Backpacking gear can get crazy expensive, and with endless options it’s easy to feel totally overwhelmed. In this video I break down my Backpacking Gear Awards for 2025—stuff I’ve actually put through the wringer over hundreds of miles on missions around the world, across all budgets. I’m talking the gear I keep coming back to, plus a few new ideas that genuinely changed how I backpack. I start with shelters, because tents are one of the “sexiest” categories, and for me there’s a hands-down winner: the Durston X-Dome 1+. It’s a freestanding 2‑lb tent that’s easy to set up, has fly-first pitch advantages in bad weather, and even has a trekking-pole reinforcement trick that made a real difference for me in 50 mph winds in the Canadian Rockies. I also highlight a legit budget surprise: the Featherstone Backbone trekking-pole tent—proof you don’t need to spend thousands to get out there. From there I get into sleep systems (my beloved Zenbivy UL Bed, plus budget and winter options like the Kelty Cosmic 20 and Nemo Tensor Extreme), then the accessories that make trips smoother: OnX Backcountry for planning and safety, the M!Go bottle + Sawyer Squeeze + connector cap for an all-in-one gravity-ish filtration workflow, my kitchen organization bag, my favorite Nitecore headlamp, and a few nerdy-but-brilliant problem solvers like the Pika Lid and a bear/rodent solution that can replace a lot of bulk.