Latest

Episode 128 | The Metabolic Cost of Carrying a Backpack

What does it really cost your body to carry a backpack in the backcountry? In this episode, we explore the science behind the metabolic demands of load carriage - how pack weight, load distribution, terrain, and walking speed impact energy expenditure. (included: interview with pack designer Dan Durston.)

The Metabolic Energy Mile (MEM) Framework: A Systems-Based Approach to Measuring the Cost of Walking a Mile

The Metabolic Energy Mile (MEM) Framework redefines hiking effort beyond distance. It integrates terrain, fatigue, and environment for accurate energy cost prediction.

Backpacking Chairs: A Comprehensive Guide to the Science of Seated Recovery, Ultralight Chair Design, and Market Landscape

In ultralight backpacking, chairs are often dismissed as luxury. This guide reframes them as recovery tools — exploring their impact on performance, biomechanics, and thermal management. From sit pads to suspended seats, we analyze the design tradeoffs and field use cases that shape the modern camp seating landscape.

El Coyote Alphalite Quilt Review

A review of the El Coyote Alphalite 900+ Quilt, including warmth and value analysis, sizing insights for petite hikers, and performance feedback after 20 nights in the field.

Episode 127 | Field Notes – Shelter Fabrics

In episode 127 of the BPL Podcast, Ryan Jordan explores shelter fabrics: strength-to-weight, waterproofing, coatings, pitch stability, storm resilience, strength-to-weight ratios and waterproofing to coating quality, pitch stability, and storm resilience.

Market Report: State-of-the-Art Fabrics for Hiking Backpacks and Backcountry Shelters

Ultra-light backpack and shelter fabrics: Explore materials, performance, and construction. Nylon, polyester, UHMWPE, coatings & more.

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Gear Reviews

Gossamer Gear Whisper Review (Updated)

The Gossamer Gear Whisper is a 1-person, 2-pole, floorless full-perimeter shelter made with Dyneema Composite Fabrics. It includes an attached noseeum mesh netting skirt, is pitched with 7 stakes, and weighs 9.8 oz (280 g).

Armless Sunglasses: Rethinking Eyewear for the Backcountry

Explore a lighter, more durable, and comfortable alternative to traditional eyewear for backcountry travel in this review of Ombraz armless sunglasses.

Timmermade SUL 1.5 Down Sweater Gear Review

The Timmermade SUL 1.5 Down Sweater is a down jacket with an excellent warmth-to-weight ratio for ultralight backpackers.

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Skills

Handwear Systems for Backcountry Travel: Protecting Your Hands in Sun, Cold, Rain, Snow, and Wind

Learn how to build a lightweight, versatile handwear system for backpacking that protects your hands from sun, wind, rain, snow, and cold. This guide covers layering strategies, material science, field-tested tips, and real-world lessons to keep your hands functional and protected on the trail.

Feminine Hygiene: Avoiding Infections

Sarah Ortiz discusses research based strategies for avoiding urinary tract infections, yeast infections, and bacterial vaginosis in the backcountry.

How to Make Coffee in the Backcountry: Gear and Methods

This article provides an overview of coffee-making methods (how to make coffee in the backcountry) while backpacking, with a study of their complexity and weight.

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Research & Testing

Advances in Materials and Manufacturing in Ultralight Backpacks: A Technical Review and Case Study

A technical analysis of material and manufacturing innovations in ultralight backpack design, with a case study of the Arc'teryx Alpha SL 30. This report examines fusion bonding, molecularly bonded UHMWPE laminates, and the engineering tradeoffs shaping the next generation of ultralight packs.

By the Numbers: Can New GPS Technology Save Your Life? Under the Right Conditions, it just Might

Stephen Seeber compares iPhone and Garmin Fenix GPS tracks for accuracy and reliability.

LightBench: A Laboratory Testing Procotol for Comparing the Performance of Flashlights and Headlamps

In this technical brief, we quantitatively evaluate the performance of lights considering brightness, battery life, and weight into an objective Lightbench Index.

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Culture

Topographic intervention: reconciling terrain and neurobiology with your mental and emotional health needs

Walking is often prescribed as a catch-all fix for mental and emotional distress. But when generic advice like “go for a walk” doesn’t work, it’s not your fault - it’s the prescription that failed. This essay explores a more intentional framework: topographic intervention. By aligning terrain with specific emotional states - like using uphill climbs to metabolize anxiety or forested trails to cradle grief - walking becomes more than movement. It becomes medicine. Discover how matching physiology, emotion, and landscape can unlock walking’s real power for healing.

Collateral Damage: How Tariff Policy Is Gutting America’s Outdoor Gear Innovators

Ryan Jordan breaks down the impacts of the 2025 US tariff chaos on the cottage industry for backpacking gear.

Legacy of Fire: The Ghost of Trees

Nikki Stavile writes on the impact of fire on hikers and the communities they hike through using stories from Jasper and the Tahoe Rim Trail.

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