Online Courses

Leave No Trace for Outdoor Industry Professionals

Explore how modern recreation ecology informs updated Leave No Trace principles for ultralight backpackers. This course examines the latest scientific insights to refine backcountry ethics, minimize environmental impact, and adapt best practices for today's lightweight hiking gear and travel methods. Ideal for conscientious hikers, educators, and outdoor leaders.

Winter Backpacking: Strategies for Staying Warm, Dry, and Comfortable

Learn best practices for winter backpacking - thermoregulation, protection from blizzards, stoves and cooking, and more.

Fringe Season Backpacking: Gear Systems, Skills, Risk Management, and Route Planning

Learn fringe-season backpacking skills for October to December: gear systems, risk management, and planning for safe, cold-weather trips.

Fabric Technologies for Shelters and Backpacks

This masterclass provides a technical overview of shelter and backpack fabric technologies, including silnylon, silpoly, PU hybrids, UHMWPE-reinforced fabrics, and composite laminates. Designed for backpackers, product developers, and outdoor professionals seeking to understand how material properties influence performance, durability, and design outcomes.

Backcountry Hunting: Ultralight Gear & Strategies

Learn how to optimize your backcountry hunting setup with ultralight gear and proven strategies for remote, self-supported hunts. This course covers lightweight packing systems, mobility-focused tactics, and gear selection to increase efficiency, endurance, and success in the field. Designed for serious hunters navigating rugged terrain.

Ultralight Gear & Strategies for Search and Rescue Professionals

Master ultralight gear systems and field-tested strategies tailored for search and rescue professionals. This online course teaches weight-efficient loadouts, mobility-enhancing techniques, and backcountry readiness to improve SAR performance, endurance, and safety in demanding environments. Perfect for SAR team members, wilderness responders, and tactical planners.

Backpacking Quilts: Technology, Design, and Best Practices

Lightweight Footwear and Traction Systems for Snow Travel

In this webinar, you'll learn about the skills and gear systems for footwear and traction for lightweight backcountry snow travel in all seasons.

Avalanche Awareness & Safety for Hikers and Backpackers

Learn the foundational knowledge of avalanche terrain and risks to become a more-informed winter hiker in the backcountry.

Flashlights & Headlamps: Technology, Design, and Performance

This webinar explores the science and technology behind backcountry headlamps, including LED efficiency, beam pattern design, battery performance, optical engineering, and durability in field conditions.

Outdoor Fabric Technologies – Merino vs. Alpaca Fibers

Outdoor Fabric Technologies: Merino vs. Alpaca Fibers provides hikers with a comprehensive understanding of the fibers that make up outdoor performance textiles, focusing on how merino wool vs. alpaca wool fiber properties impact the performance of outdoor apparel with respect to thermoregulation, heat, and moisture transport.

Outdoor Fabric Technologies – Synthetic vs. Natural Fibers

Outdoor Fabric Technologies: Synthetic vs. Natural Fibers provides hikers with a comprehensive understanding of the fibers that make up outdoor performance textiles, focusing on how synthetic vs. natural fiber properties impact the performance of outdoor apparel with respect to thermoregulation, heat, and moisture transport.

Outdoor Fabric Technologies: Fabric Structures and Thermoregulation

Outdoor Fabric Technologies provides hikers with a comprehensive understanding of fabric (textile) knowledge, focusing on how fabric structure and different fabric types impact the performance of outdoor apparel with respect to thermoregulation, heat, and moisture transport.

Minimalist Footwear for Multi-Day Backpacking

Explore the science and practical application of minimalist footwear for backpacking in this new online course – the most comprehensive education ever developed around the topic of minimalist footwear and using trail running shoes for backpacking.

Water Treatment and Backpacking Hygiene

In Water Treatment and Backpacking Hygiene, you’ll learn the science behind various water treatment methods, how and when to use them, water treatment best practices, and information about health and hygiene on the trail and in camp.

Aquamira

A comprehensive webinar about Aquamira and other chlorine dioxide treatment methods – chemistry, efficacy data, best practices for on-the-trail and in-camp treatment, pre-mixing, and more.

Managing Sun Exposure in the Backcountry

Explore the essentials of sun safety in this comprehensive webinar, which delves into the scientific underpinnings of UV exposure, dispels prevalent myths, and offers expert guidance on selecting appropriate sunscreens, protective clothing, and eyewear for enhanced outdoor protection.

Using an Ursack: Techniques and Supplies for Packing, Using, and Securing an Ursack

In this masterclass, you'll learn how to use an Ursack properly - learn about its design, limitations, proper use cases, and best practices.

How to Pitch an Ultralight Tent

In this 90-minute online webinar, you’ll learn why ultralight tents require a unique skill set to pitch, and how to properly pitch different types of ultralight tents, from tarps to mids to trekking pole tents.

Your Tent, Your Campsite, Your Comfort

This webinar will include discussions about the processes that control condensation and warmth, how tent designs cope with them, and what you should consider when selecting a campsite. We'll close the webinar with an audience Q&A.