{"id":12306,"date":"2017-05-24T02:55:49","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T09:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=12306"},"modified":"2018-11-11T21:47:14","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T05:47:14","slug":"semi-rad-gear-picks-for-all-around-adventurers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/semi-rad-gear-picks-for-all-around-adventurers","title":{"rendered":"Semi-Rad Gear Picks for All-Around Adventurers"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been dabbling in almost everything outdoors for about a dozen years\u2013rock and ice climbing, backpacking, mountaineering, hiking, mountain biking, bike touring, bikepacking, car camping, trail running, skiing, rafting and kayaking\u2013and that\u2019s included plenty of hours of getting wet, cold and tired in the process.<\/p>\n

What I haven\u2019t done in a long time is start from zero and buy all the basic gear I\u2019d need to start dabbling in the outdoors. But I thought, Wouldn\u2019t I, 13 years ago, have liked some guidance? So I put together a list. None of this is sport-specific gear, just all-around things that can get you places. If you want to go climbing, you\u2019ll need a rope, and if you want to go mountain biking, you\u2019ll need a bike (and a helmet), and so on. But this is a pretty good start for any hiking\/backpacking\/car camping\/peak bagging adventure, spring through fall.<\/p>\n

Backpacks: 30-liter and 60-liter<\/h4>\n

For most weekend-warrior trips, these two sizes will work great. A 30-liter pack will more than fit the layers, food and water you need for a day hike, and even if you\u2019re out for a day of rock climbing, it should fit all your stuff (including a trad rack and\/or rope). I\u2019ve used a bunch of packs over the years, but I\u2019m currently using the Osprey Talon 33<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

A 60-liter pack should be large enough for most two-day to five-day backpacking trips, and should even stretch up to seven days\u2013unless you\u2019re carrying a bear canister or carrying the whole tent yourself. I have humped some heavy-ass packs, and for me, the undisputed load-carrying champion of the world is my Osprey Aether 60 AG EX<\/a>, which I have loaded up with 40 and 50 pounds on a couple multi-day trips and been pleasantly surprised. Here’s the women’s version: Osprey Ariel 65 AG EX<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rain Jacket<\/h4>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

I never go anywhere without a rain jacket in my pack. And if you don\u2019t hit rain, you may find yourself on the side of a peak getting blasted by cold winds\u2013in which case a rain jacket is your best wind-blocking friend. Generally the higher in price you go for a good waterproof, breathable jacket, the more lightweight and breathable the membrane is. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to have some version of the Outdoor Research Axiom jacket<\/a> since 2013, and have never been let down (it even works as a ski shell if you\u2019re OK skiing without a powder skirt). Check out the women’s version: Outdoor Research Clairvoyant jacket<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s pricey, but to me, worth it. If you\u2019re looking to spend way less, I like the Outdoor Research Helium II<\/a> (which I always keep in my bike commuting bag). Find the women’s version here:\u00a0Outdoor Research Helium II jacket<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lightweight Soft-Shell Jacket<\/h4>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

A lightweight soft shell can be your best friend in the mountains, warding off morning chill and summit wind. It\u2019s ideal for multipitch climbing when you\u2019re alternating the hard work of leading with chill-inducing belay stops. The first piece of Outdoor Research gear I bought back in 2011 was a Ferrosi hoody<\/a>\u00a0(women’s hoodie<\/a>), and I\u2019ve had one in my pack on every outing ever since.<\/p>\n

Puffy Jacket<\/h4>\n

\"Brendan<\/p>\n

Nothing beats down for compressibility and warmth. If you gave me the choice of having a campfire every night on a backpacking trip or taking a puffy jacket, I would always choose the puffy. I have a couple in my closet, but spring through fall I\u2019m wearing a down sweater-style jacket, a little lighter than the full-on Michelin Man jacket you\u2019d wear ice climbing. I\u2019ve been relying on the Outdoor Research Transcendent Down hoody<\/a> since 2012 for spring and fall trips anywhere and summer trips in the mountains; and it doubles as a pillow backpacking. Shop the\u00a0Outdoor Research Verismo Hooded Down jacket<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Headlamp<\/h4>\n

\"Black<\/p>\n

When it gets dark, the best place to have a light is on your head, because it points where you\u2019re looking and keeps your hands free. I was a little skeptical of USB-rechargeable headlamps when they first came out, but I\u2019ve fully converted and don\u2019t use anything else on any trip. My current headlamp for everything but night biking is the Black Diamond Iota<\/a>, a minimalist USB-rechargeable model.<\/p>\n

Water Bottles<\/h4>\n

Unless you keep all your adventures short enough that you don\u2019t get thirsty (which would be quite boring), you\u2019re going to need to carry some water. So get some water bottles, whatever kind, totaling around 64 ounces for most day-long trips. I like Klean Kanteen bottles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Water Reservoir<\/h4>\n

\"MSR<\/p>\n

I was a late convert to carrying a reservoir with me on long trips, but I\u2019ve totally committed. Now, for a multiday trip, I\u2019ll take a single water bottle [the big 40-oz. size?] and a 4-liter MSR DromLite<\/a> in my pack, filled with the rest of my water so I can keep refilling my handheld water bottle with it. In the mountains, I\u2019ll carry an extra liter or two in the reservoir, and in the desert, I\u2019ll carry an extra four liters if water sources are scarce. And it\u2019s handy to use to fill cooking pots with for breakfast and dinner.<\/p>\n

Stove<\/h4>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

If you only have the budget for one stove, you should get a small backpacking stove. You can use it for car camping, but you can\u2019t haul a big two-burner camp stove backpacking. (Well, you could, but you would be miserable.) I have been using an MSR WhisperLite Universal<\/a> for all my trips since 2014 and love it. It runs on both canister gas and white gas, and when traveling, if you can\u2019t find one of those types of gas, you can switch the stove over to run on the other.<\/p>\n

Trail Running Shoes<\/h4>\n

Unless you need lots of ankle support or totally waterproof uppers, you can hike and run in trail running shoes. Hiking boots you can hike in, but they\u2019re not much fun to run in. So if I can only buy one type of shoes, give me trail runners. I\u2019ve run ultramarathons, done day hikes and rock climbing approaches, and gone on 10-day off-trail backpacking trips in non-waterproof trail runners. My current favorites are the Hoka One One Challenger ATR 3<\/a>, which are also available in a women’s version<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Backpacking Tent (2-person)<\/h4>\n

\"Brendan<\/p>\n

If you can only buy one tent for both car camping and backpacking, make it a backpacking tent. I\u2019ve been extremely happy with my Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 2 mtnGLO tent<\/a> since 2014, in the mountains and desert on backpacking trips, and stripped down to just the fly and footprint on bikepacking trips.<\/p>\n

Sleeping Bag (15- or 20-degree)<\/h4>\n

\"camping<\/p>\n

A solid EN-rated bag in the 15- to 20-degree Fahrenheit range is good for most three-season camping trips (you\u2019ll probably want something rated 0 degrees F or lower for winter camping trips). I\u2019ve been very excited about water-repellent down for the past four years, and just replaced my old Big Agnes sleeping bag with a new Big Agnes Skeeter SL 20<\/a>, with 650-fill DownTek water-repellent down\u2013and I\u2019ve been very pleased so far. A slightly warmer women’s version is the Big Agnes Hazel 15 Sleeping bag<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sleeping Pad<\/h4>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re camping, you\u2019ll need a sleeping pad, unless you actually just don\u2019t like sleeping. I realize sleeping pads have come a long way in the past few years, but I\u2019m still clutching my old reliable Therm-a-Rest ProLite Plus<\/a>, which is a little thinner than today\u2019s air pads, but it\u2019s never let me down yet.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve been dabbling in almost everything outdoors for about a dozen years\u2013rock and ice climbing, backpacking, mountaineering, hiking, mountain biking, bike touring, bikepacking, car camping, trail running, skiing, rafting and kayaking\u2013and that\u2019s included plenty of hours of getting wet, cold and tired in the process. What I haven\u2019t done in a long time is start […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[387],"tags":[974,8,619],"internal-tag":[515,1673],"class_list":["post-12306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hike","tag-gear-advice","tag-hike","tag-semi-rad","internal-tag-brendan-leonard","internal-tag-pre-redirect-hike"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/hike\/semi-rad-gear-picks-for-all-around-adventurers","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Semi-Rad Gear Picks for All-Around Adventurers","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/semi-rad-gear-picks-for-all-around-adventurers","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/hike\/semi-rad-gear-picks-for-all-around-adventurers"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/03\/Big-Agnes-Copper-Spur-UL-2.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/03\/Big-Agnes-Copper-Spur-UL-2.jpg?fit=2000%2C1333"},"articleSection":"Hike","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["gear advice","hike","semi-rad"],"dateCreated":"2017-05-24T09:55:49Z","datePublished":"2017-05-24T09:55:49Z","dateModified":"2018-11-12T05:47:14Z"},"rendered":"