Aspen Writer Ranks Best Summer Gear for Hiking and Camping

Aspen —"The Rumpl Travel Puffy Blanket may have been one of the most versatile little items of my summer."

That’s how Aspen Times writer Feinsinger opens her retrospective on the gear that actually got used, a list built not around flashiness but around constant rotation. As September settles in and the light shifts, she’s looking back at the pieces that survived the chaos of hiking, camping, and traveling without breaking a sweat — or a budget.

The math holds up on the Rumpl Travel Puffy Blanket, at least in terms of utility. It’s 38 by 52 inches, smaller than the brand’s original puffy, and packs down to roughly the size of a water bottle. It weighs less than a pound and uses NanoLoft synthetic insulation inside a recycled ripstop shell that resists water and stains. Feinsinger notes the Cape Clip attachment lets you wear it hands-free around your shoulders, a feature she admits looks "a little ridiculous" but is extremely useful. It’s $90, and some of these items are now hitting end-of-season sales.

To hear her tell it, the real test for summer gear is whether you can wear the same thing twice without feeling "disgusting." The WoolX Liza Crew Neck Tee passed that test. Made from lightweight DuraLite merino fabric, it’s soft, breathable, and naturally odor-resistant without looking like technical performance gear. The relaxed fit and longer sleeves make it feel more like a normal T-shirt, which is exactly what you want when you’re throwing it under a jacket after sightseeing. At $100, it earned its "valuable suitcase real estate" by simply working. A men’s version is available.

Then there’s the Outdoor Research Echo Tank, a top that Feinsinger says "almost disappears" once you put it on. It’s made from recycled polyester that is breathable, quick-drying, and moisture-wicking. The racerback cut gives shoulder freedom, and flat seams keep it comfortable under a pack strap. Depending on the color, it offers UPF 15 or UPF 30 sun protection. She describes it as one of those pieces she washed, wore, and immediately wanted clean again. It worked for hiking, workouts, and the in-between activities that fill a summer day.

The question is whether any of this matters to you if you’re not already deep in the outdoor lifestyle. For folks around here, though, these aren’t niche items. They’re the stuff that ends up in the car trunk or the camping bag because they work when it’s 90 degrees on the trail or 50 in a mountain town. The context is simple: summer is ending, and the gear that stayed in rotation is now discounted.

Feinsinger closes by noting she’s not surrendering to sweaters and boots just yet, but the light is changing. "I find myself wondering how we are already rounding the corner toward fall," she wrote, adding that before she fully commits to everything pumpkin-adjacent, she wanted one last look back at what actually worked.