>>942846A nice down sleeping bag that is compressible and high quality will greatly improve your backpacking experience by freeing up room in your pack and keeping you warmer at night. I'd go with Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, or another brand made in the first world (i.e., not China, Vietnam, etc.). I think Rab sleeping bags are probably pretty good too, but don't have personal experience with them, as I do the other two.
A nice sleeping pad will also help insulate you at night and help you sleep better, albeit at the cost of some weight in your pack. The Exped Downmat is really nice, and I would say is an essential luxury item in my current load out. I use the Downmay 7 UL LW, which is rated as more of a 3-season pad (the 9 is the winter mat), is made of ultralight materials, and is "long and wide" to fit your whole body.
As others have mentioned, an LED headlamp is always nice. Flashlights have come a long way in the past 10 years and you may still be using an out of date item using a battery-draining, dim halogen bulb. I have a Fenix HP25 (
http://www.fenixlight.com/ProductMore.aspx?id=86&tid=13&cid=2#.WJT-IPKxU3E), which is basically an older version of this:
>http://www.fenix-store.com/fenix-hp25r-led-headlamp/The design is awesome for backpacking. You never have to focus your beam, but it gives you the option to have a specialized flood light, and a separate specialized ultra bright spotlight (with separate switches for each), which can be VERY nice when you're out camping by yourself, hear something go "bump" in the night, and want to totally dispel the darkness. I never would have dreamed that a backpacking light could be this bright just 10 years ago. What's even more amazing is how great mine is at 360 lumens, but the fact that they bumped the new one's output up to 1000 lumens in spotlight mode is pretty damn bright. I may upgrade just for the fun of it.
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