Winter and Snow Gear
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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.
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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!
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Episode 140 | Winter Storm Decisions
Use a six-question framework to decide whether to stay put or bail when winter storms, terrain, and fatigue raise backcountry risk.
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Winter Backpacking
A curated guide to winter backpacking gear, strategies, skills, podcasts, forums, research, education, product recommendations, and more.
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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.
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Episode 118 | Traction Spikes
In episode 118 of the Backpacking Light podcast we’re going to learn about traction systems for snow travel.
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Avalanche and Winter Safety Tools
A guide to tools used to manage risk in avalanche terrain – transceivers, shovels, probes, safety backpacks, saws.
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Episode 117 | Snowshoe Sizing
In episode 117 of the Backpacking Light podcast we’re going to learn how to size snowshoes, minimize sinkage, and save energy for your next winter adventure in deep snow.
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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.
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Northern Lites Elite Snowshoes
Gear reviews from our staff and members, buy/sell used, shopping tools, and more about the Northern Lites Elite Snowshoes.
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2022 Backpacking Light Members Choice Awards
First annual Members Choice Awards – what gear do our members use and love as we near the end of 2022?
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MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoes
Gear reviews from our staff and members, buy/sell used, shopping tools, and more about the MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoes.
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Black Diamond Raven Ice Axe
Gear reviews from our staff and members, buy/sell used, shopping tools, and more about the Black Diamond Raven Ice Axe.
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CAMP Corsa Ice Axe
Gear reviews from our staff and members, buy/sell used, shopping tools, and more about the CAMP Corsa Ice Axe.
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Kahtoola Microspikes
The lightest microspikes are either fragile (lack durability), or don’t offer aggressive traction (not enough spikes, or the spikes aren’t long enough). You certainly don’t want your microspikes to fail…
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Suluk46 Tica Ice Tool
This is not a certified mountaineering safety tool. It’s an ultralight ice arrest tool that hikers can use on low-angle snowfields with no consequences at the end of your slide….
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Hillsound Trail Crampon Ultra
Hillsound Trail Crampon Ultras are mid-weight, mid-traction crampons designed for improving traction on unstable footing due to rain, mud, snow, and ice. Trail Crampon Ultras feature largest-in-class traction teeth, an…
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Vargo Pocket Cleats Solo
This is not an all-purpose traction device. It’s a minimalist instep crampon designed for incidental use on hard snow, and should be used on steep terrain only by hikers with…
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Black Diamond Blitz Traction Spikes
When the lightest and most compact traction device is required for the incidental snow patch here and there, consider the Black Diamond Blitz. These aren’t appropriate for icy winter conditions,…
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Snowclaw Guide Shovel
The Snowclaw Guide Shovel is not our top pick for avalanche safety (it doesn’t have the muscle to plow through consolidated avalanche debris) but we highly recommend it as a…
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