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Granite Gear Blaze wins Backpacker Magazine Gold AwardBackpacker Magazine has awarded the Granite Gear Blaze 60 multi-day backpack with the Editor's Choice award for 2019. The Editor's Choice is a Gold Award, which recognises that the Blaze 60 is an update of Granite Gear's original Blaze AC 60, which won Backpacker's Editor's Choice award in 2011. A three pound backpack that comfortably carries 5 …

The Blaze A.C. 60 pack has been a stalwart of Granite Gear’s range for a number of years. Ideal for those people who wanted a lightweight but well featured pack which is capable of carrying a bit more weight. For 2019, the new Blaze 60 has been updated with several new ideas plus a few taken from Granite Gear’s successful Crown 2. The new Blaze is no minimalist pack, it’s brimming with f …

Out of all the items we have reviewed from this season, the Trailblazer has been the most difficult to make a decision on. There is so much we liked, a few areas we disliked, and in between a variety of design elements we had not seen featured before that left us confused as to what we thought of them! It’s easy to say that the Trailblazer isn’t your usual pack and combines elements from …

The Best New Backpacking Rucksacks for 2019Here at Ultralight Outdoor Gear we have a huge range of excellent, and ultralight, backpacking rucksacks – but if you're wondering which ones are NEW for 2019 we’ve highlighted our favourites on this page:Jump to Granite GearJump to Gossamer GearJump to MontaneJump to OspreyGranite GearGranite Gear make superb backpacking rucksacks and have done for years …

Gregory have a great reputation for making comfortable and very well-built packs. We have never had the chance to use one of their backpacks before so when we received the Gregory Paragon 58 we were eager to get it out into the hills and see for ourselves what all the hype was about. Firstly, and also importantly, if counting grams is of importance, we recommend you probably look …

Very comfortable pack with a strong frame and venting back panelFor me a decent 50-60 litre backpacking rucksack should weigh about a kilogram, in my experience packs that weigh a lot less than this have an inferior frame/harness combination and won’t give you a comfortable carry at my typical backpacking weight of 30-35lbs (that's around 15kg). The Gregory Optic 58 Litre pack just meets this crit …

Gossamer Gear have built up quite a following for their ultralight packs in recent years so we were very happy to receive the news that the Gorilla 40 would be making its way to our base in the Cairngorms. Dubbed as “the guru of lightness”, Gossamer Gear’s founder Glen Van Peski has built his reputation on creating ultra-lightweight products that have a focus on aiding trekkers throughou …

This vest has been put through its paces. It carried a full load of winter gear on the Hardmoors 55 mile ultra marathon in March, has been up Skiddaw in blistering heat, around Wast Water, across Moors, up and down Dales, through the Cairngorms and numerous other outings. I have warn it in hot, humid conditions through to freezing temperatures where we experienced -12C with wind chill so I’m prett …

The Osprey Exos 48 is marketed as a lightweight, multi-day backpacking pack, boasting several standout features to achieve a well-balanced product. We certainly found it to be just that, with the quality of the product clear to see, not least with the build itself, but the attention to detail that can only come from listening to the end-user. The bag comes in both a male-specific model (Exos) and …

Osprey Levity 45L ReviewI managed to get hold of a pre-production version of the Levity 45 to take on the final leg of the Pyrenean High Route between L’Hospitalet d’Andorre and the finish of the walk at Banyuls sur Mer. First impressions were that this is an amazing pack, it weighs in at just 830grams, it has a fully supportive frame with a ventilated back, a lid (with a large pocket) and copious …

Lightwave Fastpack 30 ReviewI used the Lightwave Fastpack 30 for a two day backpacking trip to the Lakes recently, I wanted a small capacity backpacking rucksack with a good hipbelt and a 'proper' lid – the Fastpack 30 did the job very well indeed.There are a lot of 30 litre packs out there but the Fastpack stands out for a number of reasons, durability, virtually waterproof and a really good …

The Vaude Citus 24 is a light daypack that carries well, well suited for high exertion activities. The Citus 24 does not compromise on features, it has; a ventilated back panel, padded hip belt, chest belt, and compression straps, all for a very respectable 500g. We found it to be particularly effective for cycling and trail running, activities where the ventilated back system kept our back dry, a …