My partner and I have spent the better part of three years testing double sleeping bags on camping trips across the country. From humid summer nights in Texas to frosty autumn mornings in the Rockies, we have crawled into just about every two-person sleeping bag on the market. Finding the best double sleeping bags comes … Read more
A bad night of sleep can ruin an otherwise perfect camping trip. I learned that the hard way on a cold October weekend in the Smokies when my cheap foam pad did almost nothing against the frozen ground, and I spent half the night shivering instead of resting. The right sleeping pad does two jobs … Read more
There is nothing quite like the smell of bacon and coffee drifting through a campsite on a crisp mountain morning. But if your stove takes 20 minutes to boil water or dies the moment a breeze picks up, that morning magic turns into frustration fast. We have spent the last several camping seasons cooking on … Read more
After spending the better part of two seasons testing backpacking stoves on weekend trips across the Appalachians and the Sierra Nevada, I learned something the spec sheets will never tell you. The best backpacking stoves are not always the lightest or the fastest. They are the ones that fire up reliably when you are tired, … Read more
Last winter, I spent three weekends testing wood burning camping stoves across the Blue Ridge Mountains, and I learned something fast. The right stove turns a freezing tent into a warm shelter, but the wrong one leaves you shivering at 2 AM with a fire that refuses to catch. Our team spent 90 days comparing … Read more
I have spent more weekends than I can count cooking oatmeal at dawn over a sputtering camp stove and flipping trout on an open fire pit while the coffee percolator rattled. After years of burning meals on warped bargain pots and wrestling with handles that flopped mid-pour, I learned that the right camping cookware set … Read more
Access to clean drinking water is not something you think about until you are miles from the nearest tap, staring at a stream and wondering if that sip will ruin your trip. I have been in that exact spot more times than I can count, and it is exactly why our team spent three months … Read more
I have been the person fumbling with a flashlight between my teeth at a campsite at midnight, and I can tell you firsthand that there is no substitute for the warm, even wash of light a propane lantern throws across a whole campsite. After more than a decade of car camping, late season hunting trips, … Read more
After spending three months testing portable camping showers across weekend car camping trips, a five-day music festival, and a week of off-grid vanlife, I learned something fast: not all camp showers are built the same. Some left me shivering under a trickle of lukewarm water, while others delivered a spray steady enough to rinse off … Read more
There is nothing quite like a hot shower after a long day of hiking, and that is exactly why I spent three months testing the best solar camping showers on the market. Whether you are car camping with the family, living the van life dream, or backpacking into a remote site, a portable solar shower … Read more