I learned the value of a stove repair kit the hard way. It was day six of a nine-day Wind River Range traverse, and my WhisperLite started hissing fuel from the pump cup. The O-ring had finally given up after eight years of service. Without a spare O-ring or pump seal in my pack, dinner […]

I've been chasing the perfect cook kit for the better part of a decade — thousands of trail miles across the Sierra, the Wind Rivers, and the Long Trail, with too many dented titanium pots and scorched aluminum pans to count. When hikers ask me about the best backpacking pot sets, I always start the […]

I'll be straight with you: my first year of thru-hiking, I skipped a measuring cup and rehydrated my freeze-dried meals by eye. The result was a week of watery huevos rancheros and dry clumps of beef stroganoff that I will never get back. After 200+ nights on trail and testing dozens of vessels, I now […]

When I bought my first backpacking pack, I picked the wrong size because I trusted my height instead of my actual torso measurement. That mistake cost me about 12 miles of sore shoulders before I returned the pack and got one that fit my back. Knowing how to choose a backpacking backpack size saves you […]

After spending 45 days testing 8 of the top dry bag backpack straps on kayaking trips, portages, and SUP outings, I can tell you the right strap system transforms how you carry gear on the water. Our team hauled 20- to 40-liter bags through muddy launches, across 400-meter portages, and through Class II rapids to […]

I've been backpacking in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade, and nothing ruins a trip faster than reaching into your pack on day three and pulling out a soaking wet sleeping bag. After testing rain covers across three wet seasons, multiple PCT sections, and a soggy A.T. thru-hike attempt, I've learned that the right […]

I have spent more weekends than I can count standing thigh-deep in a river, fumbling through a vest pocket for the right fly while a trout drifts lazily past. That frustration is exactly what pushed me to test every fishing sling pack I could get my hands on. Over the past two seasons, our team […]

If your favorite pack's shoulder strap foam has gone to concrete or the hipbelt buckle finally snapped mid-trip, you already know the truth: the frame and harness are usually the first things to fail, and they are almost always the last thing a brand will warranty. After our team spent 90 days testing 8 backpack […]

If your backpack sternum strap broke mid-hike, slid off the rail slider mid-ruck, or never came with one in the first place, you already know the frustration of shoulder straps that dig in and slide off your shoulders. I have been there. After replacing broken straps on three packs over the past two years, I […]

I've spent over 80 nights on the trail in the last three years, and the question I hear most from new backpackers isn't about tents or sleeping bags. It's about backpacking bowls. After freezing my hands on a titanium bowl full of boiling ramen at 11,000 feet, I started testing every dinnerware option I could […]