ShareREI offers a pair of shelters ideal for car camping looking to stay warm and dry during the spring ‘shoulder’ season Here in the heart of a soggy winter, summer camping looks mighty appealing. So much so, many of us will spring into camping well before summer. Getting out in the ‘shoulder seasons’ – spring [Continued...]
ShareI typically avoid end of the year lists – they tend to be overly subjective and someone always gets upset when their favorites don’t make the cut. This year, I’m making an exception since 2011 delivered some remarkable gear that deserves extra mention before we dive into the new spring lines of products. The following items, [Continued...]
ShareA well-sharpened blade can be an invaluable tool in the backcountry, but not everyone agrees on the form that blade should take. Minimalists and traditionalists prefer a single-bladed folder that slips easily into a pocket. More tech savvy gear geeks lean toward the versatility of the multi-tool, which provide an array of functions in one [Continued...]
ShareThis fall brings the biggest leap forward in rain-jacket technology since the first introduction of Gore-Tex to the outdoor world in the late 1970s. Whether you’re traveling to the Olympic Peninsula or a Costa Rican cloud forest, here’s news you can use. W.L. Gore offers its lightest, most breathable membrane ever to the market this [Continued...]
ShareWe all have too much shit! With two or three perfectly functional rain jackets in the closet, we go out and buy the latest and great. When the newest fly fish rod comes out, promising to improve your cast by 10 yards, and your accuracy by 10 percent, we go buy it. If a new [Continued...]
ShareOutdoor enthusiasts often face problems in the city. Namely, most urban packs and bags fail to live up to the high standards we enjoy in our backcountry gear-haulers. Sister companies Fishpond and Lilypond tackle this problem by offering packs, briefcases and bags built with the same structural and design strengths you’d find in their active outdoor lines, but with [Continued...]
ShareMany of us like to watch wildlife when we travel near or far. According to the most recent survey from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in Washington alone more than 2.3 million people participate in wildlife-watching activities each year, spending upward of $1.5 billion annually on that pastime. That’s a lot of people and [Continued...]
ShareAnglers use an odd array of craft to get on the water in pursuit of fish. From fancy inner tubes (fishermen with fins on their feet dangle through holes in these “float tubes”) to simple old-school crafts like canoes, if it floats someone fishes from it. Sit-on-top kayaks represent one of the latest trends in [Continued...]
ShareWhen it comes to bad wildlife encounters, the littlest critters create the biggest concerns. If you doubt that, ask a camper anywhere which is worse: a bear roaming the woods nearby or a cloud of mosquitoes in camp. The answer will be close to unanimous: a scourge of skeeters makes camp life nearly unbearable. The [Continued...]
ShareFirst there were flaming torches, then oil lanterns and candles. Incandescent flashlights came next and then LED lights. The new breakthrough in outdoor lighting comes from Petzl, the leader in headlamp technology. Petzl’s popular Tikka 2 series gets a refresh this year thanks to a new rechargeable — and programmable — battery pack. The Tikka XP2, with [Continued...]
