L.L. Bean’s Ultralight 850 Down Hooded Jacket is a very warm midweight hooded down jacket that strikes a good balance between a technical winter hiking jacket and one for street use. If you can only afford to buy one down jacket, I’d recommend …

Owls Head Mountain (4025′) is a White Mountain 4000 footer that is located deep in the Pemigewasset Wilderness. While it’s not a difficult peak to climb in terms of elevation gain, it’s an 18 mile out and back day hike with numerous …

The CNOC Vecto 2L Soft Water Container is a roll-up soft bottle that’s compatible with the Sawyer Squeeze and Sawyer Mini water filters (which 80% of backpackers use). Like the Platypus Big Zip, one side opens up completely, by removing the bottom …

The Hilleberg Mesh 1 Tent is a spacious single-person A-frame style bug bivy designed to be used under a tarp. While it’s frequently bundled with Hilleberg’s Tarp 5 Backpacking Tarp (see review), it can be used with any rectangular tarp to form …

Backpacking trips and day hikes don’t always go as planned. The weather can change unexpectedly. You can injure yourself and you might come across someone who needs help. Different times of the year can also necessitate carrying different types of survival tools …

The vast majority of hiking clothes, including rain jackets, used by hikers and backpackers aren’t actually made for hiking or by people familiar with hikers’ needs, but for skiers, climbers, runners, and suburban dads and moms. So it’s no wonder that most …

The Little River is a mountain stream that drains the narrow valley between Mts Hale, Zealand, and North Twin, three 4000 footers on the north side of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. It’s a freezing cold, boulder-choked river with miles of continuous pools, pour-overs, …

The Saucony Peregrine 11 is a moderately cushioned trail running shoe designed for rugged trails that also makes an excellent hiking and backpacking shoe for mountainous terrain. It has a large toe box so your toes can splay out for added comfort …

The White Mountains in New Hampshire have a well-deserved reputation as a challenging place to hike. People are always a bit surprised by this because they’re not that high in elevation, only topping out at 6,288 feet on Mt Washington. Still, people …

The Deuter Futura Vario 50+10 Backpack is a ventilated and adjustable length pack that’s well-sized for multi-day trips, hut-to-hut hikes, and pilgrimage style trips. While it’s loaded with convenience features and cushy padding, it’s comparatively lightweight at 4 lbs 9 oz providing …

The Northern Ultralight Sundown Backpack is a modular 46-liter rolltop pack designed for ultralight-style thru-hiking. Weighing 25.8 oz ounces, it’s made with XPac, 210 Dyneema Grid, and heavy-duty mesh for extra durability. Northern Ultralight is a new Canadian cottage backpack manufacturer company …

The Salomon X Ultra Winter CS 2 Boot (available for men and women) is a lightweight insulated winter hiking boot that’s great for winter day hiking and snowshoeing. Insulated with 200 grams of Thinsulate, the X Ultra Winter Boot is rated for temperatures …

Have you ever wondered why you don’t get thirsty on winter hikes even though your pee turns yellow and it’s clear that you need to drink more? Blame your brain. It’s not wired to recognize the increased amount of water vapor you …

The Ursack AllMitey is a bear-proof and critter-proof food storage bag for camping and backpacking. It differs from Ursack’s other food storage bags, (the Ursack Major, Ursack Major XL, and Ursack Minor), which are either bear-proof or critter-proof, but not both. If …