Backpacking

A new generation of ultralight tents combines pared-down construction with increased convenience at camp. The Lunar Orbiter is the latest, using a wide-spanning exterior pole structure to increase volume and deliver lightning-fast setup.

It seems New Atlas readers like tent camping in all its forms – from backcountry to safari resort, and from ground to rooftop. Inflatables, expandables, vehicle tents and barely-there ultralights were among the most popular tents of 2024.

The all-new Durston X-Dome 1+ backpacking tent combines an ultralight, tough construction with a roomy, easy-pitch dome design. It looks like it could be the ultimate compromise between on-ground camping comfort and low, back-saving weight.

Kahtoola is preparing to launch its most portable MICROspikes traction aid to date, one so light it calls it the Ghost. It replaces stiff chains with a collapsible TPU web that disappears away in your pack until it's needed for a slick traverse.

Thecatal has some unique ideas about camping. After 2023's massive man-machine Magic Fort vehicle tent, the company has slimmed its camping conceptualizations way down into a new ultralight backpacking tent that pitches in as little as 10 seconds.

There's no shortage of ways to get a coffee fix, even in the most extreme locations. This one's a bit different – a dissolvable coffee paste that can be mixed with water, spread onto breakfast pastries or simply gobbled straight out of the tube.

Overland Expo's focus may be largely on earth-exploring giants and heavy-duty gear, but the show does also highlight some smaller gadgets. One of our favorite finds was the Fire Flute, a tiny, 50-gram fire starter with watertight cache and whistle.

Last year, Nitecore put a new emphasis on "flat light" with its EDC27. After a little electronics tinkering, it's bested itself with the EDC25, a slightly lighter flashlight that fires out 3,000 lumens with more throw, intensity and overall runtime.

This new recreational adventure exoskeleton welcomes anyone to high-level hiking, scrambling and climbing, upgrading your anatomy with an extra 900 W of leg power. It shoulders up to 83 lb of load, sprints at speeds over 16 mph and packs down small.

The wilderness can instantly leave you stranded and in desperate need of rescue. Airmarker debuts a new survival beacon that can triumph where others fail, sending up a visual indicator of the victim's exact location, without battery or connectivity.

High Camp takes a break from spirits to offer adventurous wine lovers a slick way of bringing a bottle off the beaten path. The Parkside Flask 750 stores a full bottle's worth of wine between two magnetic tumblers for camping, picnics and tailgates.

Flextail has made it a mission to design battery-powered pumps tiny enough for even the most ultralight of camping trips. All those efforts have led to the new Zero, a pump so small it clips to a keychain and brings automated inflation everywhere.