Section Hikers Backpacking Blog Hiking and Backpacking for Beginners and Experts

Time for some more house cleaning. I get a lot of free samples from gear manufacturers to review and like to redistribute them to my readers before they take over my house or my wife kills me. All of the items below are used, but in very good to excellent …

Outdoor Research’s Protector Sun Gloves ($20) are fingerless gloves designed to protect your hands from the sun. I originally bought them for fly fishing to reduce my sun exposure, but I’ve also started wearing them for all of my hikes as an insect barrier. They weigh next to nothing and …

Vidda Pro Pants are tough hiking pants made by Fjallraven, a Swedish company that makes technical expedition clothing and gear. They are constructed from Fjallraven’s G-1000 fabric which is a blend of 65% polyester and 35% cotton. While cotton is treated as a taboo for outdoor clothing, this fabric blend …

The Ursack AllMitey is a bear-proof and critter-proof food storage bag for camping and backpacking. It differs from Ursack’s other food storage bags, (the Ursack Major, Ursack Major XL, and Ursack Minor), which are either bear-proof or critter proof, but not both. If you’re not familiar with Ursacks, they’re soft …

The Patagonia Houdini Jacket is an ultralight jacket designed to help you stay warm in cool windy weather. It’s not waterproof or insulated but provides a windproof layer to prevent the cold air from stripping away the heat trapped in your baselayer or mid-layer clothing. Wind shirts and jackets like …