This winter I spent 24 days rafting the entire length of the Grand Canyon; a trip of 279 miles from Lee’s Ferry to Pearce Ferry. In preparation for this trip I was looking for a sleeping bag that could handle…
A warm, dry, and light sleeping bag might be the most essential piece of gear when you are winter camping. I recently put the Therm-a-Rest Oberon 0°F winter sleeping bag to the test, as I camped in the White Mountains…
Being active outdoor requires some level of comfort. I have learned many lessons the hard way that quality garments will aide in that comfort. Darn Tough socks were recommended to me and I was excited to try them. Is it…
The Thermarest Space Cowboy 45 is a good summer backpacking sleeping bag. It’s small size and light weight make it easy to carry. It’s a synthetic-fill, ultralight sleeping bag designed for summer use. The list price for the bag ranges…
“Thermarest? Don’t they just make sleeping pads? How would they know anything about a good sleeping bag?” Those were my thoughts when I first heard that Thermarest had released a newly-designed “Fast and Light” line of human warmth burritos (sleeping…
As a premature baby with struggling eyes for all my life, vision is something I don’t take for granted. Having lost it twice in my life, it’s something I appreciate fully down to the smallest details. Taking in every view,…
I woke up in complete darkness to the sound of my border collie, Riggins, panting and shifting around in my sleeping bag. Unzipping, I helped him emerge from the down cocoon and got smacked in the face by the odor…
I’m a big guy that loves light gear and often times those two things don’t go together. At 6’1”, 225 lbs (and being a side sleeper who actively rolls from side to side at night), I can easily become the…
William O. Douglas recalled fondly of his friend Roy Schaffer in his book “Of Men and Mountains,” “He slept in a bed with white, clean sheets and commented, ‘Never slept inside but what I caught a cold. Wish I had brought…
In recent years, I have been on several expeditions to the Alps, Rocky Mountains, Cordillera Blanca of South America, and Himalaya. Access to drinking water has been a concern on every trip, especially when in developing countries where clean drinking…