Field Notes
Every guide and review on Best Trail Backpacks in one place: fit and packing guides, gear reviews and roundups, trail skills and camp life.
Tent and Sleeping Bag Care
How to Clean, Dry and Store a Tent (and What to Do About Mildew)
A musty or spotted tent isn't always a lost cause. Here's how to tell which state yours is in, then clean, dry and store it the way the makers who built it advise.
Inspiration and Wellness
Digital Detox Camping: How to Unplug for a Weekend and Keep Your Phone as a Safety Net
You can take a real break from the screen this weekend and still be reachable. Here's how far to unplug, how to let only your check-in person through, and what to do with the time at camp.
Footwear Maintenance
How to Waterproof Hiking Boots and Trail Shoes: Clean, Dry and Re-Treat by Material
Find out whether your boots need re-treating or just a good clean, then follow the makers' own steps for cleaning, drying without heat and treating your exact upper.
Outdoor Adventures
Beginner Backpacking Trips in Canada: Short First Overnights and How to Book Each Campsite
If you're ready for a first night in the backcountry, here are five short routes across Canada, each a reserved site close to the car, with what each campsite provides and exactly what to book, and when.
Outdoor Comfort
Car Camping Sleep Setup: How to Sleep Warm, Dry and Comfortable Beside or Inside Your Car
Your air bed slept cold and the windows were dripping by morning. Here's how to fix the bed you already own, keep the tent or car dry, and why the engine stays off while anyone sleeps.
Camping Gear
Best Camping Coffee Makers for Car Camping and Backpacking Mornings
Which camp coffee maker fits the way you camp: a steel percolator for three or four, a boil-in-the-pot press for two, two light solo picks or a hand-pump espresso maker. Each one is sized by the mugs it really pours, not the number on the box.
Camp Kitchen
Camping Coffee: How to Make a Good Cup at Camp and Keep It Hot
Instant, cowboy coffee, pour-over, a French press or a percolator: how to pick the one your trip can carry, get the water right at camp, and keep the second cup hot on a cold morning.
Trail Gear and Tech
Best Hydration Packs for Hiking, Matched to How Long You’re Out
Work out the water your usual hike needs, then match it to one of three hydration packs by hike length and torso, or to a bladder in the daypack you already own.
Inspiration and Wellness
Benefits of Hiking for Everyday Hikers: What the Research Shows, and What It Can’t Promise
Some benefits of hiking rest on strong evidence and some don't. Here's how to tell them apart, and how much hiking a week, even Saturdays only, is enough to count.
Safety Tips
How to Prevent Blisters When Hiking (and Treat a Hot Spot on the Trail)
Blisters on long hikes usually trace back to socks, lacing or a hot spot left too long, not the boots. Here's how to read yours, fix the cheap causes first and care for a blister the way medical sources advise.
Camping Gear
Best Sleeping Pads for Side Sleepers That Stay Quiet When You Roll Over
Five backpacking pads matched to the kind of side sleeper you are, with thickness, warmth and weight side by side and each maker's quiet claim checked against what owners report.
Safety Tips
Hiking Alone as a Woman: A Practical Safety Plan for Your First Solo Hikes
A calm plan for your first solo hike: which trail to start on, who should know where you are and when to call, what to tell strangers, and what to do if you get hurt on your own.
