We talk a lot on here about the 'small guys' who make lightweight gear but who's the best? List your top 5 midlevel companies. Midlevel means, not a 1 man shop and not as high as a company like Golite.

Whats your top 5?

CHANGE IT UP TO ONE MAN OPERATIONS

Edited by czechxpress on 03/25/2011 09:03:15 MDT.

Well I am not sure how many folks they have so there may be some one mans in my list.

For my standard hiking packs I love ULA

For my UL pack I love joe's (zpacks)cuben pack

For my UL shelter, again I am a fan of zpacks

For my standard shelter, I like both tarptent and MLD

For quilts I like JRB but have recently moved to enlightened equipments. Jrb is great if you want it off the shelf and a bit more bomb proof than UL, Tim and other cottage guys really have nice stuff if you need custom, or want the less weight possible.

In no particular order (and not necessarily backpacking specific):

Backpacking Light (backpacking gear)
Cilogear (backpacks)
Surly (bicycles)
Spark R&D (splitboard binders)
Lifelink (backpacks, avalanche safety)

make in vancouver bc ...

uses the "best" materials they can ... double stitching all around

pricey, but then thats what sales are for =P

Mountain Laurel Designs

Gossamer Gear

Tarptent

ZPacks

ULA

MLD
GG
ULA
Tarptent
Montbell

Edited by HikeUltralight on 03/22/2011 19:02:18 MDT.

MLD
Col d'Lizard
Integral Designs
Rivendell Mountain Works
Wild Things

SMD - Own 2 tents and 2 backpacks
Katabatic
MLD
Montbell

Edited by EWH100 on 03/23/2011 09:31:27 MDT.

Trail Designs
Mountain Laurel Designs
BearPaw Wilderness Designs
Ultralight Adventure Equipment
Six Moon Designs

Edited by LuckyJim on 03/25/2011 06:46:34 MDT.

For me, this depends on if i am hanging in a tree or on the ground. Because most manufacturers don't cross into both realms as of this posting.

Ground Camping:
- Trail Designs
- Mountain Laurel Designs
- Ultralight Adventure Equipment
- Six Moon Designs
- Gossamer Gear

Hammock Camping:
- Warbonnet Outdoors
- Whoopie Slings
- Mountain Laurel Designs
- Jacks Are Better
- enLIGHTened Equipment

Edited by distortedaxis on 03/23/2011 11:36:10 MDT.

In no particular order:
Zpacks
Titanium Goat
ULA
Tarptent
Katabatic

Edited by Skau on 03/23/2011 11:43:39 MDT.

forgot to add mine:

MLD
Trail Designs
BPL
GG
Bozeman Mountain Works

I would say my top five would be

Backpackinglight/Bozeman Mountain Works
Gossamer Gear
Mountain Laurel Designs
Tarptents
Zpacks

In no particular order:

Bear Paw Custom work

Katabatic Gear

Six Moon Designs

Mountain Laurel Designs

Feathered Friends

Edited by Servingko on 03/23/2011 14:08:51 MDT.

No Western Mountaineering, that's disappointing!

I was just going to put Western Mountaineering, along with -

Montbell

SMD

Z-Packs

Gossamer Gear.

Mountain Laurel Designs
Gossamer Gear
Jacks R Better
Feathered Friends
Nunatak

(Wow . . . I had to edit this post several times.)

Edited by evanrussia on 03/23/2011 15:02:18 MDT.

Western is my most favorite company. I thought they were bigger then mid level. So, I didn't add them to the list. Plus I really like Goosefeet. But don't they fall into the one man catagory?

I chose FF over WM based on estimated size/sales of the company. I really have enjoyed products from both but have switched to quilts full time and don't have bags from either. I do have several garments from FF.

Mchale
Tarptent
Nunatak
BPL
Gossamer Gear