I've patched more inflatable kayaks than I can count over the past decade, from a 2 mm pinhole in a sun-baked Sevylor to a 6 inch gash in a Kokopelli after a class III rapid. This is the exact process I walk every paddler through when they call our team asking how to patch a […]

I've patched more tents than I can count over the last decade, from a pinhole in a backpacking fly to a 6-inch tear in a family cabin tent after a windstorm. The good news: how to patch a hole in a tent is a skill anyone can learn in a single afternoon, and a quality […]

Learning how to patch a hole in waders saves most anglers $150 to $500 versus buying a new pair, and a single proper repair can extend wader life by 1 to 3 seasons. I have patched more than two dozen pairs of neoprene and breathable waders over the past 8 years, mostly stockingfoot Simms and […]

I remember the first afternoon I took a stand up paddle board out on a flat lake near my house. I was maybe 200 meters from the launch, drenched in sweat, exhausted, and somehow I had drifted in a wide arc back toward the dock. If you are trying to learn how to paddle a […]

Pack a canoe for camping by keeping the heaviest gear low and centered along the hull's center line, waterproofing everything in dry bags or barrels, and securing every load so nothing shifts in wind, waves, or a capsize. I have packed canoes from Boundary Waters portages to weekend river floats, and the same three rules […]

I learned how to pack a backpack for weight distribution the hard way - halfway up a 12-mile day on the Wind River Range, my shoulders were burning, my hips were sliding, and I spent the last four miles wishing I had never left the trailhead. After that trip, I spent a full year testing […]

Learning how to navigate without a trail is the one backcountry skill that keeps you safe when everything else fails. Phones die, batteries drain in the cold, GPS signals vanish in canyons, and even well-marked paths disappear under snow or blowdown. In this guide, I'll walk you through the three core tools you need, a […]

To measure a kayak's weight capacity correctly, you subtract the hull's dry weight from the manufacturer's maximum rating to get usable capacity, then apply a 70% performance buffer to that usable figure. The number printed on the hull is not the load you should actually carry. I learned this the hard way. Years ago I […]

If you have ever found a brush pile loaded with bass and then lost it on the next trip, you already know why learning how to mark waypoints on a fish finder matters. A waypoint is just a saved GPS location, but it is the single most useful feature on any chartplotter for anglers who […]

Learning how to maintain a spinning reel is the single best thing I did for my fishing gear. After three decades on the water, a charter-boat apprenticeship, and a small mountain of abused reels, I can tell you the difference between a $200 reel that lasts a season and one that lasts a decade comes […]