If you’re looking for innovative new ideas and products for your hiking and backpacking habit, Etsy is a craft-oriented shopping site that hosts the shops of many up-and-coming ultralight backpack gear manufacturers. There are about 30-40 companies actively making backpacking gear today …
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Zpacks Packing Cubes, which are misnamed because they aren’t cubes, are brick-shaped packing pods that come with compression straps so you can shrink the volume that gear takes inside your backpack. This can allow you to carry a lighter weight, smaller volume …
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“The Lincoln Brook Trail is beautiful in the morning sun”, I thought as we hiked back after camping near the base of Owls Head Mountain, deep in the Pemigewasset Wilderness. My friends Ken and Karen and I had backpacked in the day …
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Sleeping outdoors on backpacking trips is a skill just like navigating, camping, packing, layering, trip planning, and all the other skills that backpackers need to learn to enjoy backcountry trips. While sleeping outdoors is not a skill that’s taught in outdoor programs …
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The Durston Gear X-Mid 1 (second generation) is my favorite tent to use on backpacking trips. It’s a lightweight double-wall tent weighing (28 oz) that is comfortable to sleep in and easy to set up. Made with polyester, it’s much less expensive …
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Mt Cabot is the northernmost White Mountain 4000-footer and a 9.6 mile out and back hike with 3,000 feet of elevation gain. The last time I climbed it was on November, 4th of last year (2021). I remember that hike vividly because …
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More and more ultralight backpacking packs are being made with waterproof materials like Dyneema Composite Fabrics (DCF), Ultra, Liteskin, EcoPak, and XPac. These fabrics absorb very little water and are bonded with a waterproof layer that prevents them from being soaked through …
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Skin Out Weight is the weight of your backpacking gear, water, food, fuel, the clothing you’re wearing, your shoes, watch, sunglasses, smartphone, trekking poles if you use them, and anything else on your person or in your pack. Backpacking Base Weight, in …
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BearVault, makers of the BV450 and BV500 bear canisters, has come out with two new bear canister sizes: the BV 425 and the BV475 which can fit horizontally into a much larger range of backpacks than the original BV500 and BV450. It …
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Mt Jackson is ranked #38 on the White Mountain 4000 Footer List. While it is only 4052′ high, it’d be natural to assume that it’s an easier mountain to climb. Most people don’t make that mistake twice. But the effort required to …
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The Framus 48L is an ultralight backpack made by Bonfus, a Norwegian company, one of a handful of cottage backpacking gear companies in Europe and the UK. It’s set up like most ultralight backpacks with a roll-top closure, two side pockets, and …
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The Alps Mountaineering Trail Tipi is a low-cost (MSRP $149), single-wall pyramid tent suitable for use by a single adult under 72″ in height or two youths up to 56″ in height. It has a trail weight (minus stakes and stuff sack) …
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Oboz Sawtooth X Mids are agile waterproof/breathable hiking boots that are lighter weight than full-on hiking boots, but still provide loads of protection and support for your feet and ankles. The Sawtooth X is the 10th anniversary edition of the well-loved Oboz …
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The Willey Range includes three peaks: Mt Willey, Mt Field, and Mt Tom. All three peaks are located along the same ridgeline, so you can climb them all at once. Most people start in Crawford Notch and hike this route as a …
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