Top 5 Backpacking Gear Review: Ice Age Trail Trip

Necessity vs weight vs luxury; the constant battle of selecting gear for a backpack camping trip. With endless options, it’s tough to know which gear and equipment is actually reliable and will preform when needed and which items are trendy gimmicks.

After completing a weekend trek in northern WI, certain items stood out as amazing performers, while others fell short. Here are the top 5 stand out items from the trip that are totally worth every penny.

1. Northbound Train First Aid Kit (with a few additions)

There is no denying that emergency preparedness is top priority. The Northbound Train First Aid Kit is designed to be light weight, portable, and includes high quality items with adequate space to fit additional items. They also have a lifetime warranty and a satisfaction guarantee. This kit includes many great items, however, a few things were personally added to it, including a roll of stretchy bandage tape, triple antibiotic ointment, and various pills (such as pain relievers, allergy pills, antacids, etc.). Imagine hiking in the woods; not a person in sight, no cell phone service, not a single sound except for the birds singing and a gentle breeze blowing. Six miles from the car looks like a good place to set up camp for the night. First things first, wood for the fire. With a simple slip of a hatchet things go from fun and relaxing to serious in about .5 seconds. First Aid often goes over looked, however, on this trip to WI the Northbound Train First Aid Kit ranked supreme and valuable.

Weight: 11 oz (without additions)

Size: 5 in x 7 in x 3 in

Price: $24.71

2. LifeStraw

Lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to use this water filtration device makes clean water readily accessible. LifeStraw removes 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria and 99.9% of waterborne protozoa (including Giardia and Cryptosporidium), from up to 264 gallons of water. The only con, it does not filter salt, heavy metals, or waterborne viruses, however, there is little risk in North America. LifeStraw functioned great on the move and provided safe and surprisingly clean tasting water. Being light weight and small the LifeStraw makes a great backup or primary source of water filtration.

Weight: 2 oz

Size: 9 in long x 1 in diameter

Price: $19.95

3. Bahco Laplander Saw

The ­­­­8” blade on the Laplander folding saw simply chewed through wood. The handle was comfortable and the blade was sharp with a rust protection and low friction finish. The blade folds into the handle for safe, compact transport. The Laplander saw performed surprisingly well and quickly made its way onto the top 5 stand out items list. Weighing only 4 oz. this is a must have item for simplified wood processing while backpacking.

Weight: 4 oz

Size: 9 in

Price: $20.70

4. Kelty Grand Mesa 2 Tent

Not the lightest option on the market but for the price this tent demonstrated quality and performance. Packed with excellent features this tent was easy to carry, set up, take down, and pack away. The color coded fly clips and compact folding poles are nice details. Additionally, the durable seem taped construction and ventilation helped keep the condensation to a minimum. The size was comfortable for two adults plus a few select items inside. Overall, the Kelty Grand Mesa 2 tent is a great value.

Weight: 4 lbs 12 oz

Packed Size: 12 in x 15 in

Price: $110.96

5. Browning Ultra Dri Insect Shield Socks

Comfortable, enhanced with Insect Shield technology, and made in the USA these socks took a beating and survived. Not only are these socks comfortable and moisture wicking, they are also proven to repel insects including mosquitoes, ants, ticks, flies, chiggers, and midges. Even without the Insect Shield tech these socks are impressively comfortable; which is priceless when hiking miles on foot! On a side note, the Insect Shield technology seems to be amazing! It comes on all different types and brands of clothing. Additional reviews to come on this technology.

Price: $9.99

Bonus Item* Nesco Snackmaster Food Dehydrator

Although this item is not something that would be packed and taken along, it did prove to be invaluable in lightweight food preparation. The Nesco Snackmaster can be used to dehydrate all kind of food making the food not only lightweight but preserved, easy to prepare, and condensed for travel. From fruit to meat to vegetables to sauce this dehydrator heated evenly and performed well. The Snackmaster is a great value, easy to use, and must have for any backpacker providing an alternative to overpriced pre made food packs or heavy bulky food. Click here for personally tested trail recipes!

Price: $67.46

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Sometimes gear is not all its cracked up to be. Depending on the activity, finding out in the field can range from devastating to simply a minor annoyance. Luckily, this trip only a few items displayed an underwhelming performance. The top three items that fell short this trip:

1. Mountrek Ranger Hiking Boots

When backpacking it is very important to have proper shoes. Although these shoes are labeled as hiking boots and have the features of hiking shoes they were not impressive. The inside sole kept slipping back and the laces were hard to tie tight. They are waterproof and did have good ankle support, however, overall they were just not that comfortable to walk in on uneven terrain for a distance.

Price: Bought them for around $30.00 on sale at Bass Pro Shops. Listed for $79.99

2. Koppen Wandern 45L Backpack

Definitely something to keep in mind as far as weight, space, and comfort go. The actual pack itself can go over looked but is definitely one of the most important items. In this case, size, comfort, and weight took a back seat to price. This pack is loaded with features and has many positive qualities including the cumber bun padding, strap adjustments, built in rain cover, and convenient easy access pockets; however, the size, weight, and over all comfort is just not there. The middle of the pack is very narrow leaving little room inside the pack and if the pack is over stuffed the frame bows out. The pack itself weighs over 4 lbs and when weight is a concern that is not exactly considered light. The pack was comfortable for the most part, however, the lack of internal middle space made the load somewhat awkward and eventually uncomfortable.

Weight: 4 lbs 4 oz

Capacity: 45L

Price: Bought it for $28.00 on clearance at Dick's! Listed for $120.00

3. Walmart Clearance Sleep Pad

This sleep pad was a budget buy from Walmart clearance for $10. For the price, this pad performed surprisingly great. This item made the "could be better" list, not because of the product itself but simply due to the fact that there are better options out there. This pad is pretty thin, in fact the other pad used on this trip inflated to about 3x thicker, but the Walmart clearance pad was still shockingly comfortable. The pad weighs 3 lbs 13 oz making it not the best option for backpacking but perhaps a better option for camping. This product was actually great for the price but the weight of the product was not worth how thin the pad is.

Weight: 3 lbs 13 oz

Packed Size: 26 in long x 6 in diameter

Price: $10.00 in the clearance section

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