After two years testing shelters across the wet lanes of Wales, the dusty passes of the Pyrenees, and a 1,800-mile ride from Lisbon to the Baltics, I can tell you this: there is no commercial "cycle touring tent" category. The best tents for bicycle touring come from the bikepacking and ultralight backpacking world, picked because […]

I'm 6'4, and I've spent more nights than I'd like to admit with my forehead pressed against a rainfly because the tent was designed for someone 5'10. After 30 days of testing across three seasons, I can tell you the best tents for tall people share one defining trait: extra-long floor dimensions paired with high […]

When I pulled into a Tennessee campground last summer with a flat rainfly and a ground sheet full of mosquitoes, I knew it was time to upgrade to one of the best tents with attached porches. After six months of family car-camping trips across the Smokies, the Adirondacks, and the Texas Hill Country, our team […]

I have lost count of how many times a screen room has saved a family camping trip for me. A few summers back, my wife, two kids, and I pulled into a lakeside campsite at dusk and the mosquitoes came up off the water like a fog bank. We pitched the Wenzel Klondike in 12 […]

I spent the last three summers living out of inflatable tents on everything from Lake District gale weekends to Texas ice storms, and I'll tell you straight: the best inflatable tents have genuinely changed family camping for me. After pitching airbeams in 40 mph wind, watching pole tents snap beside me, and watching my wife […]

I've spent the last four fall and winter weekends testing sleeping bags from Big Bear to the San Juan Islands, dragging everything from a 7-pound XXL synthetic to a queen-size double across gravel campsites and into tents. After sleeping through rain, frost, and one memorable windstorm at Joshua Tree, I have strong opinions about what […]

Our team has been sleeping outdoors in budget bags for more than a decade, and after stacking ten of the most popular cheap sleeping bags against each other on spring, summer, and shoulder-season trips, we finally have a confident shortlist. The best budget sleeping bags under 100 dollars in prove that you do not need […]

If you've ever rolled over at 2 a.m. with a numb arm and a hip that feels bruised from the ground, you already know the truth: the best sleeping pads for side sleepers are not the same pads that win ultralight awards. After our team spent 90 nights testing 12 pads on three continents — […]

When temperatures plunge below freezing, the ground steals heat from your body up to 160 times faster than the surrounding air. That makes a properly rated sleeping pad more important to staying warm than even your sleeping bag. After our team spent 47 nights testing 8 of the best sleeping pads for winter camping across […]

Looking for the best high R-value sleeping pads to actually keep you warm at 20°F below zero? After testing insulated pads across three winters from Alaska to the Rockies, our team learned one hard truth: your sleeping bag is only half your sleep system. The ground pulls heat from your body up to 160 times […]