stg-sectionhikercom-buttons.kinsta.cloud Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs

A backpack rain cover serves several purposes. It prevents rain from leaking through the fabric and making your gear wet. It also can protect your backpack from getting torn if you have to hike through dense vegetation. However, whether you need a rain cover or not, or whether it’s worth carrying one is a long-standing debate in the backpacking community. …

Winter hiking often requires the use of traction devices like microspikes or crampons that give your feet a better grip on ice and packed snow, while increasing your safety by preventing slips and falls on hard ice. The products listed below are designed for use in increasingly demanding conditions ranging from packed snow and icy trails to non-technical mountaineering over …

Everyone knows you need to pay attention to hot spots before they become blisters. But many hikers ignore them until it’s too late and then continue hiking on blisters, only to make them worse. Why is that? I’ve been reading Fixing Your Feet this week, by John Vonhof and Tonya Olson, and while they offer plenty of blister prevention tricks and …

The MSR Freelite 2 is a lightweight double-wall tent weighing 32 oz with a rectangular floor plan that is wide enough to use with two 25″ wide sleeping pads. Newly updated in 2022, it is 9 oz lighter weight than the previous model making it suitable for couples or solo backpackers who want extra space to spread out. The tent …