Backpacker 3/06 Helium EQ

Connoisseurs’ Choice

If you’re the type who bivies in the open, sleeps cold, and likes to keep weight to an absolute minimum, look no further: This half-zip mummy is the holy grail of ultralight three-season waterproof/breathable bags. It’s stuffed with 900-fill-power down and shelled with Pertex Quantum, a durable weatherproof fabric to which Marmot adds additional water-repellent treatments. During two separate weeklong November journeys through the High Sierra, the perfectly contoured Helium shed dew and melting frost. At 9,000 feet on Utah’s Boulder Mountain, overstuffed baffles made for toasty nights despite single-digit temps.