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

When you boil water with a canister stove, it’s very easy to tip a top-heavy pot full of scalding hot water all over yourself or the ground. It’s dangerous because you can get seriously burned and it uses up precious stove fuel if you’re running short. It’s even worse if your dinner was in the pot and ends up on …

The Black Diamond FirstLight Tent (updated for 2019) is a two-person, freestanding, single-wall tent for winter backpacking, backcountry skiing, and mountaineering. Weighing 3 lbs 1.3 oz (after seam sealing), it has a wind-resistant wedge shape that sheds snow well and packs up small. Since it’s freestanding, you can pitch it anywhere without having to anchor it first, on snow, rock, …

What are the best backpacks for thru-hiking? A thru-hiking pack needs to be comfortable, durable, and have enough capacity to hold the gear needed to live on the trail for up to six months at a time, as well as long food and water carries. There’s no “perfect” backpack for thru-hiking, and no one-size-fits-all. What it comes down to is …

When planning above-treeline hikes, particularly in winter, we pay particular attention to two variables: temperature and wind speed. The best source for this information is the NOAA National Weather Service forecast available on weather.gov which covers all of the United States. You can use that website to do point forecasts as well on trails, ridges, or mountain summits. It’s amazingly …