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Boston Globe

7 top pieces of gear, gadgets, and apps for hiking adventures

Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up REI's new Traverse Modular Bear Canister has three different sections — a bottom chamber, mid-section, and lid — that can be configured in different ways to adjust its volume so it can work for weekend to weeklong adventures. REI Co-op Advertisement A multi-size — and multi-use — bear canister If you're backpacking in a place where bears or other critters may try to infiltrate your food (meaning most wilderness areas), you'll want a bear-proof canister. REI's new Traverse Modular Bear Canister has been certified by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee and offers something no other canisters do: the ability to adjust its volume to suit weekend to weeklong adventures. This modular canister has a bottom chamber, mid-section, and lid. Use all three sections to create a large 11.25-liter container or attach the lid to the bottom chamber and you'll have a smaller 6.75-liter canister. An even bigger bonus: Once your supplies shrink on a longer trip, you can remove the midsection and pack the 6.75-liter container inside of it to save pack space (the adjustable nylon carrying case holds the sections together). The rugged canister, made of hard PVC-free plastic, makes a great seat while camping and its transparent orange coloring lets you see inside. Divots in the lid make it easy to twist while opening/closing. The Traverse Bear Canister isn't fully waterproof, so make sure you pack food inside watertight baggies or the entire canister in a dry bag. $79.95. Advertisement Helly Hansen's new Loke Jacket 2.0 is a comfy and affordable summer-weight rain jacket that has built-in RECCO Reflector technology, typically only found in high-end (and more expensive) outdoor gear. Helly Hansen A high-tech yet affordable rain jacket For a great summer-weight rain jacket with all the features you need, check out Helly Hansen's new Loke Jacket 2.0. This comfy (not too stiff or crunchy) waterproof shell has pit zips, handwarmer pockets, adjustable Velcro wrists, a drawstring hem, and a spacious hood with an adjustable brim. It's windproof yet breathable so it allows moisture to escape — and prevents you from feeling clammy while hiking and adventuring. Its key feature: a RECCO Reflector, which is built into the hood (and usually found in pricier outdoor gear). This passive safety device, which doesn't require a power source, enables search-and-rescue crew to find you in case of an emergency. The new Loke jacket is made of 100 percent recycled ripstop fabric. It's available in men's (S-3XL), women's (XS-2XL), women's plus (1X-3X), and junior sizes (8-16; junior sizes don't come with RECCO technology). $120. Advertisement Mountain Equipment's new Xenith bags all have 900-fill goose down; a proprietary PLASMA fabric, meaning super lightweight and breathable with a weatherproof coating; and a mix of horizontal, vertical, and wedge-shaped baffles carefully integrated to maximize warmth. Mountain Equipment Super-light and lofty sleeping bags It's easy to question the warmth of a sleeping bag that weighs so little, but Mountain Equipment's new Xenith bags achieve the perfect blend of featherlight and toasty. The UK-based company — a pioneer of high-alpine gear — has introduced three Xenith bags this year, all with 900-fill goose down; a proprietary PLASMA fabric, meaning super lightweight and breathable with a weatherproof coating; and a mix of horizontal, vertical, and wedge-shaped baffles carefully integrated to maximize warmth. The Xenith 1, rated to 41 degrees (the company's 'good night's sleep guaranteed' temperature), weighs just 12.7 ounces and saves precious weight by shedding the hood and offering a three-quarter zip — ideal for warmer climates. The more-versatile Xenith II, rated to 34 degrees, weighs 17 ounces and has a drawstring hood, a neck collar, and a three-quarter zip. The 19-degree Xenith III weighs 1.5 pounds and has twice the goose fill as the Xenith 1 for extra warmth in high-alpine and colder zones. They're not cheap — $419.95-$679.95 — but they're guaranteed to keep you warm to the rated temp or you can upgrade within 30 days (restrictions apply). The GPS app onX Backcountry has a Trail Mode that lets you plan hiking and backpacking routes, locate points of interest such as national monuments and campgrounds, and track current weather conditions. onX Backcountry Plan your trips with this app Navigate through the wilderness with onX Backcountry, an invaluable GPS app. Under Trail Mode, you can plan hiking and backpacking routes, even avoiding active wildfires and monitoring air quality and smoke forecasts if you're out west. Choose satellite, topo, or hybrid view (hybrid view includes topo lines overlaid real images of the ground satellite view), and then select 3-D to get a good look at the terrain features. The maps show you points of interest such as trailheads, national monuments, and campgrounds, while a weather feature lets you track current conditions — from temperature and wind speed to barometric changes — and upcoming weekly forecasts. New this year, the app provides guidebook-quality info from local experts on 40 regions in seven western states, offering descriptions, route details, and even trail reports. It's also added HD Topo, displaying real-time detail of ridgelines, drainages, and other elevation and terrain features with precision to help with navigating. $34.99-$99.99 annually; free trial available. Advertisement Sea to Summit's new self-inflating Pursuit camping mattress blends lightweight and luxury feel. It comes in four different sizes or shapes, all of which offer horizontal foam-supported air channels that make for a more stable and comfortable mattress. Sea to Summit A mattress for added comfort on the trail Make a little extra room for this cozy sleeping mattress that will make trail nights more enjoyable. Sea to Summit's new self-inflating Pursuit camping mattress blends lightweight and luxury feel. The mattress comes in four variations: 'regular' length and width (72-by-22 inches) or 'large' length and width (78-by-25.2 inches) — in both contour or rectangular shapes — so you can choose what suits your size and comfort level. The Pursuit measures 2 inches thick, has an R-value (warmth rating) of 3 — perfect for summer adventures — and comes with horizontal foam-supported air channels that make for a more stable and comfortable mattress (choose the Pursuit Plus, with its 4.2 R-value and 3 inches of thickness, for colder temps or added comfort). The XPEL Multi-Function Valve makes it easy to inflate/deflate the mattress, while the side-loading stuff sack with drawstring cord makes it a cinch to pack. Base weights start at 1.3 pounds for the Pursuit and 1.75 pounds for the Pursuit Plus. $139-$209. Advertisement Big Agnes now makes an XL version of its Copper Spur UL2 tent so you have room for gear storage in wet weather. Big Agnes A top tent that's home on the trail It's nice to have extra wiggle room in your tent — for gear storage in wet weather, to spread out those 25-inch-wide camp mattresses, to fit in a furry trail companion, or to simply have a little distance from your tent-mate (it happens). Big Agnes now makes XL backpacking tents for just that: a little extra elbow room. One of our top picks — the Copper Spur UL2 XL — adds 6 inches of length, 2 inches of width, and 3 inches of height over the regular UL2 so you have some room to stretch or sprawl (it comes in a three-person XL version, too, that adds 8 inches of length, 2 inches of width, and 4 inches of height). The updated Copper Spur has a new HyperBead fabric that's lighter, stronger, and more waterproof than previous years' materials. It sets up quickly and easily with a main (four-way) tent pole and a cross pole, and has color-coded buckles that help with orienting the rainfly. The tent has two large and two small mesh gear pockets inside, and two doors and 9-square-foot vestibules. A top feature: Unzip the two zippers at the head end of the fly and use your upside-down hiking poles and extra guy lines to set up an awning. The tent offers 36 square feet of floor space — and is noticeably roomy for those used to a traditional two-person space — and weighs just 2.8 pounds (minus stuff sacks). $579.95. Kari Bodnarchuk can be reached at . Kari Bodnarchuk can be reached at