Directory of “Cottage Industry” Backpacking Gear Companies Some of the best ultralight backpacking gear on the market is not made by the big gear companies (and it isn’t even available in most stores). It comes from small, hiker-owned businesses who design, manufacture and sell their own gear on the internet and at small shows and hiker gatherings. These “cottage industry” gear smiths are responsible for most of the innovative new ideas that have fueled the ultralight backpacking revolution (from tarp-tents to one-pound packs and more). – Lightweight shelters, cook systems, accessories and more. Bear Paw Wilderness Designs – Lightweight shelters and accessories. – Ultralight freestanding shelters. – Ultralight down hats, vests, gloves and apparel. – Lightweight alcohol stoves. www.bushbuddy.ca – Ultralight wood burning stoves. – Silnylon tarps, packs and other gear. – Colorful lightweight gaiters.

– Materials and fabrics for building your own lightweight gear. – Lightweight backpacks and accessories. – Ultralight sleeping quilts. – Ultralight packs, shelters, accessories and more. – Ultralight down sleeping bags and clothing. – Ultralight stoves and baking systems. – Ultralight multi-fuel stoves and cookware. – Ultralight backpacks, shelters, sleep systems & more. – Down booties and apparel. – Lightweight hammock tarps, quilts and accessories. – Lightweight hammock shelters. – Ultralight cuben fiber backpacks, shelters and accessories. – Lightweight shelters, bivys and accessories. – Ultralight sleeping quilts, shelters and accessories. – Ultralight sleeping quits and bivys. – Lightweight shelter kits, fabrics and accessories. – Ultralight double-wall shelters, fabrics and accessories. – Lightweight backpacks, DVDs, books and videos. – Custom fitted ultralight backpacks.

– Modular pack systems, shelters and other unique gear. – Ultralight sleeping quilts and down apparel. – Ultralight backpacks, shelters, sleep systems and more. Outdoor Equipment Supplier LLC – Lightweight tarps, shelters and accessories. – Ultralight shelters, sleep systems and accessories. – Lightweight alcohol stoves and accessories. – Lightweight grills for campfire cooking. Purple Rain Adventure Skirts – Lightweight backpacking skirts and kilts. – The godfather of UL backpacking’s books and sew-your-own gear kits. – Trekking poles, tent poles, cookware and accessories. www.simblissity.net – Lightweight gaiters, storage sacks and  accessories. – Ultralight backpacks, shelters and accessories. – Lightweight wood-burning stoves. – Ultralight backpacking tools and accessories. – The original lightweight single-wall shelters (and now double wall shelters) – Lightweight conical shelters, cook systems and more.

– Lightweight stoves, cookware and accessories. – The best lightweight backpacks in the biz. – Lightweight wood burning stoves. – Ultralight down sleeping bags and apparel. – Ultralight alcohol stoves. – Ultralight cuben fiber shelters, backpacks and accessories. This list is still a work in progress. If you have a question or would like to suggest a company that is not mentioned here, please post your comments below… Sample Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hiking Gear Listecho pb500t backpack blower The Best Lightweight Backpacks For Thru-Hiking And Multi-Day Hikesnorrona lofoten backpackIn line with my last post about How Much Food Appalachian Thru-Hikers Should Be Eating, this post is all about FIRE!  backpack pearson longman

Well, it is indirectly about fire because you use fire to cook your food.  There are many ways to go about harvesting your fire whether it be in the fire pit, through a home-made alcohol stove, or with a high tech monster.  We even hiked with a gal who decided to hike without a stove but she ended up getting sick of eating bars all the time and last I heard from her, was getting her own stove. If you’re a pyromaniac, you just want a spray bottle (with spray and stream settings) full of denatured alcohol and a long/candle lighter to make cool designs and stop people from talking to you (as observed at Trail Days 2013).  backpack reins argosYou would cook over whatever your latest fire was started on!spencer rutherford backpack If you’re not a pyro, here is a quick breakdown of the different types of stoves, fuel, and a comparison of specific stoves:backpack tekapo

We started out with the BioLite Campstove because we weren’t sure about fuel availability on the trail, and we are nature-loving hippies.  We wanted to be more environmentally friendly using a renewable fuel source that was readily available and to charge our electronics with the same source!  While I think BioLite is putting out some amazing products, it is NOT the stove for thru-hiking.  It’s size and weight make not carrying fuel negligible.  Also, our phones and camera batteries lasted long enough until our next town stops to charge.  husqvarna backpack blower prices canadaWe will use this for shorter trips where we aren’t hiking as many miles but we suffered carrying this because of our idealist views.  biggest backpack arma 2If you want to try a wood stove, you should use something like the Vargo Titanium Hexagon wood stove which is basically a folding piece of metal that protects the wood from wind and you set your pot on it.  samsonite network2 laptop backpack 15 16

The downside of a wood stove is that if it rains, your fuel won’t burn so you’ll want to carry some dry pieces of wood or starter sticks to light your initial flame.  It can be frustrating and time consuming to get wood after a long day of hiking. I did not see anyone using a tablet stove although it seemed to be the lightest option in terms of stove weight, fuel weight and cost as you can see in the breakdown above.  It can even be cheaper if you make your own tablets, but homemade ones are inconsistent as far as output and can be smelly/leave a lot of residue on your pot.  serato backpack fx reviewTablets can be put out and the remaining part reused but manufactured ones can break up if damp.  y3 backpack ebayEven manufactured tablets can sometimes leave a residue and are made of chemicals.   apiarist backpack

If it is the cheapest and lightest option, why aren’t more people using them?  The drawbacks are that fuel tablets are harder to find on the trail, so you’ll have to send them to yourself and carry more of them depending on how often you can get to a post office.  Carrying more tablets and the added shipping expense might make another option more reasonable.  Plus, although the tablets are supposedly not toxic if you use a pot (do not cook over the open flame), you need to take storage precautions because ingesting any part of the tablet can lead to nausea, vomiting, and kidney damage.efco backpack trimmer (Related reading: How to Make Your Own Esbit Stove and Fuel Tablets)yard man backpack blower 4 cycle Alcohol stoves were the 2nd most popular after canister stoves and if I were hiking solo, I think this would have been my first choice.  randoseru backpack buy online

The stoves and fuel are cheap and easy to find.   You can also make your own alcohol stoves out of aluminum cans.  The downsides are that you don’t have flame control so it is only good for boiling water (which is really all the cooking you do anyway).  It is hard to find in small quantities of denatured alcohol so if you buy some, you’ll probably want to buy a smaller container to put it in and share the rest with a hiking buddy. Our favorite stove is the MSR Pocket Rocket.  vera bradley laptop backpack call me coralIt is light and can be easily stored.  backpack pvp texture packIt screws right onto the fuel canister unlike the additional connective materials MSR Whisperlites have adding extra weight.  vfs backpack

Maybe the Jetboil will save you 1 minutes worth of time and fuel but you still have to carry the same size fuel canister in addition to its 11.75 oz.  The MSR Pocket Rocket had an efficient cook time which was important since we were cooking for 2 and whoever cooked 2nd had less time to stare at the eater… drooling… Fuel was also easy to find although it was the most expensive type of fuel.  I feel like a canister lasted longer than the Fuel Burn Time I listed above but I just know it cooked me the food the fastest for the weight!  wkf backpackSome reviewers say it was not stable but we didn’t have any problems with a 1.8 liter pot.  burton 12l backpackIt was also great to be able to control the flame because you don’t need a full boil for tea/coffee.  dakine 38l backpack