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5/Jacket
TheMountain Hardwear
Ghost Whispererdown
jacket weighs less than
a grey squirrel and can
smoosh into one of its
pockets, creating a shape
about 12-by-25 cm small.
Both the down insulation
and the tightly woven
nylon exterior have a
durable water-
resistant coating, so
you’ll stay dry on misty
mountain mornings.7/Poles
Supportive sticks take
stress off your joints,
especially on downhills.
Clamps at the top of the
Black Diamond Distance
Carbon FLZtrekking
poles allow you to adjust
their height between 90
and 110 cm. To collapse
into a 35-cm-long
package, the carbon-fibre
supports each break into
three sections, strung
together by a Kevlar cord.4/Stove
Nights and mornings
in the outdoors call for
hot meals and coffee to
fuel your trek. TheMSR
WindBurnerpacks neatly
in its 1-litre aluminium
pot for storage. When
it’s time to cook, the pot
screws directly onto the
burner, which attaches
securely onto a fuel cani-
ster below it. The sealed
setup boils water in less
than five minutes.
6/Pad
The inflatableTherm-a-
Rest NeoAir Xlite
mattress lifts you 65
mm above the rocks
and sticks on the cold
ground. Your lungs and
the fresh air blow it up
in about two minutes.
A screw-down valve will
keep it fully puffed over-
night. Deflated, it’s just
22-by-10 cm—roughly
the footprint of a 1-litre
water bottle.8/Light
A bulky lantern is unnec-
essary. The diminutive
Petzl Tekkinaheadlamp
can throw a 10-metre
beam wide enough to
illuminate your entire
campsite and burn for
more than 200 hours on
its lowest power setting.
Crank up the power to
maximum brightness
and it will light up the
trail as far as 40 metres
in front of you.12345678PHOTOGRAPHS BY RALPH SMITH