I lost count of how many times my canoe drifted halfway across the lake while I was unhooking a fish. That frustration pushed me to spend the last three months testing every canoe anchor I could get my hands on, from 1.5 lb grapnels to 8 lb hybrid mushroom-fluke designs. After anchoring my 17 ft […]

I have spent more weekends than I would like to admit sideways in a canoe. After one particularly embarrassing dunking on a fishing trip, I started digging into canoe outrigger kits the way I dig into a new paddle or PFD. Six months and eight systems later, our team compared them on a 14 ft […]

Last summer, I watched a friend crack the bow of his 17-foot Old Town on a hidden rock in the Boundary Waters, 14 miles from the nearest road. He reached into his dry bag, pulled out a small repair kit, and had the crack sealed in under 20 minutes. That moment sent me down a […]

Factory canoe seats are notoriously uncomfortable. After three hours on flatwater, most stock benches leave you shifting, slouching, and nursing a stiff lower back that ruins the rest of your trip. I have spent the last several seasons testing aftermarket canoe seats on everything from quick lake loops to multi-day portage routes, swapping them between […]

After logging more than 80 trail miles, two dozen wade-fishing sessions, and one uncomfortably long squirrel-hunt loop last fall, I can tell you this: the right chest pack changes the way you move outside. The best chest packs for outdoors in have evolved far beyond glorified fanny packs. Modern field packs now combine recycled nylon […]

Our team spent 90 days testing chum bags across kayak launches in Florida, Texas, and Southern California. We deployed frozen blocks, ground chum, and oily fish scraps in every tide, wind, and current condition we could find. The six picks below survived everything we threw at them, with one clear winner for kayak anglers. A […]

Last summer, I watched a friend drag a 17-foot Old Town Saranac across a pebbled launch ramp by the bowline. By the time she reached the water, her shoulders were shaking and the gelcoat had picked up two fresh scratches. That moment is exactly why the best canoe carts exist, and why I spent the […]

I've spent the last three summers rigging canoes for everything from walleye trolling on Lake of the Woods to duck-hunting runs through the Mississippi backwaters, and I can tell you that finding the best canoe motor mounts is the difference between a confident, hands-free day on the water and a frustrating day of wrestling a […]

I learned this lesson the hard way. After a three-night camp in the Sierras with a running 12V fridge, my truck battery was completely dead on the morning of day four. That quiet click of a starter solenoid, followed by absolute silence, cost me a $180 tow to the nearest town and ruined an otherwise […]

I've spent the last three summers sleeping in everything from a Subaru Outback to a Cargo conversion van, and the single piece of gear that changed my car camping game was a solid set of window covers. After testing 10 of the most popular options side by side, I can tell you which best car […]