Men’s Journal Selects the Best Backpacking Gear of Spring 2019

With spring officially here, and many of us ramping up our outdoor adventures, a number of outlets are revealing their top picks for new gear. Last week we shared Backpacker magazine’s best new gear picks for instance, and now we have a similar article courtesy of Men’s Journal. The bottom line is, if you’re in the market for some gear to get you through the warm-weather months ahead, you’re going to find plenty of enticing products to spend your money on.

MJ’s list is filled with pretty much everything you need to go on a backpacking trip ranging in length from just overnight to weeks on end. That includes backpacks, trekking poles, tents, boots, and other items. All told, the list is only nine items long, but it is quality the editors are going for here, not quantity. And while the list isn’t as massive as some that we’ve seen in the past, it still manages to pack in a few surprises.

Some of the items that make the cut include Marmot’s Bantamweight Jacket –– a waterproof coat that packs down to an incredibly small size –– and the Gossamer Gear Kumo 36 bakcpack, which tips the scales at just 1.5 pounds (.68 kg). MJ‘s tent of choice is the new Nemo Dragonfly 2P, while it recommends the Mammut Ducan High Knit GTX for boots. The rest of the list you’re just going to have to discover on your own.

We’ll probably see a few more of these lists creeping out over the next few weeks as hikers, campers, and backpackers come out of hibernation from the winter and start heading back outside. Spring is always a good excuse to go shopping for new gear of course, not that we need an excuse.

Kraig Becker