Gear Guides

Trekking poles provide many benefits to hikers and backpackers from added stability and balance on rough trails to less wear and tear on knees and hips, especially when hiking downhill. The most popular trekking poles used by hikers and backpacks are adjustable …

Pyramid tarps often called “mids”, short for pyramids, are available in multiple forms ranging from one-person ultralight monopole tarps to multi-person winter tipis, complete with inner tents, stove jacks, and wood stoves. Despite their differences, all pyramid shelters share a few common …

What are the best backpacks for thru-hiking? A thru-hiking pack needs to be comfortable, durable, and have enough capacity to hold the gear needed to live on the trail for up to six months at a time, as well as long food …

Many hikers and backpackers like to attach extra accessory pockets to their shoulder straps and hip belts to provide extra storage and help organize their gear so it can be accessed quickly without removing their backpacks. Extra water bottle sleeves, camera bags, …

A down jacket has multiple uses on a hiking or backpacking gear list. It can be used as an insulating midlayer on its own or under a shell, as a warm outer jacket when you’re less active in camp or as an …

Winter tents and shelters for mountaineering, winter backpacking, and backcountry skiing tours need to be stronger and wind-worthy for camping in exposed windy terrain that is subject to heavy snow loads. Some are single-walled since they’re only intended for winter use when …

What are the best tents for thru-hiking? The first major option is choosing between a semi-freestanding tent which comes with tent poles or a trekking-pole tent. Semi-freestanding tents are usually easier to set up than trekking pole tents but often weigh more. …

When choosing the best sleeping bag or quilt for your thru-hike, you want it to be warm enough for the lowest temperatures you might encounter on your hike, pack down small, and not be too big or heavy to carry for weeks …

Today’s winter boots are waterproof, insulated, and compatible with traction aids such as microspikes 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 higher …

Women have a better selection of female-specific lightweight multi-day backpacks weighing less than 3 pounds than ever before. With more and more women on the trails and in the hills, major backpack companies have responded by building new products for this rapidly …

You don’t need a big knife for hiking and backpacking when an ultralight folding pocket knife or multi-tool is just as good for opening freeze-dried food packages, slicing cheese and salmi, adjusting sunglasses frames, cutting guylines and cord, shaping moleskin, cutting strips …

Women’s sleeping bags are the best sleep insulation for female backpackers because they’re warmer than quilts in cold, damp, or drafty weather. While mummy sleeping bag designs still prevail, there’s a lot more variety in the types of sleeping bags that have …

Using a Leave No Trace trowel is one of the most responsible things you can do to preserve the backcountry for others to enjoy. While there’s nothing quite as satisfying as having a good bowel movement outdoors in the crisp morning air, …

There are so many great one-person and two-person backpacking tents available today, that choosing between them has become one of the biggest challenges faced by many backpackers. For example, improved tent fabrics and lighter weight tent poles have reduced the weight of …