrics, absorbs no water, and doesn't stretch at all, making these tents very strong. Many trekking pole tents are available in this fabric, but the obvious one for me to point out is the Durston Gear X-mid Pro 1 ($564). This is a single-wall version of the X-mid that weighs just 17oz, but provides more interior space than the regular version or much more space than The One. The disadvantages of DCF are that it is less packable and has a shorter lifespan than shelters made with siliconized fabrics.

A few options exist for hikers that only like to use one trekking pole, and they have some advantages. Conventional pyramid tents are extremely stormworthy, and the best of these is the Mountain Laurel Designs Solomid XL ($455). Weighing just 27oz, this shelter requires just four anchor points for a very solid pitch and uses just one pole, making it perhaps the easiest to set up. A hidden benefit of MLD tents is that they use more expensive silpoly fabrics without any polyurethane in the coating,. A deep dive on fabric coatings is presented here, but basically this means that the tent needs to be manually seam sealed but will last significantly longer than sil/pu fabrics. These reasons, and the domestic manufacturing, aare why the Solomid XL costs more than many one-person shelters.

When solid staking is easy, trekking pole tents are often easier to set up than freestanding tents. But this brings up the primary disadvantage: when solid stakes are impossible (hard rock or soft sand), they are more difficult to set up. Most people think it is impossible to set up a trekking pole tent in these conditions, thus the popularity of freestanding tents. But that is far from the truth. Tents can be anchored very effectively using large sticks in the sand, or using large rocks on hard ground or in sand. In fact, all of the trekking pole tents on this list have guyline adjusters that make it enable easy use with longer guylines, making it actually easier to anchor the tent in unstakeable ground. This is why I have a strong preference for tents that only require four anchor points rather than six+, because that is two less large rocks that I have to find and lift. 

I have never encountered a place I need to sleep where the ground does not accept stakes, but there are no large rocks nearby.  Remember, freestanding tents also have to be anchored to resist breezes and optimize interior volume, their design just permits users to use less solid anchors in mild conditions.

Freestanding Tents

Freestanding tents use collapsable aluminum poles flexed into an arch. This allows the tent to stand up without anchors, or stand "freely". Freestanding tents are what most people are have used before, so they are a good option for those who aren't looking to expand their shelter skills. They are easier to set up on hard surfaces in calm weather, because users can forgo stakes entirely. With few exceptions, freestanding tents are double-wall, meaning they consist of an inner mesh tent and an outer fly. This makes the tent warmer and protects the sleeper from coming into contact with condensation on the fly. Of course, freestanding tents are the obvious choice for backpackers who have given trekking poles an honest try and don't like them.

The Big Agnes Copper Spur HVUL1 ($450) and the MSR Hubba Hubba 1 ($460) are the gold standards for freestanding backpacking tents.  Each of these weighs 36oz with stakes. They have easy to use side entry doors and organizational pockets inside. The Hubba Hubba uses slightly more durable materials, while the Copper Spur offers slightly more liveable area inside. The Copper Spur can use trekking poles to convert the door to an awning, but if you're going to go to that effort it would probably be better to just use a trekking pole tent instead.

The Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 1 ($400)  is a lighter and more affordable model that weighs 30oz and uses a semi-freestanding design. This means that it requires anchoring two corners to spread out the foot end. All tents require anchoring to achieve the most liveable space inside, so the Tiger Wall is functionally freestanding. Otherwise, this tent makes few sacrifices and is my top recommendation for a freestanding tent.

The downsides of freestanding tents are many, but as I researched the updated versions for this article the most obvious was cost. The tents on this list are nearly twice the price of the trekking pole tents I recommend. An example of a cheaper freestanding tent is the MSR Elixer 1 ($260), but with a weight of 64oz and a cost that is still higher than trekking pole tents, I cannot recommend tents like this. At costs well above $400, most hikers would be better off spending a little bit more to get a trekking pole tent made of DCF fabric, which offers dramatically better performance at an ultralight weight (see below). Additionally, freestanding tents use flexible poles, which add weight but are relatively flimsy and fragile compared to trekking poles. In most cases freestading tents get their structure from the inner tent, which means that the tents in this category require pitching the inner first and then adding a waterproof cover. This is a huge problem if you need to pitch your tent while it's raining.

Quilts and Sleeping Bags

There are a few decisions to make when choosing a quilt or sleeping bag, but the catch is that performance and weight are directly correlated with cost. The best pieces use expensive down and expensive shell materials, and require sewing intricate baffles. It's hard to recommend anything less than a decent quality down item, so expect to pay at least $250. Cheaper products likely have inaccurate temperature ratings or an enormous packed size.

I recommend a down filled product with a temperature "comfort" rating of 20-30F, a total weight between 24-40oz. Down insulation is more compressible and easy to keep dry in most climates by using a pack liner, choosing an appropriate tent, and drying in the sun after the wettest nights. Lately, I have camping well over 100 days a year, and I rarely encounter temperatures below freezing, and never below 20 degrees. If you know you "sleep cold", be conservative and get a product rated to 20 degrees.

Quilts

Backpacking quilts solve two problems: 1) Insulation that is compressed underneath the body is ineffective, and 2) fixed hoods are only effective in a back sleeping position. Quilts save weight by having no underside at all, and instead attach to a sleeping pad with straps. They also have no hood, which allows sleepers to use their own head insulation (jacket, beanie, and/or supplemental hood) and rotate freely within. Quilts allow easy ventilation in warm weather without a zipper, eliminating weight and a common failure point. For these reasons, they have surged in popularity recently.

Some backpacking quilts are made by household brand names like Thermarest and REI, but most quilts come from newer companies. Most of these companies do not have their products tested to a certified temperature rating, but rest assured that their comfort temperature ratings are at least as good as the sleeping bag standard. 

As of this writing, Enlightened Equipment is the largest manufacturer of high quality quilts, and is probably a good place to start. Because of this, they offer discounts and sales more frequently than other companies. They make a few different quilt geometries to customer dimensions, colors, and warmth ratings, but they have in-stock options as well. Katabatic Gear and Feathered Friends are popular as well and is believed to have higher quality and more refined designs. Custom quilts of the highest quality are available from Nunatak Gear and Timmermade. UGQ Outdoor and Hammock Gear are options as well.

Sleeping Bags

The downside of quilts is that, despite the straps, they can require a bit of attention when turning over to eliminate drafts (direct exposure to cold air). Sleeping bags are a less efficient use of weight, but some users find them more comfortable..

Sleeping bags have much more of a history in backpacking, and therefore are made in greater quantities than quilts by more well-known brands. Because of this, they are much more widely available at large retailers, and because of that they can be scored for lower prices on clearance or at annual sales (REI's quarterly 20% coupon). If I was buying a sleeping bag today, I would head to a big website's sleeping bag section, filter by weight (less than 3lbs) temperature rating (20-30 degrees) and then sort by price. I would be most drawn to reputable brands including but not limited to: Mountain Hardwear, Nemo, Marmot, and REI. The best sleeping bags on the market are made by Western Mountaineering and Feathered Friends, but they are expensive.

Hybrid Designs

Some hybrid designs exist that combine the best of both worlds (depending on user preference). These are hoodless mummy bags, false bottom bags, and zippered quilts. To find these, look through the options from Enlightened Equipment, Feathered Friends, Nunatak, and Timmermade.

Sleeping Pads

Pads provide not just comfort, but insulation from the cold ground. They are an essential piece of gear for having a good expereince in the backcountry. Thickness is the primary driver of comfort, because a thicker pad can be softer while still keeping the user off the ground. Insulation value, or warmth, is rated on an R-value scale. All high quality brands have moved to a pad-specific R-value system, but there are still some inaccurate R-values out there. 

Pads come in three genres:

Inflatable

Thanks to technological advances, modern inflatable pads can be warm, thick, reliable, and light, all at once. They are truly amazing pieces of gear. The best pad for most users will be an inflatable that is at least 2.5" thick, has an R-value of 3  or greater, and weighs less than 24oz.

My personal favorite pads are the Therm-a-Rest Neoair series, and the best option for most users will be the Xlite. Nemo makes excellent pads as well, and their Tensor series is known to be quieter than the Neoair. Big Agnes has many good options such as the Rapide SL and Divide. Choose whichever of the above you can find on sale, hoping to spend $100 but being willing to spend $150. Many of these come in multiple versions, be sure you are getting the "insulated" version of whichever pad you buy.

I suggest avoiding inflatable pads with deep, uninflated dimples in them such as those by made by Klymit or Sea to Summit. These allow direct heat loss to the ground and often have inaccurate, uncertified R-values.

Foam

If inflatable pads are too expensive, foam pads can be a decent option. They are very light, but not necessarily lighter than inflatables. Declaring these pads uncomfortable is an overgeneralization. I prefer to say they are less versatile, because they require careful site selection and are best for back sleeping. With R-values of about 2, they are adequate for summer use but not ideal below 40F. Likewise, declaring foam pads durable is inaccurate. I prefer to say they are more reliable, because although they cannot spring a leak, the foam breaks down with use, offering less longevity than an inflatable. The difference in packed size compared to inflatables is massive. They can be carried on the exterior of a pack and conveniently deployed for sitting, but this is not ideal for bushwacking.

If you want to try a foam pad, the classic option is the Therm-a-Rest Z Lite SOL. The ultralight cutting edge is a Gossamer Gear Thinlite, but these have very little cushion or insulation value.

Self-inflating

"Self-inflating" is old term used to describe an inflatable pad filled with foam. Upon opening the valve, the foam expands and sucks air into the pad. These pads are dated technology that still works great for some users. But they provide a poor amount of cushion and warmth for the weight, so in my opinion, these are the worst of both worlds and I do not recommend them.

Backpacks

Conventional wisdom says: "buy the backpack last", and I agree. If the other 3 components of your Big 4 are still bulky, they may not fit in the backpack you actually want. Don't cheap out on the other items and buy a huge backpack to fit them. Instead, buy the right gear piece by piece, as you can comfortable afford them, and borrow or rent the rest.

To me, backpacks are the most intellectually interesting piece of the Big 4. They need to fit properly, but this has less to do with trying them on and more to do with intentional design than some stores want us to believe. They need to stand up to some abuse and have highly thoughtful ergonomics. There is a lot of opportunity for things to go wrong. But when it all goes right, they're beautiful. I saved the best for last!

I have two backpacks: a 40 liter and a 75 liter. I hike enough that I get plenty of use out of both of these. I only need the 75L because I guide and do multisport trips. I use the 40L for personal backpacking. I even squeezed 8 days of food in it alongside all the gear I needed for a trip, but doing so required significant effort and skill. Most backpackers will be best served by a pack that is 50-55 liters, weighs 28-40oz, has an adequate frame, well padded shoulder straps and hipbelt, and intelligently designed pockets.

First, an important note on pack frames before we dive in. The goal of a frame is to allow weight to be carried on the hips rather than the shoulders. To do this, it is critical that a frame be adequately tall. Most people who experience shoulder discomfort have a pack that is too short. This happens frequently because we forget to account for sag when we buy a pack. Frames flex and hipbelts collapse. The packs on this list resist this better than any others in their weight class, which is a big part of why I chose them. But still, the moral of my story is this: when in doubt, size up. In an effort to make packs appear smaller and sleeker, many companies have made mistakedly made them shorter. I almost never see anyone on the trail with a pack that is too tall.

The other thing most backpacks get wrong is pockets. Hikers often use water bladders, so large packmakers have given up on making side pockets accessible. But I use bottles, as do most other experienced hikers, because they have significant advantages. With appropriately designed side pockets, it is easy to retrieve and replace a water bottle while walking. All of the packs on this list have options for excellent water bottle access. Besides water, the main thing that most hikers need accessible a phone, for it's navigation and camera abilities. Most big packmakers make hipbelt pockets too small for a phone, but also fail to offer a shoulder strap pocket. All of the packs on this list offer an option for a shoulder strap phone pocket, which frees up space in their generously sized hipbelt pockets for snacks and other accessories. The best packs have no side or bottom access zippers, because with thoughtful packing these features are completely unnecessary and add a common failure point. The best packs also rolltop closures for the main compartment, which allow the volume to be expanded or compressed without using straps. All of the packs on this list feature a rolltop as the only access to the main compartment.

Mainstream: REI Flash 55

Pros: At an outstanding price of $200, the REI Flash 55 is the best overall backpacking pack available from a mainstream retailer. It has generous, contoured foam padding and a stiff frame, making it comfortable well above the conservative 30lbs that REI claims. It has nice enough hipbelt pockets and comes with a great phone pocket on the shoulder strap. On each side, the Flash 55 provides a slim and angled water bottle pocket and a seperate, tall upright pocket for storing poles, clothes, or other gear. This is the only pack on my list that includes a lid pocket or "brain". I don't think brains are the smartest addition to a pack, because they add weight and a zipper for a pocket that blocks access to the main compartment, but some people appreciate the organization. Luckily, the brain on this pack os removable, as are the straps that attach it. Actually, all of the straps on this pack are removable and moveable to different postions depending on the needs of the user. The Flash 55 comes stock at 45oz, but can easily be stripped to 37oz without sacrificing much function. It comes in many sizes, including a special pairing of torso and hipbelts at opposite extremes (helping it serve tall, thin people or short, thick people).

Cons: The biggest drawback of the REI Flash 55 is that it spends weight and manufacturing effort of a couple of silly features such as the brain and the overcomplicated backpanel that makes a poor attempt at "ventilation" (an unnecessary goal). A better use of money would be to use a better fabric. The nylon used by the Flash 55 is proven, and should provide no durability issues for most users. However, I did manage to get some small rips in my Flash 55 during a short season of off-trail use and bushwacking. All of the packs below use more durable fabrics.

Efficient: Durston Kakwa 55

Pros: For $260, the Kakwa 55 is a competitive offering from the newer backpacking powerhouse Durston Gear. The Kakwa 55 is a larger version of Durston's proven 40L design. It uses state-of-the-art Ultra fabrics and a stiff tubular aluminum frame. It comes with built-in shoulder strap pockets on each side, generous hipbelt pockets, and an easily accessible side pocket. It has a hipbelt with a dual-pull design that creates a firm yet comfortable hold on th user's hips, as do both of the packs below. The beauty of packs like the Kakwa is their simplicity. The Kakwa 55 has an average weight of 31oz

Cons: Durston Gear provides all of their products ready-to-ship, but because of the extraordinary demand, they are not always in stock.  They do get replenished frequently, though. The sizes of the Kakwa 55 should fit almost all users excellently, and is on par with the industry standard. But compared to the ability of every other pack on this list the Kakwa is a little more limited. The only thing holding the it back is that it's hipbelt sizes and torso sizes are correlated, hindering it's ability to fit very tall/thin users or short/thick users. Additionally, the Kakwa is the only pack on this list that has fixed straps. But recently, they've added more attachment loops so that users can DIY their own straps to carry bulky gear liks skis or life jackets. So now I'd consider that a non-issue. Some buyers might like the grey color, but I think every other pack on this list has more appealing color options.

Custom: Superior Wilderness Designs Long Haul 50

Pros: For $300, Superior Wildness Designs will build anyone a fully custom Long Haul 50, with many options for colors and sizing. The stock pocket configuration is excellent, with huge side pockets that hold a single Smartwater bottle securely but also can hold up to 3 Smartwater bottles each while maintaining accessibility on-the-go. Hipbelt pockets and shoulder strap pockets cost a little extra, but are the very best on the market. Of course, the Long Haul 50 has a stiff aluminum frame of adequate height that can easily be bent to a conture of the user's liking. The Long Haul 50 has numerous attachment loops and comes with a variety of straps to carry bulky gear externally. Long Haul 50 packs weigh between 30-34oz.

Cons: My wife, Joelle, has had a Long Haul 50 for two years and absolutely loves it. I have observed it fill a variety of use cases excellently, and have seen no issues with the design. I believe the only con, besides cost (which is still excellent for a custom pproduct made domestically), is the long lead time. SWD packs are usually backordered 8-12 weeks.

Boutique: Virga Cliffrose 55

Pros: For $370, the Virga Cliffrose 55 is sold as "a pack that 90% of users could use on 90% of their trips". I would say the same for the other packs on this list, but the Cliffrose is special. It's made in Utah by people who have done a lot of backpacking on the Colorado Plateau, and it's their dream pack. The Cliffrose's unique feature is that rather than relying on load lifter straps to provide weight transfer, it instead opts to use an adequately tall frame without them. In doing so,  it can also use articulating shoulder straps which are very comfortable. Achieving comfort without an oversized frame also allows the pack to be compressed more deeply for small trips or single-day adventures, because the top closure can be rolled all the way down to the shoulders, reducing the volume to 30L. The makers of the Cliffrose chose gave it a full box frame that doesn't flex and provides lateral stability. The Cliffrose also has the best hipbelt of any pack on this list, with a dual-pull design can independently adjust the top and bottom, making it very comfortable. The belt has sturdy foam that resists collapse, and attaches directly to the frame for proper load transfer. The main body of the Cliffrose is shaped to reduce the topheavy feeling of a backpack pulling you backwards. The front pocket on the Cliffrose is slender but deep, and it has massive side pockets that hold large items very securely, but aren't accessible while walking. Luckily, Virga has designed a water bottle holster that attaches to the hipbelt for easy access while walking. They also have a great shoulder strap pocket for a phone, and many loops to attach the accessory straps that come with the pack. The Cliffrose 55 is made of excellent Ultra400 fabric, the most durable fabric on this list. Still, it comes in at a weight of 31-37oz

Cons: The Virga Cliffrose 55 is probably too expensive for most users. It's a beautiful pack that experienced users will appreciate the benefits of, but a new backpacker will find plenty of satisfaction with a more affordable pack on this list. Experienced backpackers like myself are trained to look for load lifters on packs as a signal that they will transfer weight effectively, but Virga has figured out how to properly make a comfortable pack without them, and in doing so opened up a world of other benefits.

But what about other gear?

For new or experienced backpackers looking to invest in excellent general-purpose gear, the items on this list provide a great array of options for the Big 4. If you want to learn more about alternatives, I recommend exploring the websites of the brands I recommended above, and checking out BackpackingLight and SectionHiker for quality information.

Of course, the Big 4 are only the foundation of a backpacking gear list. Other major things we carry are clothing, cooking/eating, water treatment/storage, food/food storage, accessories, and emergency items. To dive into those would be outside the scope of this article, but if you want to learn more, check out what the websites above have to say and remember: light is right.