The fabrics used in packs - as well as for sleeping bags - have markedly improved, he said. They have a tighter weave and are smoother, so the equipment is softer, stronger, waterproof and abrasion resistant.

If anything, the weight of the packs hasn't changed that much, Richardson said. "Forty pounds now was 40 pounds then - but it felt 10 or 20 pounds heavier."

The variety of packs has also proliferated, with all kinds of designs and sizes - for the back, at the side, for the fanny; intended for different kinds and lengths of excursions; and sculpted to fit people of different heights and contours (including males and females).

- SLEEPING BAGS AND MATTRESSES. The synthetics used in sleeping bags have improved a lot, Richardson said. In some, hollow insulative fibers trap air inside, and when the bags are rolled and compressed for hauling about they're smaller. Down is still the best, most insulative filler, but manufacturers have become choosy about which feathers they put in the best sleeping bags, so the down isn't poking its way through the fabric.

Shell material, too, is better. Gore, for instance, which developed the popular Gore-Tex, now offers bags made of what it calls Dryloft, which, though not waterproof, "is three times more breathable than Gore-Tex," Richardson said. "When you're sleeping, the heat and moisture will travel through it."

Shapes have evolved from the old standby sleeping-bag rectangles to semirectangular contours and snug, almost tubular mummy-bags.

Pads have really improved, with several size options and materials and construction processes that allow these portable mattresses to self-inflate when unrolled.

- TENTS. Large family tents have seen minimal change in recent years, Richardson said, except in certain features: zippers are better, poles - often aluminum - are lighter and more durable, and the nylon fibers have improved. Smaller, lighter backpacking tents, though, now come in seemingly countless wind- and weather-resistant shapes and sizes.

Kirkham's, a longtime maker of canvas shelters and tents, was itself a pioneer in some designs - moving away from the old A-frames toward roomier, sturdier constructions and introducing vestibules in which to cook and to store gear and boots.

Such innovations proved to be a trend. "Now they're all more roomy, with higher walls, and the structures are stronger," Richardson said.

- FOOTWEAR. Think "plastics," as the man told Dustin Hoffman in "The Graduate." They and composites have changed hiking boots and shoes for the better. "You get a lighter-weight shoe and you get more and better support," Richardson said. Leathers are much the same, but new tanning processes make them more waterproof, and upgraded chemicals and treatments tend to stay on longer.