April 19, 2018 |
In
Gear Reviews |
Tagged
backpacking gear reviews,
Best outdoor gear duffles,
climbing gear reviews,
convertible luggage reviews,
Deuter Helion 80 review,
Deuter pack reviews,
Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 90L duffle review,
Eagle Creek gear reviews,
Exped gear reviews,
Exped Tempest Duffle 100 review,
gear duffles reviews,
Gregory Alpaca 120 Duffle review,
Gregory pack reviews,
luggage reviews,
Marmot gear reviews,
Marmot Long Hauler Duffle Bag review,
Mountain Hardwear gear reviews,
Mountain Hardwear Lightweight Expedition Duffel review,
Osprey Meridian 28”/75L review,
Osprey pack reviews,
Osprey Transporter 95 review,
Patagonia Black Hole Duffel review,
Patagonia gear reviews,
Patagonia Lightweight Black Hole Duffel 45L review,
The North Face Base Camp Duffel review,
The North Face gear reviews,
travel gear reviews,
Victorinox Spectra 2.0 Expandable Global Carry-On luggage review |
4 Comments

The North Face, Patagonia, and Marmot gear duffels.
By Michael Lanza
Whatever your outdoor sport—backpacking, climbing, whitewater rafting or kayaking, backcountry skiing, etc.—a sturdy duffle for organizing, hauling, and protecting your gear and clothing pays for itself many times over. Not only does it eliminate the risk of damaging an expensive backpack by using it as your luggage, a good duffle has more capacity and is built to suffer the indignities of getting tossed into jet, train, and bus baggage compartments, being strapped onto a roof rack, sled, snowmobile, or pack animal, and exposed to rain, snow, mud and other natural indignities. Continue reading →
April 17, 2018
In
Backpacking,
Family Adventures,
Hiking,
National Park Adventures |
Tagged
Arizona,
Arrowhead Lake,
backpacking The Narrows Zion,
Bench Lakes,
Boulder Chain Lakes,
California,
California backpacking,
California national parks,
Cirque of the Towers,
Coyote Gulch,
Glacier National Park,
Glacier Peak Wilderness,
Grand Canyon,
Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River,
Grand Teton National Park,
Hamilton Lakes,
Hance Creek Canyon,
hiking The Narrows Zion,
Idaho,
Imogene Lake,
Jacob Hamblin Arch,
John Muir Trail,
John Muir Wilderness,
Lake Elizabeth,
Lonesome Lake,
Marie Lake,
Montana,
Phelps Basin,
Sawtooth Mountains,
Sawtooth National Recreation Area,
Sawtooth Wilderness,
Sequoia National Park,
Snowdrift Lake,
Southern Utah hiking backpacking,
Spider Gap,
Tonto Trail,
Tuolumne Meadows,
Utah,
Utah parks,
Virgin River,
Virgin River Narrows,
Washington,
Washington hiking backpacking,
White Cloud Mountains,
Wind River Range,
Wyoming,
Yosemite National Park,
Zion National Park,
Zion’s Narrows |
4 Comments
By Michael Lanza
It is one of those unfortunate inevitabilities of life, like death and taxes: Occasionally on backpacking trips you will hike past one of the most sublime patches of wilderness real estate you have ever laid eyes on, a spot so idyllic you can already see your tent pitched there and you standing outside it, warm mug in your hands, watching a glorious sunset. But it’s early and your plan entails hiking farther before you stop for the day—not camping there. Or you don’t have a permit for that site. Or even worse, you are looking for a campsite, but someone else has already occupied this little corner of Heaven. Continue reading →
April 16, 2018
In
Backpacking,
Family Adventures,
National Park Adventures |
Tagged
America's best backpacking trips,
Angels Landing,
Arizona,
backpacking The Narrows Zion,
Best desert Southwest backpacking trips,
Best U.S. backpacking trips,
Bright Angel Trail,
Canyonlands National Park,
Chesler Park,
Coyote Gulch,
Coyote Natural Bridge,
family backpacking,
Grand Canyon National Park,
Grand Canyon South Rim backpacking trips,
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument,
Hermit Trail,
Jacob Hamblin Arch,
Kolob Canyons,
North Fork of the Virgin River,
North Kaibab Trail,
South Kaibab Trail,
Southern Utah hiking backpacking,
The Needles District,
Tonto Trail,
Utah,
Utah parks,
West Rim Trail,
Zion Canyon,
Zion Narrows,
Zion National Park |
2 Comments
By Michael Lanza
You want to explore the best backpacking in America’s desert Southwest, but you’re not sure where to begin, or how some of these trips you’ve read about compare for scenery and difficulty. You’ve heard about the need to carry huge loads of water, and environmental challenges like dangerous heat, rugged terrain, flash floods and even (gulp) quicksand. Or maybe you’ve taken one or two backpacking trips there and now you’re hungry for another one and seeking ideas for where to go next.
Well, I gotcha covered. The five trips described in this story comprise what might be called a Southwest Backpacking Starter Package. They are all beginner- and family-friendly in terms of trail or route quality, access, and navigability, and some have good water availability. But most importantly, regardless of their relative ease logistically, they all deliver the goods on the kind of adventure and scenery you go to the Southwest for. Continue reading →
April 12, 2018 |
In
Backpacking,
Skills |
Tagged
air mattress reviews,
backpacking skills,
camping skills,
family backpacking,
sleeping bag reviews,
sleeping bags,
sleeping pad reviews,
staying warm in a sleeping bag,
tips on staying warm while camping |
12 Comments

Testing the REI Magma 10 sleeping bag in Wyoming’s Wind River Range.
By Michael Lanza
Head into the mountains in summer, or almost anywhere in fall or spring, and you can encounter nighttime and morning temperatures anywhere from the 40s Fahrenheit to below freezing. Hundreds (if not thousands) of frosty nights sleeping outside over the past three-plus decades have taught me a few things about how to stay warm. (My coldest night was -30° F, in winter in New Hampshire’s White Mountains; I don’t recommend it.)
No matter how cold you normally sleep outside, or whether you’re camping in the backcountry or at a campground, these 10 tips will keep you warmer in your sleeping bag.
Continue reading →
April 10, 2018 |
In
Gear Reviews,
Hiking |
Tagged
Arc’teryx apparel reviews,
Arc’teryx Cerium LT Hoody review,
backpacking apparel reviews,
backpacking gear reviews,
best down jackets,
best insulated jackets,
best puffy jackets,
breathable insulated jacket reviews,
climbing apparel reviews,
down jacket reviews,
insulated jacket reviews,
kids’ down jacket reviews,
L.L. Bean apparel reviews,
L.L. Bean Ultralight 850 Down Jacket review,
Marmot apparel reviews,
Marmot Boy’s Guides Down Hoody review,
Marmot Girl’s Guides Down Hoody review,
Marmot Guides Down Hoody review,
Mountain Hardwear apparel reviews,
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Down Jacket review,
Mountain Hardwear StretchDown Jacket review,
outdoor apparel reviews,
Outdoor Research apparel reviews,
Outdoor Research Ascendant Hoody review,
Outdoor Research Uberlayer Hooded Jacket review,
Patagonia apparel reviews,
Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody,
Patagonia Nano Puff Hoody review,
Polartec apparel reviews,
PrimaLoft apparel reviews,
PrimaLoft jacket reviews,
puffy jacket reviews,
skiing apparel reviews,
The North Face apparel reviews,
The North Face ThermoBall Jacket review,
ultralight backpacking gear reviews,
water-resistant down jacket reviews |
5 Comments

Testing the Arc’teryx Cerium LT Hoody in Wyoming’s Wind River Range.
By Michael Lanza
There’s a certain irony in looking for an insulated jacket for outdoor activities these days. While many of us use the term “down jacket” generically, some of the best puffy jackets out there have synthetic insulation or combine synthetics with down feathers. And technology has blurred the traditional lines between down and synthetics, with water-resistant down that traps heat even when wet—all but eliminating the weakness that had long been the Achilles heel of down—and synthetic insulation materials that rival the warmth-to-weight ratio and compressibility of down.
In this article, I’ll help you figure out what type of jacket you need, and then offer you my recommendations for the best down and synthetic puffy jackets on the market today. Continue reading →