MEC’s new ultralight designs are mirroring a shift in how people travel through the outdoors. Words + photos :: Feet Banks. Article sponsored by MEC.
Imagine there’s a control board with three sliders on it. This board is an old-school thing, nary an LED light or digital readout in sight, just three sliders you can manually adjust from 1–10.
Now imagine the sliders are labeled—Weight, Comfort & Strength/Durability—and how far you slide each one will determine how much fun you have on any given backpack camping trip.
Thankfully, the gear designers at MEC are constantly evaluating and tinkering with these hypothetical sliders, and this year they think they’ve landed on a winning ratio with a new collection of ultralight items for backpackers and campers.
“Ultralight used to be a constant battle between weight and comfort,” says Mark Knight, MEC’s Senior Product Designer, Advanced Concepts. “Ten years ago light-weight gear would have been considered stripped down or weird. Now we can make it with the same quality or better than what we used to, and still be much lighter.”
Light Sleeper
The new MEC Aphelion UL -7C Down Sleeping Bag features premium 900-fill-power hydrophobic down to keep you toasty on cold alpine nights, but weighs in at a feathery 700 grams (1.5 pounds). To reiterate: that’s one of your most important camping survival items weighing about as much as a basketball or a nice brick of cheese.
“Everything was re-engineered for this,” Mark says. “The material was so fine, we needed to use special needles and thread as well as update the sewing machine plates in order to keep the down inside the bag,” Mark says. “It still meets our tear and abrasion requirements and passed all of our tests, but for sure, this is the highest-spec down bag we have ever made.”
With the “Comfort” slider in mind, MEC made a few slight adjustments. “Hitting the -7° Celsius mark was important to us. We took a traditional mummy shape and made it a bit slimmer through the knees and feet,” says MEC designer Joel Forsyth, who played a key role in developing the Aphelion. “Most of the weight savings come from the materials—the new down and fabric—but the construction does play a role. We use a bit less down on the underside of the sleeping bag because it’s designed to be used with a good sleeping pad. To fill up the bottom of the bag with down then compress it by laying on it…that’s not super efficient and adds weight. Thankfully, pad technology has come a long way.”
Pad Perfection
A lot of that new tech Joel mentions is put to use in the MEC VectAir UL 3S Insulated Sleeping Pad. A full 10 cm high when inflated, the pad compresses to literally fit in the palm of your hand and weighs in at an incredible 476 grams (for the regular length). At 54 cm wide, the VectAir is slim, but comfy. There’s a wide-long version available that adds 12 cm to the width and 7 to the length. It weighs in at 746 grams, which is still not a lot for an excellent three-season sleeping pad.
The real magic, for both sizes, is on the inside. “We put Mylar layers inside the pad to reflect body heat and keep it from escaping,” Mark explains. “A pad filled with only air will be cold because there’s nothing to prevent air convection from sucking your heat away. These Mylar layers radiate the heat back at you with about 95% efficiency. We could put more in but then that adds to the weight. Everything is a balance in the world of ultralight.”
Unlike heavier 70-denier pads on the market, the VectAir has a 30-denier wall (see bottom of this story for a longer description of the “Denier” as a unit of measurement). “With pads, the danger is usually a puncture. We test every product very intensively and we’ve found that adding extra deniers helps avoid abrasion or tears, but with a pad that’s not as much of an issue as, for example, a backpack fabric. Most things that will puncture a 30-denier fabric would puncture a 70 as well. So we can cut weight that way too.”
“Everything is a balance in the world of ultralight.”
Pro Tip: you can inflate this pad with your mouth (I did it in 1:18 minutes without passing out) but the stuff sack also acts as a pump. Attach the sack to the valve, open it and blow into the bag from about 20–30 cm away (8-12 inches), not with it touching your face. Keeping that bit of distance from your mouth to the bag opening will actually suck extra air into the bag thanks to Bernoulli’s Principle. Then close and roll the bag to force the air into the pad. It takes longer than blowing but light-headedness is not a necessary part of ultralight camping.
Home Sweet (Ultralight) Home
Certainly, the lightest tent is no tent at all. But those of us who don’t love insects, rodents, frost and rain all over us at night will want a good tent. And while the MEC Spark 2.0 2-Person Tent is not a new product, at 1.75 kilograms (3.85 pounds), it’s still a big hit with ultralight enthusiasts looking for a two-person tent that won’t bog them down.
“I designed this one,” Mark says. “The current Spark is our fourth version since 2013. We taped out a space on the floor to match the size of sleeping area we wanted and then built the pole structure around us—a simple technique but one that’s stood the test of time.” Another important thing was it should be high enough that you can sit upright, but still be stable under high winds.”
Fully seam-taped, with a ripstop UV-resistant polyester fly (less stretchy than nylon when it’s wet), the Spark features featherlight poles, a fly that goes right to the ground with good vestibules for gear storage, and doors on either side. Ultralight fanatics will be happy to know that while a footprint is available for the Spark, it’s generally not necessary.
“We debate this all the time,” Mark says, “because we spend a lot of time making sure the floor fabric is strong and waterproof. For sure, a footprint will always extend the life of a floor, and on sharp gravel you might want one, but this tent is not designed for provincial campground pads. On loamy soil or sand or most backcountry environments you have to hike into, I’m not gonna carry a footprint.”
Shouldering the Load (or Lack Thereof)
Not quite as established of an ultralight OG as the Spark tent, the MEC x SERRATUS Pace UL 40 Pack has only been around since 2023, but weighing in at 992 grams (2.18 pounds) it’s quickly become the go-to MEC pack for those fast-and-light backcountry missions. I bought this pack for my son last summer, so borrowed it from him for some ultralight testing. Weather and time restraints prevented me from actually getting out on a multi-day mission but I did amass everything I’d need to live for two days in the backcountry (I could have easily fit more) and headed out on one of the steepest local day-hikes around.
The good news: with everything in the picture below (plus a Northern Lite hoodie, some dried fruit, cheese and meat) the whole shebang weighed in at just under 20 pounds (9 kg)! And that included a litre of water.
Hiking up in warm weather, I appreciated the mesh back panel and shoulder straps for ventilation and with the sturdy (removable) dual aluminum-spar frame sheet in place, and the wide hip straps cinched tight, the Serratus Pace felt light and comfy enough for a long walk in the woods.
“We sewed the hip belt into the pack to make it lighter,” says Joel. “Removable is more versatile but heavier. We also saved weight using elastic shock cord instead of webbing for the compression system. We wanted to make sure none of the cord was stitched to a seam, so it can be replaced if needed.”
The attention to detail on this pack is killer. The straps are based on a running vest style, with mesh pockets perfect for small, compressible water flasks. At MEC, ultralight designs are mirroring a shift in how people travel through the outdoors.
“In the old days, people would start fully weighted and carrying all their water for the day,” Mark explains. “Now people are using 300-500 mm water flasks with built-in filters, just stopping at streams and filtering along the way. So many hikers are going further and faster now, what used to be a 4-or-5-day hike, now it’s 2 or 3. And it’s not ultralight geek stuff, so much of the gear, like this pack, has the normal feel and comfort you are used to.”
MEC’s ultralight designs are mirroring a shift in how people travel through the outdoors.
“Ultralight is really exciting for us,” Joel adds, “because we get to be a bit nerdy and experiment—what happens if we bring concepts from an ultramarathoner’s running vest and smash that niche into the backpacking world? Then we get to test everything, and the staff at our stores get to test it. They are on the front line; they know what the customers are asking for. Really, if the tech is available and we can dial that mix of performance, comfort, weight and cost correctly, why not? Who wants to carry more than they need? No one.”
Exactly. And because while designers like Mark and Joel are constantly tinkering with the weight/comfort/durability compromise-sliders of your gear, there is another metric only you control—distance. How far do you want to go? These days, with this gear, it might be farther than you expect.
With May long weekend on the horizon (and the unofficial start of camping season), check out your local MEC store for deals on gear, and check out the entire MEC Ultralight Collection here.
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