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The Future of Baselayers
A glimpse into the future and a mini-review of the Mammut All-Year long sleeve crew.
24 Hours: Packrafting the Grande Ronde River
A new installment of the "24" series - stories about "24 hour" overnight trips.
Windshirts: 2012 State of the Market Report – Part 2: The Present and Future of Windshirts
Weatherproof, lightweight, breathable. Might the windshirt be the ultimate tool in the lightweight backpacker's arsenal?
5 Beginning Concepts for Winter Backpacking
Deep winter; February in the Many Glacier valley, Glacier National Park. 1. Define your winter For the modern first-world human, winter is frightening. Our everyday lives are built around spaces...
Considering Minimalist Footwear for Backpacking
While it sounds romantic to be able to trek in hemp-strapped huaraches or five-toed skins, the reality of wild places and the limitations of your body’s biomechanics may necessitate a different type of minimalist footwear.
Big Agnes Fly Creek 2 Platinum Tent Review
At 5 ounces less than its predecessor, is the new Fly Creek worth the extra price?
Tarp Camping Techniques for Inclement Conditions
Tarp campers intimately know not only wind and bugs but also sights of moonlit clouds and shooting stars and dawn, scents of pine needles and flowers and grasses and prowling...
Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness: Photo Essay
Photos and a Gear List from the 2012 Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp.
Brooks-Range Foray 2P Tent Review
With its polka-dots and odd shape, can this unique 3-season shelter be taken seriously?
Backpacking and the Bruin Mind
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Backpacking Light’s print magazine. We felt that October would be a timely month to reproduce the article here, as hikers are grabbing those...
Sailors, Rappers, & Ultralight Backpackers: A Walk with the Timberland Cadion
Has Timberland found a niche the lightweight market?
The Bio-Bio Trek, Chile
Volcanoes, hot springs, and breathtaking vistas in the Chilean Andes.
Solo-Plus Tent Round-Up
A look at five lightweight shelters with extra space for your partner, gear, or four-legged companion.
Staying Dry in a Bivy Sack: Techniques for Managing the Moisture Balance Between External Precipitation and Internal Condensation
This article was originally published in issue 7 of the Backpacking Light Print Magazine. It has since been revised and updated by the author for web publication.
MYOG: Supplex Pants
Step by step guide to simple, lightweight, inexpensive trekking pants.
Down Jacket Shoot-out: GoLite Bitterroot vs. Rab Infinity
A comparison of two full-featured down jackets with Quantum GL fabric and 850 fill power down.
Gilham Butte: Behind the Redwood Curtain
The Pilgrimage via Grasshopper Ridge
Rab Kinetic Jacket Review
A fully featured hard shell at a minimal weight.
A Survey of Water Hazards and Water Treatment Methods – Part 6: Ultra-Violet Light Methods
Introduction This is a commercial UV treatment plant. You might think (as I did initially) that it would not be possible to make such a thing portable for walkers, but...
The 2012 Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic
Is this the longest, toughest, roughest or hardest? The beauty of it is that at the finish no one knew or cared. Every competitor was left with indelible experiences, challenges accepted and honestly won or lost. Each had started with a clean slate and had accomplished every step in the wilderness through their own efforts. -Adrian Crane, writing about the Classic in Ultrarunning (1986)
A Survey of Water Hazards and Water Treatment Methods – Part 5: Filtration Methods
Abstract Water in the field is not always safe to drink. We examine some of the problems which can exist, and we survey all light-weight water treatment methods for use...Thursday, February 27 through Saturday, March 1 - Registration is Free.Trail Days Online! 2025 is this week:
