Over the last month, I’ve had the pleasure of testing the Exped FlexMat on several multi-day solo backpacking trips. Piggybacking my lookout shifts with backpacking trips is the best idea I’ve had yet. These hybrid trips meant that I got…
The two things I strive for in life is to move and be moved. I have moved seven times in the last three years and from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, I am…
We all love to play in the dirt, but all that grime can be detrimental to the life of your gear. Keeping your gear clean can help you adventure for longer. At the end of an adventure-filled season, you may…
The first time I took this pack on the trail I barely took any photos. It was just supposed to be a quick overnighter in the Uinta mountains. I would hike in a short way to a lake, camp, enjoy…
In a sea of hundreds of available options, the Grayl Geopress filter floats to the top with high-quality water through a simple filtration process. After experimenting with many purification systems in the past, I decided to give the Grayl Geopress…
Covid might have canceled all of my races but it hasn’t stopped me from searching for the perfect running vest. If I’m headed for a long run I like to take a more substantial pack but I haven’t found a…
The Solar 3 sleeping bag from Rab is the perfect multi-season bag for weekends in the woods. From backpacking to car camping and everything in between, I can truly say it has become my go-to sleeping bag. When I say…
This is a very unique backpack with a lot of new features that can be customized to your desires. The RMU Core Pack 15 is a great pack with a variety of uses but might not be great at what…
The oddball of the bunch. Is it a vest, a pack, or an overbuilt seat pad? The answer, unexpectedly, is all of the above. This pack has quickly become what I grab first for the majority of my missions. The…
The Ultra Vesta 5.0 is one of the four tiers of hydration vests available from Ultimate Direction, sitting at two out of four on the minimalist scale (the most minimal at one). Despite its rank, I found it more than…