![The author enjoys the comfort of the Mountain Equipment Xeros 800-fill, Russian Goose Down sleeping bag inside his bivy sack on the second morning of his solo ascent of Prodigal Sun (V 5.7 C2, 900') in Zion National Park, October 22. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mountain-equipment-xeros-sleeping-bag-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz used the Mountain Equipment Xeros 800-fill, Russian Goose Down bag in warm, sweaty conditions as well as cold, wet ones, and the bag kept him remarkably dry and comfortably warm. “I have never experienced a more efficient sleeping bag,” he reports. Five stars.
![Whitney Clark explores unknown terrain on a peak above Sphinx Lake in Kings Canyon, California, this past August. [Photo] Tad McCrea](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sterling-fusion-nano-ix-1-2.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Whitney Clark takes the Sterling Fusion Nano IX along for some rugged granite adventures in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The 9mm rope can be used as a thick half-rope or a skinny single rope, and features Sterling’s new DryXP treatment, which exceeds the UIAA certification of less than 5 percent water absorption, keeping the rope light and durable in even the wettest conditions. Clark put those claims to the test and awarded the Fusion Nano IX five stars.
![The author starts up Annunaki (5.11+) in Indian Creek, Utah, wearing the redesigned Petzl Sirocco helmet. [Photo] Macie Brendlinger](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/petzl-sirocco-helmet-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
BJ Sbarra reports on his experience with Petzl’s redesigned Sirocco helmet, and reflects on the evolution of climbing’s head protection. The new Sirocco is more durable and lighter than ever, making it one of the best all-around helmets available.
![[Photo] Jeremy Joseph](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/la-sportiva-trango-tower-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Photographer Jeremy Joseph used the La Sportiva Trango Tower GTX boots for miles of hiking to access the most scenic locations in Colorado’s fourteeners. He was mostly happy with the boots’ performance, and he awarded them four stars.
![The BASU eAlarm can be used in a variety of ways. Here it is rigged on a food sack so that it will be set off if an animal were to tamper with it. [Photo] Clint Helander](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/basu-ealarm-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Clint Helander lives, works and climbs in Alaska, where the risk of bear encounters is a regular hazard. He tested the BASU eAlarm and found it to be a versatile and helpful device.
![The author and her husband with the Hilleberg Nammatj 2 GT on a backcountry ski trip in Colorado. [Photo] Mary Harlan](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/hilleberg-nammatj-2-gt-3-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mary Harlan, an AMGA-trained rock, ice, snow and ski guide, compares the new Hilleberg Nammatj 2 GT to the Hilleberg design she used on Denali in 2012. She and her husband stayed comfortable in the tent on a spring backcountry ski trip but would have liked to have had more interior pockets. Four stars.
![Whitney Clark wears the Patagonia Nano-Air Light Hoody while leading a pitch on the first ascent of High Fashion (5.10, 1,000') on a peak near Wales Lake in the Sierra Nevada Range. The team found a tiny pill container that contained a summit register and identified the mountain as Wales Lake Peak. The register only had two ascents from teams who walked up the backside, Clark said. [Photo] Tad McCrea](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/patagonia-nano-air-light-hoody-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist contributor Whitney Clark tests the durability, warmth and water-resistance of the Patagonia Nano-Air Light Hoody. It did its job but she longed for a built-in stuff sack that would have allowed her to clip it to her harness. Four stars.
![Beth Goralski takes shelter from sharp points while David Roetzel starts up Saphira in the Rigid Designator Amphitheatre Vail, Colorado. [Photo] Chris Van Leuven](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/grigri-plus-2-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
The new GriGri+ is heavier and packed with new features, such as a switch for toprope/lead-belay modes and an anti-panic function. Chris Van Leuven learns why the GriGri+ doesn’t replace the GriGri 2 yet still adds a worthwhile option to the family of Petzl belay devices. Four stars.
![Mandi Franz explores the high country with Soleil the dog during an overnight trip on Independence Pass, Colorado. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/good-to-go-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz generally avoids the packaged, freeze-dried or dehydrated meals when he goes camping, but he sampled several Good To-Go meal varieties in the backcountry with his wife, and they agreed the recipes were the best they’d ever tried for this type of food. The meals were flavorful and nutritious, replenishing tired bodies after long days of playing in the mountains, but still had the usual drawbacks of dehydrated ingredients, such as texture and digestion. Five stars.
![Mike Lewis sits cross-legged as he pulls out the map on Mt. Rainier. [Photo] Mike Lewis collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/patagonia-850-down-sleeping-bag-1-1-scaled.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mike Lewis spent 58 nights in the Patagonia 850 Down Sleeping Bag (19°F/-7°C) and slept well enough to award it five stars. He noted that there are some features that could be improved but he is otherwise impressed with the company’s first sleeping bag designs.
![The La Sportiva Kataki shoes were made for routes like Scene of the Crime (5.12d) on Independence Pass, Colorado. [Photo] Mandi Franz](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/la-sportiva-kataki-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Derek Franz stepped into the new La Sportiva Kataki rock shoes and is impressed with their performance on “tiny little nothings.” He found that the shoes functioned well for their intended purpose of climbing vertical to moderately overhanging terrain. Five stars.
![Mike Lewis wearing the Stetinds with crampons on Flattop Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. [Photo] Mike Lewis collection](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/boreal-stetind-1-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Mike Lewis used the Boreal Stetind boots for six weeks of guiding on snowy mountains in the Pacific Northwest and reports that the boots have some significant shortcomings in technical terrain. In this review he explains in detail why he awarded them two stars out of five.
