Gear Guides
- GEAR • Gear Reviews
- GEAR • Market Reports
- GEAR • Gear Guides
- GEAR • Gear Checklists
- GEAR • Make Your Own Gear
- GEAR • Gear Testing & Research
- SKILLS • Tips, Tricks, and Hacks
- SKILLS • Wilderness Skills
- SKILLS • Training
- SKILLS • Trip Planning
- SKILLS • Food Preparation
- PLACES • Trips
- PLACES • Routes
- CULTURE • Essays
- CULTURE • Stories
- CULTURE • Issues
- CULTURE • People
- CULTURE • News
- CULTURE • Media Reviews
- ARCHIVES (Before 30.Nov.2015)
- SEARCH LIBRARY
- TRAILHEADS
Latest
Staff Picks 2025
Our staff selects their favorite hiking, backpacking, and other backcountry gear that they’ve used over the past year - the next edition of our infamous Staff Picks!
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.
Backpacking Light x REI Gear Guide
Lightweight and ultralight backpacking gear at REI - updated with recommendations, limitations, disclaimers, and consumer advocacy.
Nemo Hornet OSMO 3P vs Nemo Dragonfly OSMO 3P as a Family Shelter
The Nemo Dragonfly & Hornet OSMO 3P tents for family backpacking are ultralight, durable shelters tested here with toddlers.
Family Tents for Backpacking
A gear guide summarizing the state of the market of 3-person double wall tents and ultralight backpacking shelters.
Down-Filled Backpacking Quilts (Market Survey and Gear Guide)
This comprehensive market survey features 60+ models of down-filled backpacking quilts, 27+ brands across North America and Europe. Includes analysis (warmth, weight, value), expert recommendations, market overview, and more.
Cottage Gear Innovation Awards
The Cottage Gear Innovation Awards celebrate the small, startup, and cottage products, brands, and people that bring forth new methods or ideas that reflect unique originality, creativity, and advances in materials, design, application, or aesthetic to help hikers and other backcountry enthusiasts thrive outdoors.
Traction Spikes
An in-depth guide to traction spikes for hiking, backpacking and running in all seasons. Compare models, materials, and performance attributes with insights from field testing to find performant options for different use cases.
Avalanche and Winter Safety Tools
A guide to tools used to manage risk in avalanche terrain - transceivers, shovels, probes, safety backpacks, saws.
Minimalist and Backpacking Footwear
In this guide, we’ll explore the primary categories of footwear for backpacking and hiking, including minimalist footwear, examining their unique benefits, limitations, and use cases.
Staff Picks 2024
Our staff selects their favorite hiking, backpacking, and other backcountry gear that they’ve used over the past year - the next edition of our infamous Staff Picks!
Ultralight, Ultra-Performance Backcountry Electronics (Revised and Updated)
In this updated gear guide, I'll provide some insight into the backcountry electronics I use, discuss their use cases, and explain why I chose those brands and models.
How do tent stakes interact with soils to create holding power?
Tent stake holding power, especially in adverse wind conditions, relies on principles of engineering and physics, including cross-sectional shape, length, soil interaction, and insertion angle.
Water Treatment and Backpacking Hygiene: Recommended Gear & Supplies
Resources for water treatment and hygiene supplies for ultralight backpacking.
Bear Canisters: Design, Use Cases, and Reviews
We hope this guide will help you understand bear canisters a little bit better. You'll learn about various testing agencies, bear canister design, materials, usability, and user experiences. Lastly, we’ll make some recommendations for bear canisters that reflect unique combinations of value, weight, and capacity.
Navigation and Communication Devices: Strengths, Limitations, and Use Cases
In this video, I will cover various types of navigation and communications devices, their benefits and limitations, and use case scenarios where you might use one or a combination of multiple devices.
Backpacking Light Staff Picks: Our Favorite Gear
Our staff selects their favorite hiking, backpacking, and other backcountry gear that they’ve used over the past year - the next edition of our infamous Staff Picks!
Publisher’s Gear Guide Update (Nov ’23)
The Publisher's Gear Guide has been updated. This gear guide contains recommendations in various categories by Backpacking Light Publisher and Founder Ryan Jordan. This is the gear he actually chooses to use on his own trips.
LIVE: The Gear Q&A (Spring ’23 Edition)
Got a question about backpacking gear as you assemble your '23 kits and gear lists? Now's the time to ask it - this live event will be all about gear. In addition, Backpacking Light Publisher Ryan Jordan will discuss some of the gear he's using in '23, with updated recommendations in the categories of minimalist, high-performance, comfortable, and budget-friendly gear across several categories.
Tenkara Fishing Rods and Gear for Backpacking – Hane, Rhodo, Ito, Satoki, TF39TA
In this video overview, I present the five rods that I've been using over the past few years for most of my backcountry tenkara fishing. They include four models from Tenkara USA (including the new Satoki) and one model from Tenryu (the TF39TA) that remains the staple of my kit. In addition, I'll walk through the basic gear I use and take while tenkara fishing on hiking and backpacking trips.
advertisement
Free live online conference & huge gear raffle! | Mar 5–7 | 6–9 PM MT. Registration today!
Trail Days Online 2026
