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The Performance of Alcohol Fuels for Backpacking Stoves
Part One: Three Straight Alcohols and Alcohol Blends
Light alcohol stoves are very popular, but there is a lot of confusion over what sort of alcohol should be used and whether blending different alcohols together has any effect. In this, Part One, we comprehensively examine the performance and safety of three common alcohol fuels and of a range of blends.
MYOG: The Incredible Rulk – Rucksack and Pulk Combo
It would be so nice to have a light pulk strapped onto my pack so that I more or less would be able instantly to switch back and forth between pack and pulk. Witness the creation of the Incredible Rulk!
*** ALERT *** APPALACHIAN TRAIL HIKER FOUND!
*** ALERT *** APPALACHIAN TRAIL HIKER FOUND!
MSR Carbon Reflex 2 Tent Review
MSR utilizes lightweight fabrics, carbon fiber poles, and elegant design to achieve a sub-three-pound double-wall tent for two.
Train Yourself to Hike a 30-Mile Day
You have been invited on a summer backpacking trip that will cover 30 miles in one day, including 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, and your anticipated pack weight will be 15-20 pounds. You have 15 weeks to prepare. What is the best way to get your body and mind ready for such an outing?
My UL Frenzy: Twenty-Five Weekends of Backpacking in the White Mountains and Beyond
2008: A Year of Change. Follow Jim Bailey on his rabid quest to hike every possible weekend between March and November, despite living in New England with its record-breaking weather.
Tools and Techniques to Sew Like a Pro
While practice is the real key to improving the quality of your homemade gear, there are some tools and techniques that can help you along the way. Knowing which tools to have and how to best use them will maximize the quality of the gear you build.
Functional Design Sweetie Pie Bag Expander Review
The Functional Design Sweetie Pie Bag Expander is a versatile, zip-in, sleeping bag expander that can be used singly for individuals that enjoy more space, or together with another expander as a sleeping bag doubler. Two expanders can also be zipped together to form a child-sized bag allowing for an adventurous toddler to have his own space.
REI Flash 50 and Flash 65 Backpack Review
Three-pound internal frame backpacks with great fit, features, versatility, and value.
John Muir’s Birthplace – a Photo Essay
John Muir will be forever linked with the High Sierra and California, but it was far from there that his life began, in the little coastal town of Dunbar on the southeast coast of Scotland.
Stoves, Tents and Carbon Monoxide – Deadly or not? Supplement 4: Jetboil Helios
Jetboil releases its first remote canister stove. Does this work well enough to be a good winter stove?
Mountain Laurel Designs eVENT Rain Mitt Review
At one ounce per pair, these waterproof/breathable rain mitts are designed for ultralight backpacking, but should they be worn over a jacket sleeve or under it?
Video: Packraft Wet Reentry
Wet reentry is one of the most common rescues you'll perform while packrafting. Be sure to work the kinks out of your technique ahead of time so this self-rescue tool will be honed when you need it.
Packraft Wet Reentry Photo Demo
Foot entrapment among submerged rocks is the leading killer of whitewater boaters. Think about it: the most common way to die while boating is by doing something OUTSIDE your boat!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: BACKPACKING LIGHT SEEKS PARTNERSHIP WITH OHV/ORV COMMUNITY TO PROMOTE MULTI-USE HARMONY IN AMERICAN WILDERNESS
Backpacking Light (www.backpackinglight.com), an internet-based community of hikers known for their pro-wilderness values, is forging partnerships with organizations such as the pro-trails Blue Ribbon Coalition (www.sharetrails.org) to join forces in the fight for American Wilderness preservation.
Uncovering the Truth: Underground Doping in the Long Distance Hiking Community
When Jason Goldman* (not his real name) completed a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in less than 100 days, not too many people paid attention: it had been hiked faster by others. But this was Jason's third thru-hike of the PCT. His previous two were completed in 183 and 174 days, respectively...
Make Your Own Gear: Light Fleece Pullover Top
This light fleece top is designed as a light winter pullover for snow conditions. It is very simple and styled as an anorak, rather than opening right down the front.
Podcast: Packrafting Safety Tips from the Experts Part 3
Seven packrafters with a total of over thirty-five years of experience under their bums share the safety gear they won't be without, skills that have kept them coming back for more, common - and dangerous - mistakes, and real life rescue stories.
Metamorphosis #4: Monocle
It is amazing how removing so much from one's hands puts so much at one's fingertips.
Metamorphosis #3: Walking the Edge
At the onset of my affiliation with Backpacking Light, my base weight stood at a whopping sixty pounds. After several months worth of hand-wringing and basic re-education in the art of backpacking, I'd dropped my base weight to nineteen pounds.
Metamorphosis #2: A Change in Attitude
Compared to the expertise written into surrounding pages, a nineteen-pound base weight must look like an embarrassingly tight pair of pants. With another ten pounds in food and water, my thirty-pound pack still needs heavy trimming.
