We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that’s designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space. While this is made of a lightweight water resistant material, it does not have a built in rain flap. Includes compression straps on the sides to keep your gear stable. This pack has a lot of extra storage pockets for organization of your gear. We offer competitive prices on all of our exclusive products.
Just be prepared to face changing weather conditions out in the wilderness. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. If you’re running in a city, or anywhere near heavy traffic, you may want to consider the Sprinter instead so that cars can see you from behind. The Spot weighs 3 ounces, which is light enough that you’ll likely forget you have a light on your head. And the polyester band (which also contains a bit of spandex) is comfortable against your skin even when you sweat. You can certainly find stronger lights with better optics, but this one occupies the part of the Venn diagram where price, reliability, performance, and ease of use overlap.
The town’s vibrant downtown district boasts beautifully restored buildings that house unique boutiques, art galleries, and eateries, showcasing the town’s artistic and entrepreneurial spirit. Positioned along the banks of the Arkansas River in the Ozark Mountains region, Paris comes to life on the base of Mount Magazine, comprised of lavish playgrounds of water and land. Nature fanatics can receive insight into the park’s geography, fauna, and wildlife at the park’s Visitor Center. The best part of camping at Meramec State Park is spending the night under the stars while listening to peaceful chirps, crickets, and the sounds of flowing streams.
We like to go on day hikes around our area and my other backpacks are much bulkier and heavier than this one. We live close to Zion National Park and it gets very hot during the day, so you want to make sure to always have water with you. Welcome to Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, an outdoor paradise located in Lampe, Missouri. Featuring 10,000 acres of natural beauty and rugged scenery, you’ll escape to serenity when you enter this Ozark Mountain location. Dogwood Canyon is a family destination offering hiking, biking, wildlife tours, horseback riding and trout fishing amongst towering bluffs, waterfalls, creek beds, handcrafted bridges and wildlife. The Spot’s highest setting is 400 lumens, which we found we didn’t need most of the time.
Backpacking stoves are a convenient way to boil water for dehydrated meals and instant coffee without adding a lot of weight to your pack. The Ozark Trail (OT) is one of America’s premier distance hiking trails. Mostly divided into linked sections, the trail winds through 390 miles of rolling hills, stone bluffs and cool streams in central and southern Missouri.
Clicking through the options is also tricky (you never really know which one you’re going to get), but the kid testers seemed excited by this, rather than frustrated. The Astro has only one LED, so it doesn’t have a red light or a separate spotlight, nor does it have a battery indicator (which means you can be caught without a light at a moment’s notice). Jenni also found the headstrap to be more rigid and itchy than that of the Spot, although the Astro was still more comfortable than most of the other headlamps she’s used. Weighing just over an ounce, this comfortable, adjustable, ultralight headlamp works great for running or other high-movement adventures.
The Spot also has a PowerTap function; find the small starburst icon on the side of the light and touch it to immediately bump the power up to max, and then touch it again to revert to low. Costing only $20, the Black Diamond Astro matched the brightness of our top pick in our tests, despite its lower lumen count. We got 10 hours out of the battery on high, the same as our top pick, and the settings are simpler. But the headband feels cheaper than the Spot’s, and there’s no battery light indicator (most of our other picks have them) or red light.
The front and hip straps make it very comfortable and takes alot of the pressure of your shoulders and back. I’m also an Appalachian Trail Maintainer & Trail Crew Member – it’s not uncommon to see sledge hammers, picks, buckets, ozark trail chair bow saws, etc. strapped to this pack while hiking to and from trail work details. I’ve had this pack for 2 years and I’ve beaten the living daylights out of it and it still performs just as well as the day I bought it.
Despite this, our customers report that around 1 in 1000 products arrives damaged due to mail service mistreatment. Please allow business days of processing and production time for your order to ship out. Share your adventures with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Water sources like rivers and streams may only be available seasonally.