Frequently Asked Questions

When hiking the Appalachian Trail, you always want to bring some kind of camping shelter, be it a tent, floorless tarp, or hammock, because there’s a very real chance that the shelter will be full when you arrive. Shelter occupancy is first …

You’re on a backpacking trip and your sleeping bag gets wet. What should you do? Assess the Situation The first thing I’d do is to assess how wet the bag is. If the foot end or cover are wet because they rubbed …

Cooking in a camping tent or ultralight shelter can be quite hazardous, but sometimes you don’t have an option because bad weather prevents you from cooking outside. What are the hazards you have to watch out for and how can you cook …

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 …

There are two types of tents: single-wall tents and double-wall tents. Both have their pros and cons in terms of weight, weather-resistance, and comfort. What is a Single-Wall Tent? Single-wall tents are popular with backpackers and climbers who want to carry lightweight …

The desert is a place of extreme opposites: blasting heat and freezing cold, parched soil and flash floods, a harsh landscape but one filled with delicate creatures. When planning backpacking trips, it’s important to consider seasonal temperatures, weather patterns, flora, and fauna …

Selecting a comfortable tent site is a useful skill for all backpackers, regardless of whether you set up camp in a designated camping area or if you stealth camp in a natural, unprepared site. Here are some of the things that I …

Rain happens. Your tent is soaking wet in the morning, but you have many miles to hike before your sleep. How do you pack it up so it doesn’t get wetter, making it unusable that same night? How do you pack it …

If you camp on sandy campsites, whether it’s on a beach or in the desert, you need to learn how to stake out your tent or shelter, so it doesn’t blow away when the wind picks up. This can be challenging because …

A cottage gear manufacturer is one that manufactures their own products, rather than outsourcing them to a contract manufacturer. In the backpacking industry companies like Mountain Laurel Designs, Tarptent, ULA, Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Yama Mountain Gear, ZPacks, Elemental Horizons, and Superior Wilderness …

This is a serious issue because I see a lot of people do this improperly, opening themselves to a potentially serious injury. To remedy that, I’m going to demonstrate how you should do this safely, in a way that prevents the axe …

When choosing between lightweight multi-day backpacks, which is better: a backpack with an internal frame or one with frame stays? It’s a question that confuses many backpackers who want to lighten their backpack weight but want to retain the comfort and load-carrying …

Most ultralight backpacking tents are made with one of the following coated fabrics: siliconized nylon, siliconized polyester, and dyneema composite fabrics, also called, silnylon, silpoly, and DCF respectively. Some ultralight tents are also made with nylon or polyester that’s coated on one …

Snowshoes are heavy, weighing between four and five pounds a pair, so most winter hikers are happy when they don’t have to carry them on a winter hike. But how can you tell when they won’t be needed? This is a question that …