Here is a list of well-regarded hiking gear companies. It is far from exhaustive and I am sure I have left out some good brands, but it is a good place to start if you are new to long-distance hiking and are feeling a bit overwhelmed. Some of these are big brand names found in stores, some are independent but do sell through Amazon, and some are independent and only sell from their own website. In parenthesis, I list what they are most famous for, though they may sell other products as well.
Note: Some of the links are Amazon affiliate links. If you click through and buy something I will receive a small commission.
- 3F (a Chinese manufacturer of lightweight gear, often copies of more expensive brands, with good quality but sometimes long delivery times from China; for example, their Lanshan tent is very popular but see MIER below for an alternative).
- Altra (trail running shoes)
- Anker (power banks)
- Arc’teryx (various gear)
- Atom Packs (packs, located in England)
- BearVault (bear canisters)
- Big Agnes (tents, sleeping pads and bags)
- Black Diamond (trekking poles, headlamps)
- Body Wrapper Ripstop Pants (3-4 oz. | 85-113 g)
- Borah Gear (bivys, tarps)
- Brooks (trail running shoes)
- Cnoc Outdoors (dirty water bag)
- Cotopaxi (down jackets, fanny packs)
- Darn Tough (Merino wool socks with a lifetime warranty)
- Decathlon (general outdoors gear company and retailer with excellent value for money products mostly popular outside the U.S. but can be purchased online in the U.S.)
- Dirty Girl Gaiters
- Dr. Bronners and Campsuds (multi-use, biodegradable soap)
- Dream Hammock (hammocks)
- Durston Gear (tents, backpacks)
- Dutchware Gear (hammocks, especially Chameleon)
- Eagles Nest Outfitters (ENO) (hammocks)
- Enlightened Equipment (quilts, shelter)
- Evernew (water bags)
- Farm to Feet (Merino wool socks with a lifetime warranty)
- Feathered Friends (sleeping bags, clothing)
- Frogg Toggs (cheap rain gear)
- Garage Grown Gear (online retailer of other companies’ products; try GGG10 coupon code for a 10% discount and free shipping on orders over $20)
- Gossamer Gear (packs, tents, trekking poles)
- Granite Gear (packs)
- GSI Outdoors (cookware, especially using Halulite rather than Titanium)
- Hammock Gear (hammocks, quilts)
- Hennessy Hammock (hammocks, tarps, snake skins)
- High Tail Designs (accessories, especially ultralight fanny packs and stuff sacks)
- Hilltop Packs (backpacks, bear bags with funny designs)
- HydroBlu Versa (water filtration)
- Hyperlite Mountain Gear (waterproof packs)
- Injinji (toe socks and toe liner socks)
- Jacks ’R’ Better (hammocks, tarps, quilts)
- Kahtoola (snow gear)
- Kammock (tarps)
- Katabatic Gear (packs, sleeping bags)
- Katadyn Befree (water filtration)
- Klymit (sleeping pads and accessories)
- L.L.Bean
- La Sportiva (trail running shoes)
- Leki (trekking poles)
- LightHeart Gear (tents)
- Lightload® Towels (ultralight camp towels)
- LiteAF (packs, bear bag kit)
- Litesmith (online retailer selling a small collection of UL gear)
- Loco Libre (quilts)
- Loksak (odor proof food bags)
- Marmot (Precip rain jacket)
- Merino wool clothing companies (Ibex, Icebreaker, Minus33, Smartwool, Meriwool, Point6, WoolX)
- MIER (makes a clone of the 3F Lanshan tent that is slightly more expensive but ships more quickly inside the U.S.)
- Montbell (clothes, especially down and rain jackets)
- Mountain Hardware (trail clothes, gear)
- Mountain Laurel Designs (packs, quilts)
- Mountainsmith
- MSR (cooking gear)
- MyersTech Hammock Lab. This one-man shop is run by disabled vet and outdoor enthusiast Jeff Myers. He sells handmade suspension systems and components for hammocks and tarps. His specialty are Evo loops (shackle loops) that are lightweight, non-metal carabiner replacements. He has an eBay store as well, but often better and slightly cheaper if you contact him directly on Facebook).
- My Trail Co (UL equipment retailer)
- NatureHike (a Chinese manufacturer of lightweight gear, often copies of more expensive brands, with good quality)
- NEMO Equipment (famous for its Hornet tents)
- Osprey (rugged, light—but not UL—packs; the most popular brand on trail)
- Outdoor Research (rain jacket, dry and stuff sacks)
- OutdoorVitals (ultralight gear)
- PackbackDesigns (packs and pack accessories)
- Pa’lante Packs (packs)
- Paria Outdoor Products (shelter, sleep)
- Patagonia (clothes, especially Capilene and fleece)
- Petzl (headlamps)
- RAVPower (power banks)
- REI (a general outdoors retailer that also has some excellent own-brand gear)
- Ripstop by the Roll (waterproof material for DIY projects)
- Salomon (trail running shoes)
- Sawyer (water filtration)
- Sea to Summit (dry and stuff sacks, bag liner, sleep gear)
- Six Moons Designs (their Lunar Solo tent is popular)
- Smelly Proof Bags (odor proof food bags)
- SOLE (heat-molded insoles)
- StickPic (small gadget to turn your trekking poles into a selfie stick)
- Superfeet (insoles)
- Superior Wilderness Designs (packs)
- Tarptent (shelter)
- The Packa (a combination pack cover, rain jacket, and poncho)
- Therm-a-Rest (sleeping pads)
- Thrupack (ultralight fanny packs)
- Timmermade (makes a 1 oz. DCF pullover rain shell)
- Toaks (lightweight cookware)
- TrailHeadz Hammocks and Accessories (Wraith UL is a netted hammock weighing in at under 10 ounces)
- Tread Lite Gear (UL accessories; UK)
- Underground Quilts (UGQ) (hammocks, quilts)
- Ursack (bear-proof bags)
- Ultralight Adventure Equipment (ULA) (packs)
- Vargo (cooking gear)
- Warbonnet Outfitters (hammocks, tarps and quilts)
- Wrightsock (double layer hiking socks)
- Zimmerbuilt (custom frameless packs)
- Zpacks (UL gear, especially packs, tents, bear bag, and rain gear; one of the most popular brands on the trail)
Subject: Hiking
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