5 nearly PERFECT, shockingly DURABLE, ultralight backpacking gear items that have lasted YEARS 

I also find that Mont Bell gear is surprisingly durable. I bought the Ex Light windshirt (1.9 oz for a men’s XL) as a novelty more than anything else. I thought I’d use it on a few SUL trips (sub five-pound base weight) and that would be it. Five years and thousands of miles later, there’s not a hole or tear in it, even though I regularly wear it directly against my backpack and have had it brush up and pull out of thorny bushes on more than a few occasions.

Thanks for sharing. Because the sleeping pad doesn’t insult your body heat, it just insulates you from the ground, it’s never going to be too warm. Cheers.

Love your videos man. Seems like a new take on UL videos 🤙🏾

Wow, 800 fill. Nice! I have a used LLBean jacket so similar that I bring even in the summer....just because if I don't, I'll need it. That Exodus sounds great. I overpack, often. OCD items :/ I am suprisingly better about my ocd, but I DO have OCD about what goes where, even when I set things out to sleep in a tent. Knife must be to my right, stick to left, cam at waist on right, etc, etc. That way, even in my sleep, my muscles know where everything is. Those stakes sound great, too! My mat is an R7 rating, but weighs more than yours. I want lighter. I also carry a Hummingbird Hammock, which rocks. I think the hardest thing without spending hundreds is a proper sub zero sleep bag and ULTRALIGHT tarps. They are around $400 :/ As for tents....I'm too budget to afford an Ultralight :( lol

First time viewer and subscriber. Nice, direct approach! Much appreciated, thank you!

I like that you've used some of your gear for years. It makes your opinion worth listening to. I have an older NeoAir XLite, and I use the Pocket Rocket when my alcohol stove has to stay home due to burn bans. The only problem I have with the Pocket Rocket is that fuel hisses out and gets on my hands when I screw or unscrew it from the canister. I've tried easing it up to that point, then turning it quickly, but I don't have the knack. Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll check out Montbell when I need to replace my lightweight puffy.

I completely agree with you about a little extra weight of a pack is worth it if the extra weight is for comfort. I’m in this hobby for fun not seeing how much discomfort I can endure.

I have the MontBell Plasma jacket and the pants. The Plasma has the small baffles and I have never had an issue. Super light. I always hike with my dog and she uses my jacket , it’s part of her sleep system on colder nights. She also loves it. The pants are used in the late fall and winter. I use the mini stakes and I have never had any issues, they just work. I have way to many stove and use the BRS because I am an UL fan boy and it works great. I am an East Coast hiker but I am headed out to do the Colorado Trail next year. I may research fuel efficiency a bit on that one.

Nice vid. Thanks 😊

I’m on the fence when it comes to hooded versus non-hooded lightweight puffys. In the field I look at people wearing them with a little envy because they look so comfortable, but I know they’re no warmer than I am with my hood-less setup. The reason is that I’m also carrying a buff neck gaiter and some sort of a warmer hat anyway, so the hood on the jacket becomes extra warmth that’s comfortable but, if I’m being honest with myself, not necessary. The conditions I carry lightweight down jackets in have lows between 28 and 55 F. I also find that down jackets are way too warm to hike in. I’d rather just throw a windshirt like the 1.7 oz Mont Bell Ex Light over whatever base layer I’m wearing and then my Kuiu Peleton 97 fleece hoody (5.45 oz for mens XL) over that. Sometimes I’ll wear the windshirt over the fleece but I know that, as I start to move, I’m going to get warm and that fleece isn’t going to be on for more than 15 minutes anyway., so having it on the outside means the stop to layer down will be quicker. As I feel myself warming up as I hike I put the Kuiu hoody back into the pack, as it doubles as the base layer I sleep in and I don’t want it exposed to sweat vapor. Eventually the windshirt will also get crammed somewhere (I swear, my mosquito headnet takes up more space) but I might be hiking in the hat and buff for hours afterwards. An exception to the above will be conditions where it’s wet/damp and temps stay in the 35-45 range. This is when hypothermia becomes a concern and keeping the core warm with insulation, even while moving, becomes key. These are also conditions where down would start to lose loft in. My solution is to throw more fleece at the problem - I wear a Polartec Alpha Direct hoody (sun 6 oz) over my Kuiu fleece and put an oversized rain jacket on top to lock the heat in. Then I slow the pace down a bit so I don’t sweat but stay comfortably warm. I’m general, I don’t find down a layer I put a backpack over even in temps down to 0 F. I find the activity of carrying a backpack has me generating a lot of heat, so an appropriate base layer and wind jacket are more important. In colder conditions, the Patagonia R1 to hike in coupled with the aforementioned windshirt and a rain jacket over that to trap the heat in. Maybe the Kuiu between the windshirt and rain jacket if more warmth is needed. In sub-freezing conditions I’ll have a serious puffy with dedicated hood for in camp. My garment of choice is no longer made but it’s two sizes larger than what I normally wear for layering, and comes down below my butt when standing. I don’t pay much attention to weight when it gets super cold because the days are short anyway. I won’t be carrying the pack for long, and I’d rather be comfortable outside in camp than go UL but have to hunker down in my tent and sleeping bag in order to really be warm. Overall, an effective lightweight layering system is a very personal thing. Some people chill faster than others, some sweat more than others, etc. YNMV on the above, as a result. I’d also say being able to stay warm after a day or two, if cold, wet conditions persist, will be impacted to a great degree based on how well you’ve been eating, drinking, and staying warm and dry when in camp. If you find yourself starting yet another cold, wet day with a slight shiver before you even get out of your sleeping bag, by all means take a zero day if you’ve got a lot of water, fuel, and food, otherwise pull the maps out and consider ways to get back to civilization via trail earlier than planned.

What brand is your DCF Tarp….and bathtub floor box?? 👍👍

Every piece of Mont Bell gear I have is worth 10 times its weight in gold.

Puffy's are extraneous. Can't hike in them. Fleece is better. Rarely cold in core if extremities are warm. Deluxe is a knockoff of Soto, but ok. PR2 is inferior though. Stakes usually require rocks anyway, Big Agnes 6" Dirt-Diggers seem better. Hard to argue with market though. Heads break on Groundhogs, one wonders why all three flutes have to be notched, when a single notch would be so much stronger?

Assuming your shelter needs six stakes, full sized ground hogs weigh 3 oz for the set versus 1.95 oz for the minis. In the hand, it’s like comparing a modern big-screen phone with an old flip-phone. Full sized are MASSIVE. I thought I beat the crap out of my minis, but apparently not as I’ve never tried just pounding harder when I hit a rock or root, preferring to just shift an inch or two in direction. That said, I’ve also used the same set for more than a decade. Either way you go, I feel that durability and performance is high. I’ve never been in any conditions where I’ve thought about going back to the full-sized stake, or even carrying a couple to hold down the vestibule tie out on either end of my shelter, which probably gets the most stress of any tie-out point. Given you already own the full-size stakes, it’s really a question on if you want to spend $27 to save an ounce and carry less bulk. You’ll probably run into fewer obstacles below ground with the minis too, and I suspect they are much easier to use in desert environments, where shepherd hooks would be even easier.

Time stamp it

My dude, wash your down jacket. It deserves to be clean and fluffy again.