Backpacking

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.

The new Vitaloop Defender bottle uses an all-in-one design to collect, purify and deliver water. Its five-part filtration system and battery-powered pump turn water from a lake or river into potable drinking water at the push of a button.

Pact Outdoors launched the world's most convenient pooping kit in 2021. To make things even lighter and sleeker, the company has done away with the carry case, turning the shovel itself into a dual-purpose holder for all the Pact #2 essentials.

The all-new Camp Couch is a different style of camping furniture. A full cushioned love seat, it's built to adventure beyond glamping resorts and campsites. It folds up quickly, straps to one's back and travels by foot to more remote scenery.