This post is part of the Backpacking Gear for Beginners course. Why do you need fuel? Stoves need fuel to burn. What kind of fuel you need depends on your stove. Canister stoves use iso-butane canisters. These are small pressurized canisters like a propane canister for your… Read More »Backpacking Gear for Beginners: Stove Fuel
This post is part of the Backpacking Gear for Beginners course. Why do you need a book? I always have a book when I’m backpacking. This is absolutely optional but there’s something about the peace and quiet that’s nice to maintain when out hiking. There’s going to… Read More »Backpacking Gear for Beginners: Book
This post is part of the Backpacking Gear for Beginners course. Why do you need a map? Navigation is one of the 10 Essentials. You always need a way to figure out where you are and where you are going that doesn’t have batteries and… Read More »Backpacking Gear for Beginners: Map
This post is part of the Backpacking Gear for Beginners course. Why do you need a notebook and pen? I love taking notes of what happened on my trips. I journal a bit, including notes on what gear I’m using (or not) so I can refine my… Read More »Backpacking Gear for Beginners: Notebook and Pen
Getting a good nights rests when camping is key to enjoying the experience. And we think big, comfortable mattresses are the key to a good nights sleep. After researching more than 40 air mattresses, camping mattresses, sleeping pads, and thin chunks of foam, we rounded… Read More »Best Camping Mattresses of 2023
Car camping is a time to break out the big comfortable gear. The car is only 20 feet from the tent and you don’t have to count the grams in the gear. That said, some of the car camping gear, like the enormous EXPED MegaMat… Read More »Elegear Double Sleeping Pad Review
The Vertex Twin sleeping pad from Alps Mountaineering is an oversized air mattress that’s great for camping or throwing on the floor at home for unexpected guests. It’s the 80″ long by 39″ wide, 6″ thick and can cary 250 pounds. It weighs 3 pounds… Read More »Alps Mountaineering Vertex Twin Sleeping Pad Review
If you’re the kind of person who goes all out and doesn’t go for anything less than the best and you need a sleeping mat for camping? We’ve found you one. It’s not cheap and it’s not light but after all the testing for this… Read More »EXPED MegaMat Max Sleeping Mat Review
I had no idea REI had been around since 1938. You’d think they’d know a thing or two about using and making air mattresses. Turns out they do. And with a good price at that. In this REI Camp Dreamer XL mattress review we’ll see… Read More »REI Camp Dreamer XL Mattress Review
Most big sleeping pads for car camping are super comfortable but they’re enormous. That’s just what you get with self-inflating foam in a mat that’s 4 or 6 inches thick. NEMO somehow works their design magic and has made a car camping mat that’s 4″… Read More »NEMO Roamer XL Sleeping Pad Review