These five trends shaped the ultralight gear industry in 2025
The year of our Co-op 2025 is winding down, and what I’ll remember most is the de-throning of Smartwater; a king unaware of its own dynasty. Not one, not two, but five new reusable hard-sided lightweight bottles hit the market, and people are actually ditching Smartwater. Other ultralight gear trends include a year-long pattern of redesigning classic best-sellers, more new ultralight freestanding tents, and the proliferation of Alpha Direct and its derivatives. Oh yeah, and basically everything got more expensive.
Now journey with us on a hike down memory trail to recap all that which was 2025, and don’t miss our new ultralight gear guide to see these releases in chronological order.
The Five Biggest Ultralight Gear Trends of 2025
- Dethroning of Smartwater
- Tariff-Based Price Increases
- Updating the Classics
- More Ultralight Freestanding Tents
- Proliferation of Alpha Direct Derivatives
Cover photo: Cnoc ThruBottle
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Left to Right: Cnoc ThruBottle, Igneous NOBO, Mazama M!GO
The Rise of Reusable Hard-Sided Ultralight Water Bottles
If there is a particular category of gear that got the most hype in 2025, it would be ultralight re-usable hard-sided water bottles. It was practically the ultralight water bottle space race. As microplastic pollution and climate change worsen, the conditions for Smartwater to be dethroned ripened. On top of funding an ethically unacceptable industry, bottles designed for single-use degrade faster when used repeatedly, and are more likely to shed nanoplastic. Thus it was not a matter of if, nor when, but who would disrupt first.
In chronological order of release, we tested the Smartbottle, HydraPak Breakaway, Mazama M!GO, Cnoc ThruBottle, and saving the best for last – Igneous NOBO. While none of these are lighter than Smartwater bottles, all of them are healthier and more ethical, and many are nearly as effective.
Reusable Hard-sided Ultralight Bottle Power Rankings, Best to Worst
Tariffs and Price Increases
Like everything else, ultralight gear got more expensive this year – thanks a lot, tariffs! As someone who curates digital gear guides for a living, the number of times I had to go back into articles to edit prices was simply mind numbing. I would guess that three out of every four products got more expensive this year. The most common price increase seemed to be around 10%. The most extreme case was Black Diamond Equipment, who basically put out a message in September to the effect of, “we’re raising prices on everything because of tariffs.” And voile, their already-expensive $399 Deploy 0.5 Down Pullover now costs $499.
Tariffs created an extra dose of havoc for international brands. The aforementioned Smartbottle, which is manufactured in Canada, can seemingly no longer be purchased here in America. Polish brand Cumulus Equipment has customers paying a courier and tariff fee upon delivery. And Durston had to open a US warehouse; though that was probably a smart move regardless.
Interestingly, we also saw a few prices shift down; Montbell and Outdoor Vitals come to mind. Blessed are these brands. If I had to guess why, it would be because prices shifted up during the pandemic supply chain kerfuffle, and then came down again slightly as ingredient materials stabilized.
Double-L mesh doors on Zpacks Duplex Pro
Updating the Classics
In 2025, a number of brands redesigned or added alt versions to their most iconic products. To name just a few, we saw HMG re-do their three core packs; Zpacks put out the “pro version” of their most popular tents; Montbell upgrade their most popular rainwear to three layer fabric; Outdoor Vitals re-release their flagship backpack. Even if it ain’t broke, it can still be improved!
On top of that, a number of mainstream outdoor brands released updates to their most iconic designs, including Big Agnes Copper Spur and Tiger Wall Tents, and Sea to Summit Ether Light Sleeping Pads.
Classic Ultralight Gear Change Log
- HMG Southwest, Windrider, Junction: no longer DCH, now they are made with 100% woven DCF
- Zpacks Duplex Pro, Triplex Pro: The Pro versions of Zpacks’ most popular tents now have L-shaped mesh doors (goodbye dirty rainbow zippers), and the full suite of magnets, vents, zippered storm doors, etc. While the original Duplex and Triplex still exist, there aren’t any performance reasons to choose them over the Pro series
- Montbell Versalite: This popular thru-hiking rainwear set, formerly made with 2L GORE WINDSTOPPER, now comes in a proprietary 3L Super DryTec shell fabric, which scores 50k on breathability testing and is an immediate contender for best-in-class
- Outdoor Vitals Shadowlight: Now the Shadowlight Carbon! OV’s original and affordable ultralight backpack now boasts a carbon fiber frame, comfier back panel, and better external pockets. But dang nabbit, why couldn’t they ditch that vertical front zipper!
- Big Agnes Copper Spur & Tiger Wall: now with Hyperbead fly fabric that is stronger, lighter, more waterproof, and sag-resistant than the previous version
- Sea to Summit Ether Light Sleeping Pads: Now with thermal mylar insulation for a large R-Value increase, and a much quieter sleeping experience.
The continued advancement of Ultralight Freestanding Tents
If 2024 was the dawn of ultralight freestanding tents, a la Durston X-Dome 1 and Zpacks Free Zip 2, then 2025 was its sunrise. In chronological order, we got the Six Moon Lunar Orbiter, HMG Crosspeak 2, Durston X-Dome 2, and finally the Samaya Instant2. In general, most of these models are single-wall, and all of them are lighter than average within their category. But perhaps most interestingly, the one attribute they all have in common is that their poles are outside of the rainfly. This allows for fly-first pitching in rain and boosts wind stability. Track the development of this niche in our guide to ultralight freestanding tents.
Proliferation of Alpha Direct Derivatives
This rapidly growing category is currently defined by three name-brand fabrics, Polartec Alpha Direct, its clone Primaloft Active Evolve, and of course Teijin’s brushed Octa. This year we saw entries from Outdoor Vitals, and Backcountry, to name a few. Major running brands are even getting in on the gold rush with proprietary versions, such as Janji Auras UltraFleece, and Ciele IBTHoody.
All of these fleece utilize some combination of brushed fuzz or tufted clusters to loft the face fabric, which traps dead air to insulate. All of them are hyper breathable, ultra quick drying, and boast a very high warmth-to-weight ratio. Never has web traffic to our Alpha Direct hoodie buyer’s guide been higher, and we’re seeing more and more of these wonder-garments on the trail.
The 4.6 oz Janji Auras Ultrafleece
Concluding Ultralight Gear Trends of 2025
In all honesty, 2025 will likely not be remembered as a major player in ultralight gear advancement, and definitely less so than 2024 – the Year of the Vestpack. Water bottles just aren’t that exciting, nobody likes price increases, and the others stories are mostly continuations or mainstream-ifications of things that have already been brewing for years. So here’s to hoping for more innovation in 2026! From all of us at Adventure Alan & Co., happy hiking, and happy trails!
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