Should you splurge or save on backpacking apparel? For many items, you can opt away from name brands for the same performance. These are our top swaps for saving money with your backpacking clothes this season.
How do I save money on backpacking gear without sacrificing quality? What’s the best sports bra for thru-hiking? What should I put in a DIY first-aid kit? Maggie answers reader-submitted gear questions here.
Overnight trips are one of the best ways to get into backpacking. Here’s the gear you should always have in your pack.
This John Muir Trail gear list is for a standard two-week hike through the epic Sierra Nevada mountains in the summer.
While every hiker will develop their own gear list, the ten essentials are considered the bare minimum that every hiker or backpacker should carry
My gear switches a lot, but I do have a core setup that I typically don’t change. This year though, I discovered a new tent, sleeping pad, and favorite inexpensive, noise-cancelling earbuds that kick my AirPods’ butt.
The new Six Moon Designs Rain Walker SUL raises the bar for ultralight umbrellas, using a carbon fiber shaft and ribs to weigh in at a scant 5.5 ounces. The broad canopy protects your upper body from sun and rain, making the Rain Walker crucial equipment on long desert slogs or days of hiking in the rain.
A simple overview of three of the most popular GPS satellite communicators for backpacking, including Garmin, SPOT, and Somewear.
Maggie’s overview on the clothing she’s been wearing for winter hiking, running, classic cross-country skiing, and skate skiing. Plus, tips on how to layer for each sport.
This year, all sleeping pad manufacturers began using the same testing method to assign R-values to pads. As a result, the R-value for some pads increased, while it dropped for others, although no structural changes were made in the pads. Here’s the breakdown.