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Ashley Hayes Reporting Whether you are new to the great outdoors or if you've been hitting the trails for years, it's always fun to buy and update your equipment.
The trend for new gear is small and lightweight. Experts at REI are telling us this season they are innundated with more convenient hiking and backpacking gear.
The latest is light, and trying to carry it all on your back it's easy to see why. From backpacks to the GPS, gear is shrinking in both size and weight.
Michael Heathfield, REI Camping Specialist: "This is the new GPS with a heart rate monitor. A person can wear this for running. This is new this year."
And if it's not getting smaller, it's lasting longer. The new headlamps are made with solid lights that don't have to be replaced. And instead of needing new batteries after 8 hours, these last up to 150 hours.
Convenience has been factored in to everything from the gear, to ways to manage waste on the trail.
Michael Heathfield, REI Camping Specialist: "The big thing with this stuff is it can be thrown in the garbage. You don't have to take it to an RV dump site."
