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Tag Archives: backpacking tent reviews
May 23, 2017
5 Things to Know Before Buying Backpacking Gear
By Michael Lanza
Are you in the market for a new backpack, boots, tent, sleeping bag or other backpacking gear? How do you find something that’s just right for you? What should you be looking for? How much should you spend? These are questions I’ve heard from many friends and readers over the years as they’ve waded through the myriad choices out there. Here are my five top tips for buying gear that’s right for you—the insights I’ve learned over two decades of testing and reviewing gear and helping people find gear they love. Continue reading →
May 9, 2017
Why and When to Spend More on Hiking and Backpacking Gear
By Michael Lanza
You need a new backpack, backpacking tent, rain jacket, boots, or a sleeping bag. You’ve read some reviews. You’ve winnowed your short list to a handful of possible choices—with a significant difference in prices. That’s when you struggle with the question that pushes the frugality button in all of us: Why should I spend more?
Over the course of more than two decades testing and reviewing gear for this blog and Backpacker magazine, I’ve learned what qualities separate the expensive from the moderately priced from the cheap—and when it’s worth spending more, and when it’s not. Before you spend (or waste) another dime, read on. Continue reading →
April 25, 2017
5 Tips For Buying a Backpacking Tent
By Michael Lanza
There are a lot of tents out there. How do you choose between them? Backpackers come in different sizes and have different needs and preferences in a tent. In testing scores of backcountry tents over the past two decades, for reviews in Backpacker Magazine and this blog, I’ve seen the best and the worst—and gotten a sense of what to look for in a tent and how to help people pick out one they like. Here are my five simple tips for finding a tent you’ll love. Continue reading →
Gear Review: The 5 Best Backpacking Tents
The Exped Mira II Hyperlite tent in Idaho’s White Cloud Mountains.
By Michael Lanza
The best backpacking tents on the market today only superficially resemble the tents most of us pitched in the backcountry just five or 10 years ago. Designers have thrown out ingrained notions of what a backpacking tent is, thinking outside the box to make shelters that are more livable, lighter, stronger, and include features like (of all things) built-in lights. Tents continue evolving and improving because the goal of making gear lighter long ago crossed a threshold from “the new thing” to how everyone thinks. That attitude has transformed the world of backcountry gear, especially tents.
You’ll see that trend in each of the five singularly outstanding tents reviewed below. Continue reading →
April 4, 2017
Are You Still Wasting Money on Outdoor Gear?
By Michael Lanza
We all love getting out dayhiking, backpacking, climbing, trail running, paddling and doing other favorite activities. We need the right gear and apparel for it. That stuff costs money. So we have to make choices over what we need, what’s the best product among myriad models available, which of them are a good value, and what we can afford. In this blog post, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned about making those choices over more than two decades as a professional gear tester and reviewer, and explain why now is an ideal time to be gear shopping. Continue reading →
