Appalachian Mountain Club's Equipped

I continue to be astonished that tent manufacturers keep finding new ways to shave ounces. Surely there's a limit to how lightweight a tent can get, but these five tents demonstrate that we haven't yet reached that limit.

This ongoing trend was highlighted once again in the new 2013 Gear Guide from Backpacker magazine—perhaps the most striking aspect of this year's edition—and these tents were the ones that most caught my attention.

Note: Weights are from the manufacturer and include tent, rainfly, and poles, but not stakes, guylines, or stuff sack, which typically add an additional 4 to 6 ounces.

Big Agnes Scout UL2
As the company's web site says, this tent "is a new-school version of your old-school A-frame wall tent or tarp." Winner of one of Backpacker's coveted Editors' Choice Awards, this two-person shelter uses trekking poles for support and weighs a paltry 1 pound, 10 ounces. $280

Big Agnes Slater UL2+
A great option for the tall camper, this ultralight two-person double-wall tent is 96 inches long and readily accommodates folks over 6 feet in height. 2 pounds, 9 ounces. $389. Also available in a one-person version (2 pounds, 4 ounces; $339).

Big Sky Soul
Touted as the "world's lightest double wall freestanding tent," this (short) one-person shelter weighs a mere 1 pound, 11 ounces. To get down to that micro-weight costs $399, though you can customize the design to use less expensive (but slightly heavier) fabrics and poles, which can slash more than $200 from the price.



GoLite Imogene UL2
It's snug but it's extremely lightweight. With a maximum length of 87 inches and a side length of only 78 inches, this isn't a tent I'll be wriggling my 6 foot 5 inch frame into anytime soon. A huge front door and substantial vestibule are nice features. 2 pounds, 7 ounces; $249. Also available in a three-person version (3 pounds, 1 ounce; $299).

Mountain Hardwear SuperMegaUL
This tent isn't just light, it's super mega ultralight. Like most of the tents on this list, it's cut short to save weight, but the free-standing design offers a quick pitch and flexibility in site selection (2 pounds, 2 ounces; $430). Also available in a one-person version (1 pound, 13 ounces; $350).

“Equipped” is an AMC Outdoors blog, written by Matt Heid.

Snow stakes are designed to anchor a tent in compacted snow. They aren't absolutely necessary to pitch a winter tent—you can also create anchors by using buried objects in the snow, or "deadmen"—but they are certainly convenient, if a bit heavy.

Not a lot of companies make snow stakes, however, and the design is largely identical across most brands: a 9-inch piece of aluminum, sides curved inward, with large holes along its length where snow can penetrate and freeze (or sinter) to create a strong anchor.

The lack of alternative designs surprises me somewhat. I'm dubious that the standard snow stake design—though it does work reasonably well—couldn't be improved somehow. In particular, I find the lack of a substantial hook on the top of the stake makes it more challenging to secure a tent anchor loop or guy line. Surely a better design could be created that features more than just a tiny curved-over lip of aluminum on the top?

Well, I did find at least two alternatives -- the Toughstake and Suluk 46 Titanium Snow Stake -- which both feature radically different designs (see below). First, though here's a quick round-up of the standard snow stake options:

SMC Sno-Tent Stake, $2.50 to $3, depending where you buy. Available at REI, among other places. The color (or lack thereof) makes them slightly harder to keep track of than either the REI Snow Stake ($3, pictured above), which is bright orange; or the bright red MSR Blizzard Snow Tent Stake ($4.95). Per listed specs, all three options hover around 1 ounce per stake.

Now on to the alternatives. First the Toughstake, which features an aluminum paddle-like design. The wide paddle "blade" is at the bottom of the 9-inch stake and features a wire guyline that extends outwards to a metal ring. I'm intrigued by the design, but the metal ring is a significant drawback—you'd need to improvise an attachment system for a tent loop or just use the top T-style loop attachment. It's a bit heavier than a standard snow stake (1.18 ounces) and runs $24.95 for a pack of four.

The other option I found is the Suluk 46 Titanium Snow Stake, This radical rethink of snow stake design is shorter (6.5 inches) but much wider (3 inches) than other models and seems to offer considerable versatility for different anchoring options. It's also half the weight of other snow stakes (0.5 ounce), but four to eight times the price ($90 for a pack of four).

“Equipped” is an AMC Outdoors blog, written by Matt Heid.

Part 22 in an ongoing series highlighting Northeast-based gear companies. Living a car-free, bicycle lifestyle has certain limitations. Adding a load-hauling cargo bike to your rack eliminates several of them.

Need to stock up at the grocery store with a week's worth of food for the entire family? No problem. Worksman Cycles manufactures a wide range of heavy-duty bicycles and tricycles that can handle several hundred pounds of cargo.

An article in the Wall Street Journal turned me on to this 115-year-old company (and provides a very entertaining overview of its staff and operations), but was light on details regarding the specific models available. Turns out there are literally dozens of different configurations and styles. Here's a quick overview, though it's well worth the time to browse their site to get a sense of the myriad options, both ultra-functional and outrageously silly. 

Industrial tricycles are the company's specialty. Designed to haul major loads, their super heavy-duty Mover Tricycles feature extra-thick rims ("50% thicker than any other brand"), lots of solid steel components, and extra beefy 3/16-inch chains.

The single-speed Mover Industrial Tricycle M2626-CB ($869, pictured above) is the company's most popular. The large rear platform accommodates several accessories for easier hauling, including a large-capacity rear basket ($129, pictured), as well as an optional front basket ($25 to $35). For $60 more, you can upgrade to a three-speed option (the Mover Industrial Tricycle M2626-3C).

Worksman also offers a range of Front Loader Tricycles, including the standard Model STPT ($899, pictured right), as well as lighter-duty models that are a bit less expensive ($449 to $599).

For those not in need of a load-hauling bike, Worksman produces a line of recreational bicycles and tricycles as well.

Pedal on!

Support your Northeast gear companies! Here are the 21 I've profiled to date:

• Delorme (Yarmouth, Maine)
• Ibex Outdoor Clothing (White River Junction, Vt.)
• Jetboil (Manchester, N.H.)
• New England Ropes (Fall River, Mass.)
• Nemo Equipment (Manchester, N.H.)
• Orion Signal and Survival Products (Easton, Md.)
• Dermatone Sunscreen (Windsor, Ct.)
• Darn Tough Socks (Northfield, Vt.)
• STABILicers (Biddeford, Maine)
• Noble Biomaterials (Scranton, Pa.)
• Hyperlite Mountain Gear (Biddeford, Maine)
• New Balance (Boston, Mass.)
• Sterling Rope (Biddeford, Maine)
• Stephenson's Warmlite (Gilford, N.H.)
• Crazeeheads (Port Washington, N.Y.)
• Equinox Gear (Williamsport, Pa.)
• We-Flashy (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
• Evelo Electric Bicycles (New York, N.Y.) 
• Vargo Outdoors (Lewisburg, Penn.)
• Hubbard Blueberry Rakes (Jonesport, Maine) 
• Wild Things (North Conway, N.H.)

“Equipped” is an AMC Outdoors blog, written by Matt Heid.

Did you know that alcohol stoves produce only half the heat of white gas or a propane/butane canister stove? Here are the details, plus some thoughts on when the weight/heat ratio tips in favor of a canister stove.

As I've written about before, alcohol stoves are an incredibly lightweight and compact option for cooking in the backcountry. But one of the big sacrifices you have to make is longer cooking times, which is directly related to the amount of heat that alcohol stoves generate.

Heat Output of Different Stove Fuels
Denatured alcohol for use in cookstoves contains a mix of methanol and ethanol, which have different heat outputs.

• Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, contains approximately 12,500 BTU of heat per pound.
• Methanol, or methyl alcohol, contains just over 10,000 BTU of heat per pound.

The exact ratio between the two varies substantially by product—you'll need to do some research to figure out which ones offer higher ratios of ethanol. (Zen and the Art of the Alcohol Stove is a great place to start.)

• White gas contains approximately 20,000 BTU per pound, or nearly double the amount of denatured alcohol. 

Canister stoves contain a mix of propane and butane. (You can learn more in this previous post: How Canister Stoves Work: The Science Behind the Fuel.)

• Propane contains approximately 21,500 BTU per pound, more heat than any other campstove fuel for its weight.
• Butane is a close second, with just over 21,000 BTU per pound.

When Is a Canister Stove a Lighter Option?
For short trips, an alcohol stove cook system will be hands down the lightest weight option, thanks to the incredibly light weight of alcohol stoves. But on longer trips, you'll need to carry more alcohol fuel than you would propane/butane fuel. So even though the stove system (burner and metal canister weight) might be heavier, at a certain point a canister stove/fuel combination will be a lighter weight option than an alcohol stove/fuel system.

There's a great analysis of this question (plus lots of other good stove info) here, but the upshot from the post is this: If you're going to be cooking more than 10 meals in the backcountry, a lightweight canister stove system will be lighter overall than an alcohol stove system. (This assumes 1 ounce of alcohol per meal, which is generally sufficient for 1 to 2 people.)

A white gas stove system never really wins this battle—the stove, pump, and fuel bottle just weigh too much.

“Equipped” is an AMC Outdoors blog, written by Matt Heid.