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Episode 148 | Rain Jackets for Mountain Minimalism
How to choose rain gear for mountain minimalism based on exposure, retreat options, wind, abrasion, and thermal margin.
A Simple Shower Test for Evaluating Backpack Water Resistance
We use a simple and repeatable shower test method to evaluate backpack water resistance that incorporates fabrics, closures, seepage, and material water absorption.
By the Numbers: The Tug of Water – Why Some Layers Hold Sweat and Others Let it Go
Our new test data reveals which hydrophobic and hydrophilic base layers are most effective at liquid water transfer, moving sweat away from your skin during high exertion.
Episode 147 | Thermoregulatory Debt
Avoid thermoregulatory debt by learning how delayed layering decisions in cold, wet, or windy conditions lead to moisture, heat, and performance debt. Timing is key.
Camping Under Trees: Hazard-Tree Awareness and Campsite Selection for Backpackers
Falling trees pose a fatal risk to backpackers, especially when camping. Learn to identify hazard trees and choose a safe campsite by scanning the fall zone.
Rain jackets for mountain minimalism
Ultralight rain jackets are useful, but not universally applicable in all contexts. Here, the author compares ultralight rainwear with mountain rainwear and defines the “mountain minimalist” shell: a simple, 8- to 11-oz, 3-layer jacket built for prolonged exposure, abrasion, and really bad weather without unnecessary features.
REI’s Labor Fight Is a Test of Co-op Trust
Documents show benefit changes, financial pressure, and unresolved legal questions. They also show how little members can verify from public statements alone.
Inflatable Sleeping Pads for Backpacking
The product category of inflatable sleeping pads is trending towards larger, warmer, and more comfortable pads - with very little weight penalty. This market report surveys available products and provides use case guidance, context tips, and feedback heuristics for optimizing comfort.
Why You Should Spend a Few Ounces of Pack Weight on Rainwear Ventilation Features
In this article, we make the case for spending some extra weight on rain jackets and rain pants that offer more ventilation features (and durability) than typical ultralight rainwear styles (updated May 2026).
Backpacking Light x REI Gear Guide
Lightweight and ultralight backpacking gear at REI - updated with recommendations, limitations, disclaimers, and consumer advocacy.
Cottage Gear Guide: Ultralight Hiking & Backpacking Gear from Small, Startup, and Cottage Brands
Discover the most unique, innovative, and ultralight backpacking gear from small, startup, and cottage brands in our Cottage Gear Guide.
Episode 146 | Dirtbag Rich with Blake Boles
Ryan Jordan interviews Blake Boles, author of Dirtbag Rich, about redefining wealth through time, purpose, flexibility, and outdoor freedom. They explore dirtbag culture, careers, housing, relationships, risk, and the pursuit of a life built around adventure, simplicity, and meaningful time outside before retirement.
On Wilderness and Flourishing
In this philosophical essay, Backpacking Light founder Ryan Jordan argues that wilderness is more than scenery, recreation, or resource. Drawing on Aristotle, and testing ancient and modern philosophies against the state of humanity's relationship to nature, he proposes a Wilderness Ethic of Flourishing: wild places cultivate prudence, courage, temperance, and contemplation in ways modern civilization cannot. This philosophical foundation offers a deeper case for preserving wild lands in an age of distraction, extraction, and political distortion.
Key drivers of activity-related fatigue in the backcountry
Fatigue in the backcountry is not just a subjective sensation of tiredness. It is a cumulative physiological burden that can impair movement quality, physical performance, decision-making, and safety. This article introduces an exposure-dose framework for understanding fatigue accumulation and examines three primary categories: uphill concentric muscular fatigue, downhill eccentric and joint fatigue, and metabolic fatigue. It also considers the interactions among these fatigue types and explains why their recovery and decay occur over different physiological timescales. Two routes with different grade geometries are compared using the TRIPS software platform.
Episode 145 | Backpacking at Altitude
How altitude affects backpacking performance, sleep, fatigue, acclimatization, and AMS – with practical strategies for planning safer trips.
Episode 144 | Trail Steepness vs. Difficulty
How physiology and biomechanics shape hiking effort across terrain – and why slope doesn’t predict time or energy linearly.
Episode 143 | Managing Fatigue
This episode presents an operational framework for fatigue management in backcountry travel grounded in a non-circular load–fatigue–capacity model. Load is defined as external demand, fatigue as accumulated physiological and cognitive degradation, and remaining capacity as current ability. Risk is treated as the ratio of current load to remaining capacity. The discussion emphasizes field-relevant behavioral levers that reduce load, slow fatigue accumulation, and improve recovery.
By The Numbers: Fun Findings For Five Fuzzy Fabrics
Five fuzzy insulations get measured head-to-head: Polartec Alpha Direct, Primaloft Evolve, and three Teijin Octa builds. See how structure drives air permeability, MVTR, drying rate and energy, directional R-value, and durability. Results highlight Alpha’s breathability and efficiency, Evolve’s resilience, and Octa’s structured, durable use cases for high-output backcountry layering systems.
How much body fat will you lose on a backpacking trip?
Backpacking creates large calorie deficits you can’t fully pack as food. This article presents a simple, physiology-based model that estimates fat loss from total trip deficit by capping how much energy can realistically come from body fat, using fat mass, hiking hours, and aerobic-threshold intensity.
Flying With Backpacking Gear: TSA, FAA PackSafe, and Airline Rules for Carry-On and Checked Bags
Flying to a trailhead is easy until fuel, stakes, poles, and batteries come into play. This guide compiles verifiable TSA, FAA PackSafe, and airline rules into a practical packing matrix: what’s allowed on aircraft, what must be checked, what belongs in carry-on, and how to handle common edge cases safely.
Episode 142 | The 72 Hour Backcountry Reset
Why 72 hours in the backcountry delivers lasting mental reset: attention, stress, sleep, and decision-making—plus 24-hour options.
"Simplify, then add lightness." - Colin Chapman
New Alpha Direct FleeceSee the latest hoodies, pants, and hands / feet / head accessories from cottage makers.
