Backpacking
2 guides tagged Backpacking
Buyer's Guide
The Best Bear Canisters (2026)
In Yosemite, on most of the John Muir Trail corridor, and in parts of the Adirondack High Peaks, a bear canister is not a gear choice, it is a permit condition. We ranked the certified canisters actually worth strapping to a pack, sized them honestly in days of food, and covered the other bear essential, deterrent spray, including where spray itself is banned.
Read the guide →~13 min read
Explainer
Ultralight Backpacking 101
Ultralight isn't a shopping list, it's an accounting system: weigh everything, question everything, and make every ounce argue for its place in your pack. This is the honest beginner's guide: what base weight means and the tiers the community actually uses, why the big three (pack, shelter, sleep) are where the pounds hide, where cutting weight is nearly free versus where it costs $100 an ounce, and where the ultralight ethos genuinely goes too far for beginners.
Read the guide →~13 min read