There will probably come a time in your hiking career where you need or want to do a big day hike or a backpacking route that requires hiking longer daily distances than you’re used to. While training for bigger mileage in advance …

Backpackers and campers have a wide range of stoves available to them ranging from all-in-one stove systems to general-purpose units that can be used across a wide range of temperatures and locales. Backpacking stoves fall into four popular categories: canister stoves, alcohol …

Knorr’s Rice Sides are a favorite backpacking food for thru-hikers, section hikers, and weekend warriors because they include all of the nutritional food groups important to backpackers: salt, carbohydrates, and easy. If you add a little protein like a can of tuna …

Have you ever been on a backpacking trip and not had an appetite? Even if you’re hiking 15 to 20 miles a day? It’s frustrating because you know you should be hungry, and you know need energy to hike the next day, …

Waterproof/breathable rain jackets are coated with a polymer called DWR (Durable Water Repellency) that makes rain bead up and roll off the exterior surface of the jacket. Many, but not all, DWR coatings are based on fluoropolymers that have a fluorine atom …

The Osprey Exos Pro 55 Backpack is a ventilated and adjustable-length ultralight backpack that weighs 33.2 oz. It’s basically an ultralight redo of the heavier Osprey Exos 58 Backpack, that’s 11.8 oz lighter-weight using recycled fabrics with a few minor changes to …

Most backpackers like to camp close to water sources out of convenience, but there are real benefits to dry camping in places that are not close to them. If you’re willing to haul the water you’ll need for the night and the …

Trail runners are all the rage in the hiking and backpacking community, but there are times when hiking boots really are better than trail runners. If you’re on the fence about whether to switch to trail runners or use them, take the …

February is the height of winter in New Hampshire’s Presidential Range and it can be difficult to find a weather window where the temperatures and wind speed are safe to climb the higher peaks. I’d passed up a few opportunities the week …

Tarps are a great ultralight backpacking shelter option, provided they’re used in a climate where there’s no rain or occasional rain. To clarify, I’m talking about square or rectangular tarps with or without catenary cut ridgelines and sides, and not single walled …

Waterproof breathable rain jackets are not permanently breathable. Instead, they’re coated with a chemical formulation called DWR, which stands for Durable Water Repellancy, that causes water to bead up on the jacket surface when it rains and roll off. The problem is …

Were there ever a line of MSR stoves that needed no introduction, it might just be the MSR XGK EX Liquid Fuel Stove.  When Larry Penberthy introduced his Model 9 stove, the first in the XGK line, he revolutionized stoves and ushered …

The Gregory Focal 58 Backpack is a lightweight ventilated backpack weighing 2 lbs 9.3 oz / 1.17 kg that is designed for general backpacking and thru-hiking. It’s an internal frame backpack with a 360-degree wire perimeter frame, a floating top lid, load …

The biggest dirty little secret in the outdoor industry is that waterproof/breathable rain jackets won’t keep you dry and will wet out. It doesn’t matter if you buy a high-end $450 Arcteryx Gore-tex Parka or wear your bathrobe, they’ll both Wet Out …