Review: Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork Trekking Poles

Trekking Poles
Black Diamond Trail Ergo Cork Trekking Poles
$130, 1 lb. 2 oz. (140cm)
Men’s and women’s models, adjustable
Moosejaw.com

Sometimes it’s the subtle design features that distinguish one model of trekking poles from another. From winter dayhikes in New England and Idaho on trails that ranged from icy and snowy to dry, to a six-day, 94-mile backpacking trip through Glacier National Park, Black Diamond’s new Trail Ergo Cork poles excelled in nearly every measure of adjustable sticks designed for all-season, all-mountain use. Here’s why. Continue reading →

Review: 22 Essential Backpacking Gear Accessories of 2019

By Michael Lanza

Sure, your backpack, boots, tent, sleeping bag, air mattress, and other backpacking gear matter a lot, and you should put serious thought into your choices when buying any of them. But little things matter, too. Various necessary accessories, convenience items, and small comforts accompany me on backcountry trips. Many years of field-testing gear have refined my sense of what I like on certain types of trips and what I will not do without anytime.

Here’s my freshly updated list of essential backpacking accessories, ranging from basics like my favorite stuff sacks, camp kitchen gear, water filters, and bear canister, to great values in a headlamp and knife, and what I sit on in camp and lay my head down on every night I sleep on the ground. You’ll find many of them available at discounted prices right now. Continue reading →

Gear Review: Black Diamond Storm Headlamp

Headlamp
Black Diamond Storm
$50, 3.9 oz. (with 4 AAA batteries, included)
moosejaw.com

As darkness and light rain both fell on a partner and I for the last couple of miles of a 27-mile dayhike the length of western Maine’s brutally rugged Mahoosuc Range, I slipped the Storm onto my head—which helped prevent my shuffling and occasional staggering from turning into falling. I also used this ultralight headlamp in campsites from Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve and Yosemite National Park to backpacking the Grand Canyon’s Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop. Through all that field testing, the Storm proved itself one of the best high-performance headlamps on the market today. Here’s why. Continue reading →