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

Winter backpacking packs are more specialized than regular three-season backpacks, with a stronger emphasis on heavier weight loads, external attachment points, and durability for carrying bulky gear with sharp points like snowshoes, skis, ice axes, and crampons. They also favor more pockets and the ability to access and put away gear quickly, so you can avoid standing around between gear …

A backpacking or camping sleeping pad’s R-value measures its resistance to heat loss to the ground when you lie on it at night. Pads with higher R-values do this more effectively than pads with lower R-values. R-value isn’t a measure of warmth per se, but of a pad’s ability to prevent the loss of the warmth that your body generates. …

Selecting a comfortable tent site is a useful skill for all backpackers, regardless of whether you set up camp in a designated camping area or if you stealth camp in a natural, unprepared site. Here are some of the things that I look for when I’m evaluating different campsite locations: 1. Is the site close to a water source? Being …

Windbreakers and wind shirts are ultralight lightweight jackets, running shells, pullovers, or anoraks weighing 2 to 8 ounces, that hikers and backpackers wear as a barrier to prevent winds from stripping away their body heat. They’re usually made of highly breathable and thin (low denier) nylon that can be worn over a fleece or base layer to block the wind …