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Backpacking Gear Reviews, Expert Tips, & Trail Guides

We hope to inspire adventure and promote wilderness conservation through in-depth gear reviews, skill-based tutorials, and comprehensive trip guides.

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Best Backpacking Sleeping Pads of 2025
a hiker blowing air into a sleeping pad pump sack

Best Backpacking Sleeping Pads of 2025

Whether you’re looking for inflatable or foam, ultralight or ultra-plush, we’ll help you get a great night’s sleep in the backcountry with our trail-tested picks…
Best Backpacking Meals & Food of 2025
A hiker eating from a titanium backpacking pot in a lush, green forest

Best Backpacking Meals & Food of 2025

Backpacking Food Meal planning is one of the most important considerations for any backpacking trip. The food you choose will depend on taste preference, nutritional value, caloric density of each meal, and how easy it is to cook. Some hikers bring dehydrated meals because they’re quick and easy. Others prepare DIY dinner recipes and use […]
Best Backpacking Backpacks of 2025

Best Backpacking Backpacks of 2025

Whether you’re looking to tackle a thru hike or haul some serious gear, we’ve got backpack recommendations for every type of adventure.
Best Backpacking Tents of 2025
The NEMO Hornet OSMO 2 and Big Agnes Tiger Wall 2 backpacking tents pitched in a campsite surrounded by granite peaks in the Sawtooth Mountains

Best Backpacking Tents of 2025

We put the most promising backpacking tents on the market through the wringer to find the ones with the best balance of comfort, weight…
Best Backpacking Sleeping Bags of 2025
A backpacker sitting on a rock in the REI Magma 30 sleeping bag at sunset

Best Backpacking Sleeping Bags of 2025

From summer summits to winter wanderings, our trail-tested list of the best backpacking sleeping bags will keep you warm and cozy in…
Best Backpacking Water Filters of 2025
Closeup of the Sawyer Squeeze water filter in front of an alpine lake

Best Backpacking Water Filters of 2025

We’ve filtered out the nonsense to bring you our purest recommendations of the best water filters around.

All Backpacking Gear Reviews, Expert Tips, & Trail Guides Content

San Juan Mountains-Vallecito Reservoir Loop

San Juan Mountains-Vallecito Reservoir Loop

This trip guide highlights an adventurous backpacking loop through Colorado’s San Juan Mountains via Vallecito Reservoir
Best Winter Boots for Women of 2025
All the boots we tested are lined up on top of the snow with mountains in the background.

Best Winter Boots for Women of 2025

We’ve braved the winter chill to find top-notch boots that blend function with fashion. These winter wonders will keep you stomping away with confidence.
Best Winter Jackets for Women of 2025
a woman zipping the fjallraven nuuk

Best Winter Jackets for Women of 2025

We tested this year’s finest winter jackets and parkas this winter in Colorado, Montana, and British Columbia to bring you a complete guide to the best winter coats on the market. These kept us feeling stylish and toasty in howling winds, driving snow, wintery mixes, and sub-zero temperatures.
10 Best Winter Gloves of 2025
Closeup of a bearded man wearing the Hestra Fall Line gloves on a snowshoeing trail

10 Best Winter Gloves of 2025

From snow and slush to icy water, we’ve dunked our hands and hiked mile after mile to find which gloves will keep your hands the warmest no matter what winter throws at you.
How to Wash a Down Sleeping Bag
Nikwax Down Wash Direct and Tx. Direct Spray-On Waterproofing with tennis balls and a Feathered Friends down sleeping bag

How to Wash a Down Sleeping Bag

If treated with care, a down sleeping bag can last many years, if not a decade. Here’s how to wash and dry your down sleeping bag
Best Hiking Pants for Women 2025
A person is standing on a rock and holding the Distance Carbon trekking poles. The area is rocky with some trees surrounding the wash. There are some rocky, desert peaks in the distance.

Best Hiking Pants for Women 2025

From comfort to durability, we tested a variety of hiking pants to find the best options for every adventure. Discover which pants offer the perfect balance of value, mobility, and performance.
How To Repair, Wash, Store & Care For Your Sleeping Bag

How To Repair, Wash, Store & Care For Your Sleeping Bag

It doesn’t make sense to buy an expensive sleeping bag and then neglect it. Here’s how to repair, wash, store, and care for your sleeping bag
How to Wash a Down Jacket

How to Wash a Down Jacket

Many backpackers are afraid to wash down because they think getting down wet will ruin it. However, it’s important to wash your down jacket – here’s how:
How to Train for Hiking & Backpacking Trips

How to Train for Hiking & Backpacking Trips

If you’ve got your sights set on a difficult hike or an epic backpacking trip, it’s smart to prepare your body in the…
Mountain Hardwear Dynama Ankle Pants Review
A person wearing the Dynama pants is wearing a backpacking and walking on a trail in the mountains.

Mountain Hardwear Dynama Ankle Pants Review

Perfect for townie hikes and everyday wear, these pants combine comfort, breathability, and style. Durable enough for light use, but less ideal for rugged terrain or wet conditions.
Colorado’s Four Pass Loop Trip Guide
Close up of some yellow cup shaped flowers and pink Indian Paintbrush flowers. There is a large mountain, Pyramid Peak, in the background.

Colorado’s Four Pass Loop Trip Guide

Hikers will experience oohs and aahs on the four pass loop in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness – a stunning mountainscape with colorful flora.
Best Sun Hats of 2025
A woman looks out at mountain peaks in the distance in front of a lake, wearing her sun hat.

Best Sun Hats of 2025

Our brand new guide to sun hats has you covered (literally). From paddleboarding at the lake to backyard hangs, see why these hats are the best of the best for comfort, protection, and more.
Duluth Dry on the Fly Women’s Hiking Pants Review
View of a person's lower legs. The leg on the left features the Duluth pants rolled up with the snap feature. The leg on the right demonstrates the pants when worn rolled down. They are wearing boots and standing in a pine forest.

Duluth Dry on the Fly Women’s Hiking Pants Review

Designed for durability and packed with pockets, these pants shine both on the trail and in daily life, making them a go-to choice for active outdoor adventurers.
How to Use Your Phone as a GPS Device for Backpacking

How to Use Your Phone as a GPS Device for Backpacking

Finding the trail, the next water source, and your next campsite is so much easier with gps navigation tools on your phone.
Backpacking & Camping Tent Size Guide

Backpacking & Camping Tent Size Guide

Size is one of the most important considerations you’ll make when choosing a backpacking or camping tent.
Zion Traverse Backpacking Guide

Zion Traverse Backpacking Guide

The Zion Traverse – aka the Trans-Zion Trek – is a gorgeous, full plate sampler with Zion canyon as its centerpiece
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