Sometimes it feels like things never change, and while we agree that you shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken, we also think that everything has room for improvement, even something as simple as a spoon. We at Backpacking King wanted to find out what the most innovative backpacking products on the market are right now, and to that end we scoured the internet to bring you our list of the 5 most innovative backpacking products of 2019, in no particular order. Enjoy.
The Devour Multi-Fork
First up is a spork. And yeah, we know, the spork has been around for a quite a while. While being simultaneously a fork and a spoon is pretty darn cool, that’s not what earns this multifork a spot on our list. The Devour multifork aims to solve one simple problem, how do you keep your fork from getting dirty while backpacking?
I don’t know if you are anything like me, but when I go backpacking I inevitably end up setting down my fork or spoon while cooking where it proceeds to grow a layer of dirt and dust that only my bodies hungry cries after a long day of hiking can force me to lick clean. Thankfully with the Devour Multi-Fork you no longer have that problem. The Devour features a little kick stand that keeps eating portion of the spoon off of the ground when you set it down. This little stand also lest you hang the spoon from a pot.
The best part of this system though is that the stand detaches from the spoon body and functions as a little multi tool with a bottle opener, two flat head screwdrivers, and more. The whole thing is super lightweight (9 grams), durable, and will only cost you $17.
River Country Products Sleeping System
River Country Products is a small company aimed at providing high quality backpacking gear for cheap. They produce great trekking tents that they design themselves and are great if you are just getting into backpacking, or don’t want to spend a couple hundred dollars on your gear.
River Country Products also makes an innovative 3 in one sleeping system to provide you with a more comfortable nights sleep without adding weight to your pack. The system features a sleeping pad, pillow and sleeping bag. While this may seem fairly standard, what makes this product unique is the way they all work together. The sleeping bag has straps that hold the sleeping pad underneath it, meaning you won’t ever roll off your sleeping pad again. Which in my mind is already a pretty good selling point, I hate waking up on the ground, sleeping pad pushed off to the side and a kink in my kneck.
The pad is great as well. While the shape and size of the pad are standard, though it is a bit longer than most pads and plenty thick, what makes it unique are the two different fabrics that are used to produce it. One side has a black stretchy fabric while the other side has a firmer fabric. This is great because you can simply flip the pad over for a completely different sleeping experience. One side mimics a soft mattress and the other a firmer one.
Finally, while I think that pillows are a tad overrated when camping, it is comfortable and also works as a pump for their sleeping pad, so you don’t have to blow it up by mouth. All this and the whole set will only run you $69.95.
GoLite ReGreen Windshell
For those of you that like to be environmentally friendly (and I hope that’s most of you, if we want to keep backpacking we need to keep those forests in pristine condition) the GoLite ReGreen Windshell is an awesome choice for your next windshell.
The ReGreen is made entirely out of recycled polyester, and more than 20 plastic bottles go into each jacket. Sadly not too many people use those plastic bottles we recycle so we think that’s some pretty good innovation right there. The ReGreen is made with eco friendliness in mind, and they even work hard to reduce water consumption during production.
While there are other probably better options out there we think that this jacket deserves your attention. It does block up to about 30mph winds, and compresses easily, but there are lighter and more durable windshells available.
The ReGreen costs $100.
Klymit Inertia X Frame
Sadly we haven’t been able to test this product ourselves, but if it works as advertised it’s a pretty cool backpacking pad.
The Klymit Inertia X Frame aims to reduce weight, lower cost, and improve your sleeping experience. They did this by creating a sleeping pad that only has fabric where it needs to. They mapped out the average persons pressure points while sleeping and created a pad that supports those, and it looks like pretty much nothing else. At the end of the day your sleeping experience should be the same as any other pad but with a much lighter, smaller and more affordable pad. I still want to try it before I believe it though!
The pad weighs 9.7oz, and is 72’’ long by 18’’ wide with a thickness of 1.5’’. The pad will cost you around $64.95.
NEMO Airpin Ultralight Stake
While you may think that something as simple as a backpacking stake can’t be improved further NEMO proves you wrong. Their airpin ultralight stake is designed in a such a way that you won’t ever have to tie a not again.
The head of the stake is made so that when you wrap a guy line around it the rope will stay taught without ever having to tie a not. The stakes are also extremely light, small, and painted a bright green which we actually like. Maybe that will keep me from stepping on any more stakes lying on the ground.
The stakes will cost you $10 for two, or $19 for four.
The Crotch Pot
No this isn’t a joke. We promise. And it’s exactly what it sounds like too. If you’ve ever wondered why you don’t use your body heat to cook food instead of carrying around heavy and bulky burners and pots than this is the perfect product for you. Seriously.
All you do is stick some water and food mix into a sealable plastic bag, put it inside this special pouch, and hang it inside your pants. Hike for a few hours and your food is ready to go. Gossamer Gear has a great step by step picture guide on their website if you care to learn more.
While this is quite innovative, I probably won’t be switching over anytime soon.