Following the great American tradition of eating turkey until your sick and fighting with your drunk uncle, it's time for another great American tradition: spending money on things that you may or may not really need (or end up using until next summer). To help you sort out what to trade your
Interview With Jotaro Yoshida of LOCUS GEAR
Prior to beginning my traverse of the Japanese Alps this year, I had the chance to visit Jotaro Yoshida, founder of LOCUS GEAR at their headquarters in Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture, just outside of Tokyo. LOCUS GEAR is a small gear manufacturer, based in Japan, that specializes in lightweight
The 2018 Thru-hiker Gift Guide
As thru-hiking season draws to a close in the northern hemisphere, we approach the time of the year where all of us are encouraged to spend lots of money on things we may or may not need for future adventures that we may or may not have (but hopefully the former). As someone who does not have a
Why I’ll Never Buy Anything From Mountain Laurel Designs
Mountain Laurel Designs (MLD) is a company owned by Ron Bell in Virginia (in the United States). They make lightweight backpacking gear (backpacks, shelters, and accessories). They (and more specifically, Ron) have the worst customer service I have ever encountered (and I used to be a client of both
Island Peak (Imja Tse) Gear List
Island Peak (Imja Tse) is technically classified as a "trekking peak", but it requires much more gear than what you would expect from your typical "trek". Why? Because you have to climb, not walk, to the summit of the 20,305 ft / 6,189 m peak. First things first, I paid 90,000 NPR (~$900 US) for
Mac’s Backpacking Gear List 2018 (v2.0)
We're not even halfway into the year and I'm already making some dramatic additions to my current gear outfit. I've got my first non-freestanding shelter (Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2), my first bivy (Enlightened Equipment Recon), and my first quilt (Enlightened Equipment
Katadyn BeFree Water Filter Review
When I first started using the Katadyn BeFree I thought to myself, "By the beard of Zeus! This thing is absolutely amazing. I can't understand how it hasn't already driven all other lightweight water filters out of business. What was I doing not using this thing before?" However, after a month of
Bluffworks Meridian Dress Shirt Review
The Bluffworks Meridian Dress Shirt appeared an unlikely candidate for someone like me, but after months of wear it has cemented itself in my pack as my (professional) hiking (and traveling) shirt of choice. I gave the Meridian a chance because I am such a big fan of Bluffwork's other products
SANDMARC Pole (Compact Edition) & Carbon Grip Review
The SANDMARC Pole (Compact Edition) and the SANDMARC Carbon Grip are GoPro accessories that make taking pictures of myself (and of other things) a little bit easier. I know, an "action cam pole" is really just a fancy name for a selfie stick, but to be honest, sometimes it comes in handy -