APR 93 A GOOD HOT COOKER Plus a super slumber bag and an external-frame pack for load-hogs COLEMAN APEX STOVE The moment we arrive at a campsite, regardless of weather or time of day, my husband Marty dumps his pack, looks around and announces, "Hey! I'm huuuungry! Let's EAT." He gets downright animal-like after we've been out a few days and our appetites really kick in. Messing about with a cranky stove only makes him crankier, which is why I've come to favor reliable Coleman stoves. My old Peak 1 has given years of trouble-free cookery and kept Marty from chewing on trees, so I jumped at the chance to test Coleman's new Apex for a month on the Pacific Crest Trail through Washington. The Apex is similar to MSR stoves. There's a remote tank, flexible fuel hose, and lightweight burner/pot support unit---except the Coleman's fuel hose remains attached to the bottle when not in use. The Apex burns white gas or kerosene (with a change of the jet) and comes with a big-looking 22-oz. fuel bottle. It's "big-looking" because you can fill it only two-thirds full. I had to stick my finger into the gas to tell if I'd overfilled it. Still, fuel efficiency was good; we could cook several meals before refueling. Lighting the Apex was fairly easy. I usually had to spritz a little gas out of the burner, light that, and heat up the works before the Apex would fire as "instantly" as the directions promised. The burner unit sits steadily on fold-out legs, and the five support fins handled our big three-quart pan. The stove consistently boiled quarts in four or five minutes, usually with Marty intently eyeing its progress. The Apex's big plus is that it actually simmers, which may be a first for a gasoline-fired pack stove. It throttles back to barely bubbling for the most delicate gourmet sauces. This is the lightest stove Coleman makes (18 oz. w/empty bottle), but the burner is potentially squashable. For protection we packed our test stove in a cookpot, where it survived a hard month with only a dented wind shield. The Apex has all the virtues I want in a pack stove; it's light, fuel-efficient, quiet, and offers unparalleled flame control. Every night after Marty's "I'm hungry," it wasn't long before we could sit down to a well-cooked meal. ---Sally Trepanowski The Apex costs $64.95. Contact: Peak 1/The Coleman Company, 250 N. St. Francis, P.O. Box 2931, Wichita, KS 67201; (800) 835-3278. . INTEGRAL DESIGNS XPD 00 Every backpacker wants the same sleeping bag: warm below freezing, dry in the rain, lighter than a wool sock, stuffs into a back pocket. Unfortunately the World's First Perfect Bag doesn't exist yet. Puffy dry down is still the best insulator, and nylon, that sturdy all-purpose material created during World War II, is still the best envelope. So the trick is how to make a better bag with the same old stuff. With the XPD 00, Integral Designs has done exactly that. First, the down. It's 700+ fill white Polish goose down; there's nothing warmer for the weight. Second, the nylon. It's 1.1-oz. parachute ripstop; there's nothing stronger for the weight. But just because you have the best engine and finest steel doesn't mean you can make a Mercedes. Design is everything. The XPD 00 is perhaps most strikingly satisfying for its fatness. Anyone with broad shoulders has surely suffered from pencil-skinny designers who create body bags, not sleeping bags. Integral expects you to not only sleep well in this bag but to sprawl out. Shape isn't the only comfort factor, though. The baffles lack cross-block swatches, allowing you to shift extra down to cold spots. The foot section is quadruple-baffled and cut in a wedge so you can sleep with your toes pointing skyward. All edges of the wispy fabrics are hot-cut to prevent unraveling. The zipper is baffled, not hidden by a floppy, breezy flap. A removable collar controls seepage of precious body heat around the neck. So what does all this weigh? A scant two pounds, six ounces. The bag is rated at 25 degreesF, but I'm certain that you'll sleep comfortably well below this. Of course the Achilles heel of any down bag is damnable dampness. Getting it wet gets you cold. Period. So the XPD 00 also comes in a 1.1-oz. Gore-Tex model that adds four ounces in weight and drops the rating to 10 degreesF. Integral Designs will customize an XPD with your choice of three color combinations, overfills, underfills, or long-long versions for tall people. You can't quite fit it in your back pocket, but if you want a no-compromises, thought-through-at-every-level, state-of-the-art backpacking bag, here's your super slumber sack. But you'll need to pack away your pennies. Depending on options, an XPD 00 can cost $350 plus. ---Mark Jenkins Contact: Integral Designs, 5516 Third St., SE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2H 1J9; (403) 640-1445. WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE FXT FRAME PACK Like so many folks who discovered long-trail hiking in the 1970s, my first few packs were towering external-frame models. Ah, the fond memories of ill-fitting packs bouncing and swaying, waiting for the slightest misstep to plant me face-first for a taste of local soil. Small wonder, then, that for the last nine years and 10,000 foot-miles, I've been an ardent devotee of internal-frame packs. It was with no small trepidation that I agreed to test the new Wilderness Experience FXT external while field-researching a Virginia trails guidebook. Most of the hiking was on well-maintained trails, and I was surprised how the miles rolled underfoot with me giving hardly a thought to the pack. Then I headed west to the Never Summer Wilderness of northern Colorado, and terrain that's decidedly less benign. The FXT proved its worth as I groaned over Red Dog Pass. Skirting a snowfield on steep, grapefruit-sized talus, I stubbed a toe and braced instinctively, waiting for the tall frame pack to flip me. Instead, it hugged close and nothing happened. Most frame packs adjust shoulder straps up or down on a spacer bar, which can cramp your headroom because frame length stays the same. The FXT frame telescopes in the middle, maintaining a proper relationship between shoulder and lumbar curves. The suspension reflects tried-and-true external practice, with curved shoulder straps, a broad mesh backband and a wide, tapered hip belt. This setup may not look exciting but it works well, particularly the stable, buttery-soft hip belt. Huge capacity makes the FXT a load-hog's dream. There are two main compartments, two full-length side pockets with water-bottle holders, a back pocket and a map-holder in front. Even burdened with a four-season tent, 10 days of food, and enough clothes to warm up 20-degree nights, I never used the two side expando-pockets, each big enough for a tent or sleeping pad. Two details bear noting. The hold-open bar likes to pop out of its mounts during unloading, then fights when you try to put it back. Also, two fiberglass/ graphite rods slip into sleeves on the expando-pockets, over which you wrap compressor straps that restrain floppy overloads. I never managed to fill those pockets, so I removed the rods. The sack sagged a bit, but I shed a precious quarter-pound. The FXT is proof that just when you think you've hiked long enough to make uncompromising gear decisions, something comes along to make you think again. ---Leonard Adkins The FXT costs about $195. Contact: Wilderness Experience, 20721 Dearborn ST., Chatsworth, CA 91311; (818) 341-5774.