"Backpacking Light has become the de facto organ of [the ultralight backpacking] subculture." - The Sierra Club
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Stop treating symptoms. Diagnose the constraint: Most "gear problems" are actually constraint problems that can't be solved by buying new gear. This framework helps you identify what types of temporal, cognitive, or physiological constraints you are experiencing in the backcountry — so you can focus on changing the right thing.
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Five fuzzy insulations get measured head-to-head: Polartec Alpha Direct, Primaloft Evolve, and three Teijin Octa builds. See how structure drives air permeability, MVTR, drying rate and energy, directional R-value, and durability. Results highlight Alpha’s breathability and efficiency, Evolve’s resilience, and Octa’s structured, durable use cases for high-output backcountry layering systems.
Flying to a trailhead is easy until fuel, stakes, poles, and batteries come into play. This guide compiles verifiable TSA, FAA PackSafe, and airline rules into a practical packing matrix: what’s allowed on aircraft, what must be checked, what belongs in carry-on, and how to handle common edge cases safely.
Why 72 hours in the backcountry delivers lasting mental reset: attention, stress, sleep, and decision-making—plus 24-hour options.
Our staff selects their favorite hiking, backpacking, and other backcountry gear that they’ve used over the past year - the next edition of our infamous Staff Picks!
Critical winter layering, handwear, footwear, lighting, and navigation systems for safely hiking out through a sub-freezing blizzard at night.
Use a six-question framework to decide whether to stay put or bail when winter storms, terrain, and fatigue raise backcountry risk.
This article examines canister fuel transfer devices from a thermodynamics and engineering perspective, focusing on pressure-driven flow, headspace constraints, fractional distillation of LPG mixtures, and measured transfer rates. It evaluates Alpenflow, FlipFuel, and generic EN 417 adapters and outlines conservative operating practices that respect established EN 417 design safety margins.
This market report summarizes the category of satellite messaging-centric devices, i.e., devices that focus on satellite messaging as its primary, rather than secondary, function. This is in contrast to navigation-centric devices (which usually offer integrated mapping on the device), such as the Garmin inReach Explorer or Garmin GPSMap.
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