321 Best Backpacking Gear of 2026
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What gear are the hosts promoting at the start of the episode?
Yeah. With the team on my back. Welcome to the Backpacking Podcast, brought to you by Outdoor Vitals, makers of performance first ultralight gear. And for myself, currently drinking an RC zero calorie cola because I've been watching the chat for the last couple minutes. I'm here with Jeremiah Stringer, ready to talk to you guys about some great gear. But before we do that, Jeremiah, why don't you tell them about some great gear that they can get their hands on today?
Yeah, absolutely. Check out outdoorvitals dot com. They have a sale right now on the Ventus Active Hoodie, up to eighteen percent off. But uh John and I have been talking about the piece of gear that we've fallen in love with, and I am loving the Shadow Light Carbon Sixty. Um I normally take a larger backpack, but this thing, it's the it's seems to be the perfect size because uh it forces me to bring the essential best gear that I absolutely love. And there's plenty of storage on the inside and the outside. Um I'll tell you, John, I have this like four-pound chair that I've been bringing with me. And I just could not fit it. I was like, I have so much stuff in this backpack. So So here's what I decided to do.
I said they have this zip feature going down the middle of the backpack. It's the only backpack I've ever seen that has mesh on the outside and then a zipper down the middle. So I took all of the stuff that comes with the chair and I said, let me leave that at the house. I want The fabric. And I want the frame of the chair. I put the frame on the outside and I unzip that middle compartment and stuck the chair fabric on the inside. Dude, we got soaked on this trip over the weekend and my chair fabric stayed absolutely dry. Got to camp, unzipped the carbon 60 shadow light, and everything was great, dude. Worked out perfect. So if you want to check out this lovely gear that I'm talking about, check out Outdoor Vice.
We'll link both the Ventus Active Hoodie up to 18% off and the Shadowlight Carbon 60 backpack in the description below. That is
fantastic. I really, I'll tell you, they have done such a good job with the backpacks over at Outdoor Vitals. I'm becoming a huge fan. Uh, Doc Watson, we are men after our own hearts here. He bought a 12-pack of zero RC Cola last weekend. Good stuff. I'm glad I got to share the love with you guys on that one. It was an exciting find for me. I hadn't had RC Cola in years, and all of a sudden they started carrying it. In the local grocery stores and I got super excited.
John,
you don't
know I've had I might have uh put a little comment in the chat w while while we were uh waiting to start the show. Little behind the scenes. We normally start about four. John and I were chatting it up before the show. And uh John said, I'm gonna run and grab a drink before we hit to go live. We are olive now, but um We are olive. While John was gone, I said, Hey everybody, we're just waiting on John right now. He's gone upstairs to grab him a pop. So uh I think people are joining in or want to know if you're drinking root beer, Dr. Pepper, R C Olive Pump. I I can honest I don't think I've ever had an olipop,
have you? No, I don't even know what that is. That was something somebody put on here.
DMS Adventure said Olipop. Mountain Dew in Canada is always caffeine free. Is it Mountain Dew without the caffeine?
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Well, in the States it would be. We want all the diabetes. Yeah. It's crazy. Uh, we got we gotta get the diabetes. That's that's really important right here. Funny funny comments starting out the show today, man. Yeah, yeah. So okay, Jeremiah.
Uh-huh.
Mr. Backpacking with Jason has been posting some little videos here and there. Um And you were in them. I've been sneaking around with him. So why don't you tell me a little bit about what's going on here?
Well Honestly, man, um Jason sent me a text saying I hey, I'm gonna meet up with Matt and head to the woods Saturday. And I said I'm free Saturday. So I checked in with the misses. She's like, calendar, good to go. I said, Let's go. And uh then Were you talking about this past Saturday?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What gear are the hosts promoting at the start of the episode?
0:00–9:35
2
How do the hosts compare the best backpacking backpacks for 2026?
9:35–20:08
3
Which tents are highlighted as the top picks for 2026?
20:08–30:11
4
What tarp size and setup do they recommend for a rainy trip?
30:11–40:20
5
Which sleeping bags are considered the best overall for 2026?
40:20–49:22
6
What are the top-rated sleeping pads for 2026 and why?
49:22–58:53
7
What upcoming topics and special episodes do they tease for next week?
58:53–1:08:55
8
How do the hosts wrap up the episode and thank listeners?
1:08:55–1:09:55
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The Backpacking Podcast
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