GearFlogger

REI Duffel Bag

A duffel bag is so versatile. It holds gear, sex toys and body parts with equal efficiency. Just be sure to grab the right thing at the right time, if you know what I mean. The REI Duffel Bag is an excellent and inexpensive piece of kit that does a lot of things well.

REI put a lot of thought into what could have been an unremarkable bag. First off it comes in a zippered tote sack that doubles as a toiletry bag, with a hanging loop, two exterior compartments under a zipper and two mesh compartments on the inside. The duffle itself is a tough Cordura bag, stats for the medium: 12 inches in diameter and two feet long for almost 3,000ci capacity. It weighs in at 12.6oz minus the tote and included carrying strap, also nicely designed with wide 2in webbing and swiveling carabiner-style clips on each end. It has a beefy wrap around handle so go ahead and overload it.

So why is it Denali Approved? It was our sled bag last season, fitting perfectly in a cut-off 2/3 length kid's plastic sled. The medium size fit a tent (the pole length is the deciding factor), shovel, stoves and miscellaneous gear perfectly, with room behind it to tie in gas cans. The big plastic clip-in points for the strap have holes big enough to take a full-size carabiner for hauling. The dry weight of the whole sled, bag and cord haul system was under three pounds. The cut off edge on the back of the sled kept it from backsliding, and it could easily be slung over a pack for the technical sections. A great combination, easy on the legs and the pocketbook.

$24.93 (on sale from $29.50) at REI

REI Schwag Pockets

A tent is like a garage. It's a place for your stuff. And stuff has to be organized, lest you roll your lardy posterior on top of your sunglasses. Tents come with all sorts of pockets these days, but it's always possible to use a couple more. Hence: REI Schwag Pockets.

These things have become indispensable tentmates. Their plastic hooks are just big enough to fit around most tentpoles so you can place them where they're most convenient. They're sized to fit a quart bottle, which means cameras, goggles, sunglasses, headlamps and all manner of other necessities fit easily and are kept handy and safe. They're mesh on one side so you can see the contents. And the cream on top: they've got a wire stiffener around the opening to keep it open for easy one-handed access.

It gets better: they're cheap, they come in a two-pack so you don't have to fight - and get your butt kicked by - the SheFlogger, and they weigh a single ounce for the pair. Just leave them in your tent when you roll it up. The REI Schwag Pockets are a dead-simple piece of gear that simply couldn't be better. Great stocking stuffer.

$8.50 at REI

Kelty Rove saddle bag

Looking for something short of a pack but still able to hang at the crag? Look no further, boulder-boy-ee. Assuming you're man enough to crush the inevitable metrosexual jokes with your own scathing repartee, the Kelty Rove messenger bag makes a great sidekick.

Start your verbal smackdown by establishing your greener-than-thou credentials: the Rove is made from 60% recycled polyester fabric and vegetable tanned leather. Take that, oil-based monster synthetic pack guy. The interior is big enough for shoes, chalk bag, clothing and some munchies. Or if you're into that whole "education" or "work" thing (loser!), a medium-sized laptop and legal pad.

The interior is safety-orange, so you'll have no problem finding your crap - I mean, valuable stuff. It's got a slick easy-clean lining, a single divider, and two small slit-style pockets under the flap each big enough for a cell phone, energy bar or even a bottle of beer. The wide adjustable shoulder strap is plenty comfy. The Rove even comes with one of those recycled shopping totes that you're embarrased to be seen shopping without these days. Fair warning: it's stylish enough the SheFlogger will try to steal it, so keep one eye peeled.

$59.95 at Kelty

Mountainsmith Basecamp Travel System

More stuff to hold your stuff! How can you go wrong with that? Hell, even Martha Stewart used Mountainsmith gear to carry all her crap to prison. If it will hold her face paint you can be sure it'll handle a few racks of climbing gear. But hey, she was entrapped.

Anyway, Mountainsmith knows how to build burly stuff and the Basecamp Travel System is no exception. It's similar to the Modular Hauler System in that it's a duffel with size-appropriate packing cubes, but it's different in that the cubes are not all the same size. Much like, say, gear in real life. The BTS has four color-coded cubes: two small 1/4 cubes, one medium long narrow cube (same size as the two small ones combined end-to-end) and one large flat cube (same size as two medium cubes side-by-side).

Sure, you could use a duffel, but if you crave organizational features the BTS will turn your crank: compression straps, haul handles (on both cubes and duffel) and tie-down points, flat front pockets and one of my favorite innovations for storage gear, a high visibility yellow interior. Think of it as a backpack for your car.

$128.95 at Backcountry

Kelty Binto Bar camp kitchen

George Carlin jokes about a place for your stuff. He must work at Kelty. Kelty makes stuff to hold stuff, cover stuff and carry stuff. They make a lot of stuff including a really nice Basecamp series of stuff to organize your stuff. OK, I'll stuff it.

If you're feeding larger groups of climbers or other poo-slinging primates you know how much space all that food and cookware takes up. Enter the Binto Bar: it stores, organizes and transports large quantities of kitchen items with ease. The basic format is elegantly simple: a fabric box with a skeleton frame holds three zip-top 16/8.5/14.5" HWD Binto bags, which come in basic, padded and insulated cooler varieties.

The front zips open and folds down to reveal a large mesh storage pouch and the three Bintos slide out smoothly like drawers by pulling on their side handles. The velcroed top and side panels flip up and out to form an effective windscreen protecting a work surface with a stiff plastic top. There are three zippered pouches on the inside of the top panel for utensils etc. This is a lot of clever storage in a small space, and you can move it around easily by grabbing the side handles or using the shoulder strap. It even folds flat for storage, and the side daisy chains let you secure it for transport. I've seen other attempts at camp kitchens that create more problems than they solve, but Kelty's Binto Bar is a standout for its simplicity and utility.

$119.95 at Backcountry

Aquapac Flip Phone case

We all know someone who never carries a cell phone in the field because it gets in the way of a pure wilderness experience. Carry that logic far enough and pretty soon you'll be free-soloing El Cap in the nude. I know, gross! Not me, but the hairy guy.

For the rest of us who carry phones for insurance, there are Aquapac cases. They allow great voice and picture quality through the clear plastic, have no loose parts and a lanyard and carabiner clip make them nearly fumble-proof.

Waterproof to 15 feet, they float and are simple to operate. It's always a pleasure to find thoughtful designs like this. Weighs only an ounce; call it an ounce of prevention.

$30 at REI

Granite Gear Air Compressor sacks

There are two kinds of people in this world: stuffers and folders. For the former there is the Air Compressor line from long-time stuffing pimp-daddy Granite Gear.

At just 3.4oz for the medium light is right. The sack compresses well with the attached four-point lid. It is translucent so if you have two equal-sized sacks with different color contents you can quickly tell what's what.

They are very thin so treat with care; if you're the kind of person whose gear always looks manky after just a week of use (you know who you are) you may want to spring for something beefier. The bathtub-style stuff sacks (no compression straps) are also handy, although I did rip off an end strap.

$27 at REI (size medium)