Reasonable Wishlist

I am thinking about replacing some gear. I know some about the gear out there, but by no means a lot. That being said, what are the best items (within reason in respect to price) in each of the catagories listed below?

Sleeping bag (around 20 deg)
Water Filter
Alky Stove
Cook Pot
Headlamp
Jacket
Clothing Layers

Second, what is that "cool" piece of gear or gadget that you just don't want to leave behind. Needed or not, it's always in the pack. Anything is fair game (except a GPS cause, yeah, they're awesome!).

Thanks for the input guys!

Note: I know there could be some long answers to these posts, so if you don't want to weigh in on everything...don't.

Wilky,

I will do a quick run-down of what I have found on these items.

1) Sleeping bag - I am curious here as well. Mine is too heavy. Can't wait to see what people put up. I am looking at either a MontBell of Marmot here.

2) Water Filter - AntiGravityGear and ULA both make super light gravity filters. I ordered the AntiGravityGear one myself because it is a little lighter and the filter is cheaper (thanks Preacha!).

3) Alcy Stove - Don't have one yet...

4) Cook Pot - I love my .85 liter MSR Titan pot.

5) Headlamp - I love my cheapo $10 Energizer from Wal-MArt, but I am going to eventually replace it with a Petzel E+Lite for $30. It is almost 2 oz lighter, and uses CR2032 watch batteries instead of AA.

I will ignore jacket and clothing layers as I am curious here as well.

I don't really have a "cool" piece of gear. All of my gear is "cool!"

1) I use a quilt instead of a bag, that saves me some weight

2) I like my 4.2 oz anti-gravity gear gravity filter (Aquamira frontier pro)

3) The alchy stove I have was second hand from Backpacking Light I think

4) Snowpeak Ti bowl set

5) Petzl E+lite, but I have been looking at the Fenix lights that TM has, I really like how light and brite they are (thanks Eddie)

My Cool piece of gear is my Hammock and my wives 10X12 tarp. The tarp weighs a pound, but has super coverage. I could have her make me her 8X10 and save a few ounces, but I like the extra room. It has really saved me in a downpour.

I love the Fenix lights as well. They are VERY hard to destroy lol. I droped mine in a fire pit that had almost 8 inches of red hot coals in it. It was there almost 45 sec. no damage. Scott ran his through two wash cycles and one half of a dry cycle before he wondered what the heck the noise was. I have the P3D and while its not UL its 70, 120, 180, 220 lumens with a couple of distress modes and runs on 2 123As. Scott has the P2D and runs on 1 123a but is only a 180 lumen. Also don't forget the sex toy that goes on the end. It looks like a flipping vibrator but is really a difusser that simply pushes on the end and turns the P3D into a 80 watt light bulb on 220 lumens. Uh damn, just relized this got long lol

I have been looking at the pd30. It weighs 1.7oz w/o batteries. The pd20 weighs .35oz less and only takes 1 battery, but I think I would like the longer burn time of the pd30.

Yeah sorry.. thats the one I have.. an be sure to get the uh... attachment lol

LOL I already checked that out. Its a really good light diffuser

Also I just picked up from Niteize.com a head band that will accept the light. You wear it on the side and it becomes a decent head light.

Sleeping Bag - Marmot Helium or Montbell Superstretch #1. Both are 15 deg. bags and super nice. This time of year you can sometimes catch sleeping bags on sale, as most places are trying to make room for next year's models.
Jacket - Montbell UL Thermawrap. Great lightweight jacket. Synthetic, but very warm. XL weighs 10.5 oz.
Clothing layers - By this, I assume you are talking about either base layer or insulation layer. Base layer - you can't beat synthetic, like Underarmor or even some of the less expensive synthetic shirts and shorts. For colder weather, you may even want a very light thermal shirt/pants, followed by a slightly heavier layer, depending on the temps. There are some great merino wools out there that are very light and warm. BackpackerLight.com sells some of these.
Silk is another example. Patagonia makes some great stuff, but expensive.
Headlamp - Petzl e+lite is a great little light. I have one and have used it a lot.
Just some ideas
UL