About Sweet Spot Backpack
I created this website to help you save money on backpacking gear. I do so in the following ways:
- Teach you ways to save money on backpacking gear
- Provide a one-stop website explaining all you need to know about backpacking gear
- Help you determine which gear you need and don’t need for your backpacking conditions
- Recommend backpacking gear at the sweet spot of weight, performance, and cost
- Email you notifications of sales
This website is oriented toward beginners, but some of the gear recommended here is useful for experienced backpackers as well.
I receive commissions on most (but not all) items you buy through links in this website. The cost to you is the same as purchasing the items directly on the website of the sellers, currently Amazon, Backcountry, Steep&Cheap, and Decathlon. I recommend some items without being paid if they’re the best deals and I’m not affiliated with the sellers.
If you feel uncomfortable navigating to products through links in sweetspotbackpack.com, you can use your browser to navigate directly to the seller’s website and buy them there, although I won’t receive commissions.
- Sweetspotbackpack.com is not an online store or e-commerce website—it is strictly an affiliate website providing recommendations and links to sellers.
- Products will never be sold directly from sweetspotbackpack.com.
- You will never be asked to make a payment to sweetspotbackpack.com.
- You will never be asked to provide your credit card number or any personal information to sweetspotbackpack.com.
- All transactions, including refunds, will occur between you and the seller and will not involve sweetspotbackpack.com in any way.
- Sweetspotbackpack.com willl never recommend products that are not for backpacking, hiking, or camping.
If it looks like you are being prompted to purchase a product directly from the website or provide personal information such as a credit card number, carefully check the spelling of the website URL—you have probably entered a counterfeit website. Please report it to support@sweetspotbackpack.com.
I don’t use AI for this website. I write all of the content myself because I’m passionate about it. Unlike AI’s recommendations, mine are based on human experience. I remember how it feels to be cold and wet from inappropriate clothing and exhausted from an overly heavy backpack. I still kick myself for having wasted money on unsuitable or unnecessary gear.
AI can answer your questions, but it’s often wrong. Even when it’s right, you might be asking the wrong questions. Sweet Spot Backpack teaches you how to ask the right questions, whether you’re asking AI, an outdoor gear retailer, or yourself.
I never rely on recommendations from AI assistants!
How I choose gear to recommend:
- I test some gear myself.
- I refer to manufacturers’ specifications, including:
- Materials
- Weight
- Dimensions
- Denier
- Fill power
- Fill weight
- Down-to-feather ratio
- ISO or EN temperature ratings
- HH (Hydrostatic Head)
- MVTR (Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate)
- R-values
- Clo values if available
- Construction (e.g., 2-, 2.5-, or 3-layered rain gear)
- Essential features (e.g., side mesh panels to reduce condensation in single-wall tents)
- I read books such as The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide by Andrew Skurka.
- I consult peer-reviewed technical journals such as The Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics
- I refer to ISO and ANSI standards
- I collect information from many long-term, field-test gear reviews in reputable websites (e.g., outdoorgearlab.com) and YouTube videos (e.g., TheOutdoorGearReview). I don’t watch paid reviews or unboxing videos.
- I look for trends in customer reviews on seller sites such as Amazon and REI.
- I draw from my many decades of experience. I’ve developed an accurate sense of what is necessary or unnecessary and what is too heavy, cold, warm, uncomfortable, or unbreathable for most people in most backpacking conditions.
- I compare prices and choose the most affordable options.
If you have questions or feedback, I’d love to hear them and respond to them. Just send an email to support@sweetspotbackpack.com .
I’m also on social media: