SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Guides, Gear Reviews, and FAQs

Mountain House Food Corporation announced the formation of a new subsidiary called Dog House Foods to brand and market a new line of freeze-dried camping meals for dogs, called “Doggy Bags.” These nutritious meals for dogs are designed to make your dog feel at home when camping or backpacking while providing …

A Pemi Loop, as it’s known locally, is a 33 mile loop hike that follows the ridgeline encircling the Pemigewasset Wilderness. This 2-3 day route climbs TEN 4000 footers with 9000 feet of elevation gain and has long stretches of above-treeline travel, including a Bonds Traverse and a Franconia Ridge …

Spring hiking conditions in New Hampshire’s White Mountains can be quite unpredictable depending on your location and elevation. Despite the change in season and longer days, snow usually lingers on the high peaks well into late May, and daytime temperatures remain quite chilly, only turning warmer in June. In addition …

The Vargo BOT 700 is a lightweight, wide-mouth titanium bottle that can be used for cooking or cold-soaking meals on backpacking and camping trips. The BOT 700 lets me cook some of my meals and cold soak others, without the need to carry a separate cook system or plastic cold-soaking …

Hammocks Tents, also known as camping hammocks and backpacking hammocks, include a hammock, bug netting, a tarp, and a suspension system. The biggest advantage of buying an all-in-one hammock tent is that all the components fit together and you can take them out on the trail having confidence that they …

A headlamp is one of the most important 10 essentials for backpacking, hiking, and any kind of outdoor adventure sport. Using your smartphone as a flashlight doesn’t cut it. But the days of old-school AA and AAA battery-powered headlamps are history.  USB rechargeable headlamps have become ubiquitous and are less …

Adjustable length backpacks let you change the torso length of a backpack so it does a better job of transferring weight from the shoulders to the hips. Traditionally, backpack companies have dealt with torso length by forcing you to choose between small, medium, or large frame heights which may or …

Ventilated backpacks, also called suspended-mesh backpacks, keep you cooler and drier when backpacking in hot or humid weather or when you’re carrying a heavy load. First invented by Deuter Packs, they’re one of the most sought-after backpack features by backpackers. While many backpack manufacturers claim that their backpacks are ventilated, …

For winter snowshoeing on hiking trails and in the backcountry, you want a winter hiking snowshoe that is durable, with aggressive crampons for traction and a secure binding system that locks your boots to the snowshoes. If you’re interested in getting off the grid and snowshoeing through backcountry terrain, these …

The growing use of Dyneema Composite Fabrics, Woven Dyneema, XPac, and LiteSkin has ushered in a new era of durable lightweight, sub-3-pound backpacks that can withstand the abuse of multiple thru-hikes, bushwhacking, canyoneering, and winter hiking and still come back for more. While you will pay a premium for a …

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 tents so much that many people purchase two-person …

Kids aren’t just miniature adults, so purchasing a child’s sleeping bag or quilt isn’t just a matter of purchasing a miniature version of an adult sleeping bag. A kid’s attitude is also far more dependent on getting a good night’s sleep than an adult’s. Making sure the kids get a good …