Frequently Asked Questions

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 …

If you plan to go hiking or backpacking in a foreign country or travel out-of-state by plane, here are 10 packing tips to help guarantee that your backpacking gear does not get lost, destroyed by luggage handlers, stolen, or confiscated by airport security. …

A floating lid is a detachable pocket on the top of a backpack that can be used to carry more gear when the pack’s main compartment is full. They’re commonly found on winter or climbing backpacks and are very handy when you …

When you buy a tent or tarp made with silnylon, it’s best to seal the seams using Gear Aid Silnet Silicone Seam Sealer in order to make them waterproof in the rain. While many manufacturers offer this as an add-on service, but you …

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 …

You’re hiking along a trail and you suddenly realize you’ve lost it. Stop where you are and try to remember how you got where you are. Can you remember any landmarks that you passed that you know were on the trail? When …

Rolltop backpacks have increased in popularity in the past few years as demand for lightweight backpacks has grown. Rolltop backpacks have certain advantages and disadvantages that are worth considering if you’re shopping for a new backpack or switching from a more traditional …

Phone-based navigation apps like Gaia GPS, ViewRanger, and Backcountry Navigator are an incredible value compared to the old-school GPS-units sold by Garmin because they include a wide variety of highly detailed maps for free. Garmin still charges you extra money to get …

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 …

A GPS receiver or Smartphone GPS App is a powerful hiking and backpacking navigation device, but it must be configured properly for use and has important limitations that trip up most beginner GPS users who may put undue trust in its ability …

There are two kinds of backpacks you can buy – ones with fixed length torsos and one with adjustable length torsos. Fixed length packs tend to be a little lighter weight than packs with adjustable lengths, but they either fit you or …

Permethrin is an insect repellant and insecticide that bonds to fabric and can be used on your clothes, tent, or hammock to prevent Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, or the Zika Virus by killing ticks, mosquitos, and insects that land on …

If you have a hiking or backpacking emergency and lose consciousness before you can signal for help with a satellite communicator or personal locator beacon, you’re out of luck unless you’re with a partner who can activate it on your behalf. The …

Running packs and vests are very different from most of the backpacks that day hikers and backpackers are familiar with. In this article, I’ll explain the differences between a running pack and other backpacks, and detail how the special features of a …