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.
Camp Kitchen
Easy Camping Meals for Your First Nights Out: A One-Pot Plan for One Burner
Two dinners, one burner and one pot: what I would cook on night one, what I would save for night two, and the order that keeps the pot from scorching.
Tent and Sleeping Bag Care
How to Wash a Down Sleeping Bag Without Ruining It
Before you put a down bag in the washer, check whether it needs a full wash at all. Then follow the makers' steps for the machine, the soap, the rinse and the long, low-heat dry that brings the loft back.
Backpack Care
How to Clean a Moldy Hydration Bladder and Keep It Clean Between Hikes
Black specks in your hydration bladder don’t always mean the trash. Here’s how to tell what to save or replace, what your maker lets you use, and how to dry it so the mold stays gone.
Footwear Maintenance
How to Break In New Hiking Boots Before Your First Long Hike
Stiff new boots, or a pair that will never fit? Here’s how to break in hiking boots indoors first, while they can still go back, then outside in stages, with a clear point to keep them or return them.
How-To Guides
How to Adjust Hiking Backpack Straps So the Weight Sits on Your Hips
Set the hip belt, shoulder straps, load lifters and sternum strap in order, with a quick check for each. Then fix what you feel on the trail and learn the signs that it's the pack's size, not the straps.
How-To Guides
How to Measure Your Torso for a Hiking Backpack (Step-by-Step Fitting Guide)
Your height won't tell you your pack size. Find your C7 and iliac crest, measure your torso at home, and match the number to the brand's size chart.
Backpacks and Daypacks
Best Hybrid Daypacks: The City-to-Summit Guide
Looking for the best hybrid backpack for the office and the trail? Which hybrid daypacks suit which commute and hike, and what to check before you buy.
Hiking 101
Hiking Layers Explained for Beginners (Without the Gear Jargon)
Hiking layers explained for beginners: what a base layer, fleece and rain shell each do, why cotton chills you, and the one piece worth buying first.
Hiking 101
Leave No Trace for Beginners: The Judgment-Free Guide to Trail Etiquette
The trail habits that keep you clear of the side-eye, from where your apple core goes to who steps aside on a climb, each with the reason it matters.
Backpacks and Daypacks
Best Daypacks for Beginners: Comfortable Gear That Won’t Overcomplicate Your Weekend
Three first daypacks for three kinds of beginner: one bag for the commute and the trail, a light trail pack for a longer back, and a budget pick with a real hip belt, plus the fit range to check before you buy.
Hiking 101
Hiking Essentials for Beginners: What to Pack (and What to Leave Behind)
A day hike needs less gear than most packing lists suggest. Here's what to carry, what each item is for, and the small extras worth adding once you've done a hike or two.
Backpacks and Daypacks
Best Hiking Backpacks for Back Pain: 3 Packs That Put the Load on Your Hips
If your back aches after a hike, fit is the place to start. These three hiking packs are matched to how much you carry, each in a men’s and a women’s version, with the torso, hip belt and load numbers to check first.
