Frequently Asked Questions

If you hike or backpack in areas that have large amounts of decaying vegetation, like the forests of North America, you’re going to come across natural water sources that have a sickly red, orange, or yellow color. The tea-like coloring is caused by tannins that have leached out of the …

Most hiking and backpacking water filters must be replaced if they’ve been frozen.  When it gets too cold to keep a water filter from freezing, your best bet is to switch to chemical purification using chlorine dioxide in liquid or tablet form (Aquamira water purification drops or Katadyn chlorine dioxide …

Most people pack way too much food when they go backpacking, especially for shorter trips lasting 1 to 2 nights in duration. While the rule of thumb is 2 lbs of food per day or 4000 calories, that number is based on what the average long-distance thru-hiker needs to eat …

DEET is still the most widely used insect repellent in use today. It is available in multiple concentrations ranging from 10 percent up to 100 percent. The main difference between the different concentrations is how long they remain effective. For example, a concentration of 30% will repel mosquitos and ticks …

When I started backpacking I always carried a small bottle of hand sanitizer to use on my hands after filtering water and using the bathroom. I’d repackage it from a big bottle of Purell into those 1 or 2 oz small polyethylene bottles that REI sells and put it into …

Purifying water in the desert can be a unique challenge. Often, it’s hard to even find any water to begin with, and when you finally do, it’s opaque with silt or full of swaying algae or tiny worms. Much of it is frankly unappealing. In this article, I will discuss …

Titanium camping cook pots are better than aluminum cook pots if your top priority is saving weight. They are stronger than aluminum pots, corrosion-resistant, and cool quite quickly so you can heat food up in one and then use it as a cup or bowl. However, titanium pots tend to …

It’s happened to all of us. You arrive at a backcountry stream or spring ready to refill your bottles or hydration bladder and filter water only to find they’re almost dry, running at just a trickle, or very shallow. Here are a few tips and tricks you can use to …

Sock liners prevent blisters in two ways: they wick foot perspiration away from your feet which can lead to increased friction and they help prevent ill-fitting boots from rubbing your skin and causing a hotspot. Sock liners are a common blister prevention technique among people who wear hiking boots and …

The longer the hammock, the more comfortable you’ll be. Sleeping comfort in a hammock is often equated with being able to lie flat at night instead of sleeping in a curved position like a banana. One way to accomplish this is by positioning yourself diagonally in a 20-degree or 30-degree …

Trail weight is the weight of a tent with just the fly, the inner tent, pre-attached guylines, and the tent poles minus the tent stakes, stuff sacks, extra guylines, and repair kit if one is included with your tent. Packaged weight is the trail weight, plus those all those added …

You don’t need a tent, specifically, for backpacking but you do need some form of rain protection and/or insect protection in most climates when camping out along a trail. It can be a tent, hammock with a tarp, a waterproof bivy sack, a bug shelter, or some combination of these …

? If you routinely experience back pain, shoulder pain, or hip pain when you carry a backpack, there’s a good chance that your backpack doesn’t fit you or that you’re not wearing it properly. This is surprisingly common among backpackers, and one of the main reasons why people don’t go …

You don’t absolutely need trekking poles for hiking or backpacking although many people find them helpful. The most oft-cited advantage of trekking poles is that they take some of the pressure off your legs when descending steep slopes or mountains, thereby decreasing or eliminating pain in your knees and the …