![The author with the Blue Ice Yeti 50L backpack in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. [Photo] Chris Wood](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/blue-ice-yeti-backpack-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Blue Ice is a small, relatively new company that started in a garage in Europe and now has a presence in North America. IFMGA/AMGA guide Mike Lewis has been using the Blue Ice Yeti 50L backpack, and aside from a few details that didn’t comply with his exact personal preferences, he liked it well enough to award it five stars.
![The Mountain Equipment Citadel Mitts. [Photo] Clint Helander](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mountain-equipment-citadel-mitt-1-1-930x620.jpeg)
Alaskan alpinist Clint Helander finds the Mountain Equipment Citadel Mitt to be a lightweight and versatile option for climbs that require cutting down on bulk and extra grams. Five stars.
![Hauling the pig with the Sterling WorkPro static rope on Prodigal Sun, Zion National Park. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sterling-workpro-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz recently used the Sterling WorkPro static line to haul a 100-pound bag on his first solo big wall. The WorkPro was supple, strong and durable–everything you’d want from a static rope. Five stars.
![Corey Flynn starts the first pitch of Scary Canary (5.12b/c R), Eldorado Canyon, Colorado. [Photo] Chris Van Leuven](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/black-diamond-atc-pilot-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Chris Van Leuven used the Black Diamond ATC Pilot to catch gear-ripping falls and liked its simple design and smooth rope handling so well that it became his go-to belay device for single-pitch cragging. Five stars.
![The author enjoys the comfort of the Mountain Equipment Xeros 800-fill, Russian Goose Down sleeping bag inside his bivy sack on the second morning of his solo ascent of Prodigal Sun (V 5.7 C2, 900') in Zion National Park, October 22. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mountain-equipment-xeros-sleeping-bag-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz used the Mountain Equipment Xeros 800-fill, Russian Goose Down bag in warm, sweaty conditions as well as cold, wet ones, and the bag kept him remarkably dry and comfortably warm. “I have never experienced a more efficient sleeping bag,” he reports. Five stars.
![Whitney Clark explores unknown terrain on a peak above Sphinx Lake in Kings Canyon, California, this past August. [Photo] Tad McCrea](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sterling-fusion-nano-ix-1-2-930x620.jpg)
Whitney Clark takes the Sterling Fusion Nano IX along for some rugged granite adventures in Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The 9mm rope can be used as a thick half-rope or a skinny single rope, and features Sterling’s new DryXP treatment, which exceeds the UIAA certification of less than 5 percent water absorption, keeping the rope light and durable in even the wettest conditions. Clark put those claims to the test and awarded the Fusion Nano IX five stars.
![The author starts up Annunaki (5.11+) in Indian Creek, Utah, wearing the redesigned Petzl Sirocco helmet. [Photo] Macie Brendlinger](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/petzl-sirocco-helmet-1-1-930x620.jpg)
BJ Sbarra reports on his experience with Petzl’s redesigned Sirocco helmet, and reflects on the evolution of climbing’s head protection. The new Sirocco is more durable and lighter than ever, making it one of the best all-around helmets available.
![Mandi Franz explores the high country with Soleil the dog during an overnight trip on Independence Pass, Colorado. [Photo] Derek Franz](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/good-to-go-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz generally avoids the packaged, freeze-dried or dehydrated meals when he goes camping, but he sampled several Good To-Go meal varieties in the backcountry with his wife, and they agreed the recipes were the best they’d ever tried for this type of food. The meals were flavorful and nutritious, replenishing tired bodies after long days of playing in the mountains, but still had the usual drawbacks of dehydrated ingredients, such as texture and digestion. Five stars.
![Mike Lewis sits cross-legged as he pulls out the map on Mt. Rainier. [Photo] Mike Lewis collection](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/patagonia-850-down-sleeping-bag-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Mike Lewis spent 58 nights in the Patagonia 850 Down Sleeping Bag (19°F/-7°C) and slept well enough to award it five stars. He noted that there are some features that could be improved but he is otherwise impressed with the company’s first sleeping bag designs.
![The La Sportiva Kataki shoes were made for routes like Scene of the Crime (5.12d) on Independence Pass, Colorado. [Photo] Mandi Franz](https://dev.alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/la-sportiva-kataki-1-1-930x620.jpg)
Derek Franz stepped into the new La Sportiva Kataki rock shoes and is impressed with their performance on “tiny little nothings.” He found that the shoes functioned well for their intended purpose of climbing vertical to moderately overhanging terrain. Five stars.
