Featherweight camp gear for climbing high without breaking your back.
The Perfect Pitch
At 30.5 square feet, the Marmot Aura Tent sleeps two and sits four comfortably yet weighs barely four pounds. The secret? Smartly angled, offset DAC aluminum poles—15 percent lighter than traditional ones—that raise the roof, Arsenio style, to increase head space. And a mesh canopy lets you soak up the sun while your significant other hunts and gathers.
$299,
marmot.com
The Fold-up Lamp
This collapsible light will take up less space (and weigh less) in your pack than a warm can of High Life—and, unless you’re really hard up, will come in handier. A three-watt LED bulb runs on four AA batteries and glows enough to light a four-man tent; it’s also dimmable, so you can set the mood for you and your woodland friends.
$50,
bdel.com
The Pivoting PackThe watertight North Face Primero 60 backpack lightens your load using an innovative pivoting frame that suspends gear and counters your moves instead of clinging to your back like a sweaty monkey or a failing relationship. Plus, the four-pound, 10-ounce pack’s 3,650 cubic inches is enough room for the essentials, like the paycheck’s worth of canned ham you bought in Jersey.
$269,
thenorthface.com
The Stuffable SackLike the cast of Circus Sluts 4, the Sierra Designs Arrow Rock 45 is ultra-flexible. It works in a range of temps, since baffled dividers distribute the down in rows, letting you shift the fluff to the top in cold weather or to the sides in warmer climes.
$179–$199,
sierradesigns.com
The Air ChairAfter a hard day’s hike in Jellystone Park, your aching glutes deserve the Big Agnes Cyclone SL Chair. Its six ounces of ripstop fabric and aluminum tent-pole stays pack down to nothing but provide solid support and, paired with an inflatable mattress, form a veritable backwoods Barcalounger. Minus the flat-screen HDTV and middle-age ennui. Try to leave those at home.
$40,
bigagnes.com
The Porta-PyroThanks to dual-purpose elements and a titanium makeup, the Primus EtaExpress stove is just six inches tall and weighs less than a pound. The one-liter pot, which mounts onto almost any fuel cartridge, stores all the components, and the lid also serves as a frying pan. Who wants a Moons Over My Hammy?
$90,
primuscamping.com