Guides

Buyer's guides, how-tos, and trail guides.

Newest Top picks Under $200

Best Lightweight Backpacking Stoves for 2026

Five lightweight backpacking stoves across canister, integrated, and windproof designs, ranked by weight, boil time, wind behavior, and fuel efficiency with a pick for each trip type.

Brooke Wilder 10 min read

headlamps

Best Headlamps for Backpacking 2026

Five current generation headlamps, matched to the trips you actually take: a balanced all-rounder, a waterproof wet-weather pick, a long-endurance color accurate lamp, a high-output trail runner, and a proven budget buy.

Brooke Wilder 10 min read

Guides

Essential Backpacking Gear for Solo Female Travelers

A practical, no-nonsense kit for the woman backpacking alone: satellite communication, spray you can legally carry, door locks and alarms that do a real job, theft-proof organization, and a headlamp you can trust in the dark.

Brooke Wilder 10 min read

Guides

Backpacking with a Partner: How to Plan Your First Trip Together

Plan your first backpacking trip with a partner without the predictable fights: pick a route you can both enjoy, split the gear fairly, set the pace around the slower feet, and tell someone where you're going.

Brooke Wilder 7 min read

Trail Guides

Appalachian Trail: A Backpacker's Full-Trail Planning Guide

Full-trail planning guide for the Appalachian Trail's 2,190+ miles from Georgia to Maine. Permits, ten contiguous sections, resupply, transport, gear, budget, and Helene recovery.

Brooke Wilder 22 min read

Backpacking

Great Smoky Mountains Backpacking Guide

A reservation-first plan for a 22-mile Smokies backpacking route from Newfound Gap to Icewater Spring and Pecks Corner shelters.

Brooke Wilder 11 min read

Trails

Hoh River Trail to the Lateral Moraine Viewpoint: Trip Planning Guide

A 37-mile out-and-back from Olympic's Hoh rainforest to the non-glacier Lateral Moraine viewpoint above Blue Glacier, with permits, camps, hazards, and itineraries.

Brooke Wilder 13 min read

Trails

Rae Lakes Loop: A Backpacker's Trip Planning Guide

Planning the Rae Lakes Loop? Here's the honest read on permits, seasonal hazards, camps, bear-can rules, and how to choose between the Woods Creek and Bubbs Creek directions.

Brooke Wilder 30 min read

Trail Guides

John Muir Trail: A Safety-First Planning Guide

Plan the John Muir Trail with verified permit, resupply, weather, altitude, and safety guidance for a Sierra thru-hike.

Brooke Wilder 29 min read

Sleeping Bags

Best Ultralight Sleeping Bags for Backpacking

My picks for the best ultralight backpacking sleeping bag start with the Sea to Summit Spark 15 and Therm-a-Rest Parsec 20. Read the comfort rating first.

Brooke Wilder 7 min read

bear-canisters

Best Bear Canisters for Backpacking

The best bear canister is the one your destination accepts. Start with the agency list, then choose the right volume, weight, and lid for your trip.

Brooke Wilder 10 min read

Trail Guides

Lost Coast Trail Backpacking Guide

A tide-first guide to the Lost Coast Trail from Mattole Beach to Black Sands Beach, with permits, hazards, and route-planning basics.

Brooke Wilder 28 min read

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