Backpacker Magazine Editors' Choice Award Winners

If you only go camping once a year, a basic tent from Target's probably all you need. But if you're a Serious Outdoors Type and camp a lot, you night want to check out the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 3-person tent. Backpacker magazine says "you simply won't find anything else this light, roomy, and weatherproof." The 3-season tent sleeps 3 people comfortably, protects you from heavy wind and rain, and comes with the footprint. But for this much money it should come with a butler too.

GoLite's Adrenaline sleeping bags have a trimmer mummy shape that ensures a close fit, warmth efficiency, and core temperature regulation. Available in men's and women's sizes, the lightweight bags are made with premium 800-fill goose down and are waterproof at the head and feet to protect against condensation. Choose bags rated to 0, 20, or 40 degrees. Backpacker says: "These sacks are warm like the Grand Canyon is big: You gotta experience it to understand it."

You can pack up to 45 pounds of stuff into the Gregory Baltoro 70 backpack, and still have easy access of all of it, thanks to openings in the top, front, and bottom of the pack. More importantly, the pack's harness and suspension system are designed for superior comfort, with a padded waistbelt whose sides pivot independently to match your hips as they move. Says Backpacker, "it makes 50 pounds feel downright feathery."

Leave your batteries at home. The Everlite EL-8 is the world's first solar rechargeable LED headlamp. Each hour of charging in direct sunlight provides about 2 hours of bright white LED light. You can get adapters to use the headlamp to charge your cell phone, iPod, camera, and other devices. The lamp and the solar panel each weigh just 3 ounces, and the lamp has 4 settings: Bright, Photocell, Dim, and Flashing.

With the Dualist cooking system, everything you need for cooking for 2 people fits inside one pot, and the whole thing weighs just over a pound. The set includes 2 insulated cups, 2 bowls, 2 Sip-It tops, a 1.8-liter pot with a lid that has small holes for straining pasta, and a carrying sack that doubles as a sink or water-hauling container. Backpacker says: "The nine-piece cookset simply disappears into itself." The Soloist is the same thing, but for one person.

Personal locator beacons, those gadgets that transmit distress signals to search and rescue teams, used to be your best bet for dangerous situations. But now there's something even better (and a lot more affordable): The SPOT satellite messenger. This handheld device works where cell phones don't (because it uses regular satellite technology), and communicates like GPS units can't. Say you're out in the wilderness and you need help. You can push the Help or the 9-1-1 button to send your exact GPS coordinates, complete with a Google Maps link, to emergency personnel or family and friends. The OK button lets people track your movements and lets people know you're alive. The SPOT even floats. It runs on 2 AA batteries, costs less than most high-tech sleeping bags, and is worth every penny because it could save your life.

Although the Rab Latok Alpine jacket was designed as a summer climbing jacket, the Backpacker editors wore it "through snow squalls, cold wind, and downpours" and still stayed dry. The jacket has a water-resistant front zip and an internal storm flap, with an adjustable wire-brimmed hood that fits over a climbing helmet and keeps water off your face. There are 2 pockets on the outside and 2 on the inside, but no "pit zips" - the fabric is so breathable, you don't need them.

Here's another jacket that's so breathable, thanks to its eVent fabric, it doesn't have "pit zips." But the Westcomb Specter, a shell designed for "last minute weather protection," is meant for more moderate temperatures than the Rab Latok Alpine jacket. The Specter is lightweight (10 ounces), waterproof, with an adjustable hood, adjustable waist, and articulated elbows.

Backpacker says the Mammut Lucido TX-1 headlamp's "brightness is in a class by itself," and one satisfied customer says it "throws (light) like a freight train." The Spotlight function has a range of 105 meters for 145 hours, while the Flood-Light function has a range of 7-14 meters, on "high" and "low," respectively. Although the headlamp is designed for "serious Alpine use," we know a few bicyclists who could one. The Lucido has an adjustable headband and weighs a mere 3.4 ounces without (3 AAA) batteries.

Does your big, um, agnes get sore from sitting on the ground? Hate carrying heavy chairs with you? There seems to be a middle ground in the Big Agnes Cyclone SL chair kit. It weighs all of 6 ounces, but has lightweight aluminum pole sections that help give the chair structure, which supports your back. Comes with a mesh stuff sack.