For winter snowshoeing on hiking trails and in the backcountry, you want a winter hiking snowshoe that is durable, with aggressive crampons for traction and a secure binding system that locks your boots to the snowshoes. If you’re interested in getting off …

The Paria Outdoors Zion 2 is a spacious, freestanding two-person tent with two doors ($155) that can actually fit two people with room to spare. It comes complete with aluminum poles, a footprint, and good quality tent stakes. With a trail weight …

The Outdoor Research Versaliner Sensor Gloves (Men’s and Women’s) are a two-part glove system featuring an inner fleece glove with a pocket to hold a chemical hand warmer and a removable exterior wind shell that can be layered on top for extra …

The Granite Gear Dagger 22 is a technical daypack that’s equally at home on the trail, for traveling, or on the campus. It’s organized like Granite Gear’s multi-day backpacks with a long front stretch pocket, side water bottle pockets, and compression straps, …

The Exped Ultra 3R Sleeping Mat is a lightweight inflatable sleeping pad that’s 3 inches thick and has an R-value of 2.9, making it suitable for outside temperatures down to 25F. It contains synthetic insulation which makes it very quiet to sleep …

Many backpackers attach gear to the outside of their backpack because it’s too bulky, they need to carry extra supplies, they want to keep their gear easily accessible, or because it’s wet and they need to keep it separate from their dry …

The Outdoor Research Helium Insulated Hoodie is a lightweight synthetic insulated hooded jacket that’s great for sweater season hiking and backpacking in the spring and autumn. While you can use it as a mid-layer under a waterproof shell, I like wearing jackets …

Backpack weight is a frequent area of concern for many day hikers and backpackers, especially for beginners who tend to overpack out of caution. But there’s no right or wrong answer in terms of the ideal pack weight because it depends a …

I’m a big advocate of layering with winter gloves and mittens. My go-to winter combination is a fleece glove for warmth and dexterity combined with a waterproof/breathable mitten for warmth and wind protection. The two insulate well when it’s cold and the …

One of the biggest challenges faced by winter hikers is figuring out a clothing layering system that keeps them warm and dry across a wide variety of temperatures, wind chills, and exertion levels. It takes a lot of experimentation to dial in …

Every day I get a little bit stronger and my breathing gets a little bit easier. But getting Covid in December really kicked my ass. Even worse was the Covid cough that followed, setting me back a month or two in terms …

The NEMO Tensor Alpine Ultralight Insulated Sleeping Pad is a lightweight insulated air mat that weighs 17 ounces and is 3″ thick. It has a flat 2-way valve and includes an inflation sack so you don’t have to bust a gut blowing …

An insulated hoodie or lightweight synthetic jacket can be used for hiking or backpacking as an outer layer or mid-layer during spring and autumn when mornings and nighttime temperatures stay cool. Our preference is to use jackets that have hoods because we …

Don’t let the goofy appearance of the Klymit LiteWater Dinghy (LWD) fool you. This oddly shaped inflatable boat is masterfully designed for flatwater use even though it looks much different from other packrafts. Affordably priced, it provides an enormous amount of value …