Gear Guides

10 Best Lightweight 3-4 Season Tents

10 Best Lightweight 3-4 Season Tents

Winter tents and shelters for mountaineering, winter backpacking, and backcountry skiing tours need to be stronger for camping in exposed windy terrain that is subject to snow loads. Our preference is for lightweight tents and tarp shelters because no one wants to …

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10 Best Winter Sleeping Bags of 2024

10 Best Winter Sleeping Bags

The most important attributes of a sleeping bag for winter camping and backpacking are warm insulation, compressibility, low weight, and ample interior space to store gear and water so it doesn’t freeze overnight. Cost is also a factor, although a good winter …

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Winter Bivy Sack Guide for 2024

Winter Bivy Sack Guide

Winter bivy sacks were first developed as solo shelters for mountaineering and climbing where participants were interested in lightweight and highly compressible camping gear. Bivy Sacks are also an attractive option for backpacking hunters, backcountry skiers, and winter backpackers who want the …

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10 Best Winter Hiking Boots of 2024

10-Best-Winter-Hiking-Boots

Today’s winter hiking boots are waterproof, insulated, and compatible with traction aids such as microspikes, crampons, and snowshoes. While 200-gram Thinsulate insulated mids are fine for commuting and short local walks down to about 10-20 degrees (F), we recommend buying boots with …

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10 Best Kids Backpacking Packs for 2023

10 Best Backpacks for Kids

Buying a kid’s backpack is very different from buying an adult backpack because kids have smaller physical proportions. They also grow very quickly so you want to make sure that you purchase a backpack that can be adjusted over time. In addition …

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10 Best Ultralight Backpacking Tarps

10 Best Ultralight Backpacking Tarps

Backpacking tarps are a great camping option if you want to significantly reduce your backpacking gear weight while experiencing a deeper connection to the outdoors, by sleeping under a shelter without walls. Backpacking tarps come in two basic flavors: shaped, catenary cut …

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10 Best Ultralight Sleeping Bags of 2023-2024

10 Best Ultralight Sleeping Bags

Many ultralight sleeping bags are as lightweight as backpacking quilts, making them a viable component in an ultralight backpacking sleep system. Sleeping bags also have the advantage over quilts in that they are draft free because they can be zippered closed at …

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