I've been testing gas camping lanterns on weekend trips for years, from sub-zero winter basecamps in the Rockies to humid July evenings at lake-side cabins. After burning through hundreds of dollars in propane and isobutane canisters, I've learned that the best gas camping lanterns aren't always the brightest ones on the spec sheet. Real-world burn […]

Last summer I drove into a state park with a dead phone, a CPAP machine that needed power, and a cooler full of food melting under the desert sun. The site had no hookups. I learned that lesson the hard way, and I have spent the last 18 months testing every portable power station I […]

I spent the last three summers hauling eight different solar generators through deserts, pine forests, and alpine lakes to find the best solar generators for camping. I ran electric coolers, charged camera batteries, kept a CPAP machine alive overnight, and even fired up a small coffee maker at 7,000 feet. What I learned: not every […]

There's nothing worse than crawling into a cold sleeping bag after a long day on the trail, and then realizing the shower situation is just as miserable. I've spent the last six months testing portable water heaters across weekend campgrounds, high-altitude trailheads, and an off-grid cabin in Colorado to find the models that actually deliver […]

When I packed for my first multi-day camping trip, I underestimated how quickly a 2-liter water bottle empties out under a desert sun. By hour four, my crew of four was out of drinking water, and I was rationing warm bottles from the cooler for cooking. That's the day I started testing portable water dispensers […]

I spent the last three months testing 8 different tomahawks on weekend camping trips in the Rocky Mountains, splitting oak rounds, hammering tent stakes, processing kindling, and even clearing brush from a friend’s overgrown hunting lease. After swinging each one hundreds of times and lugging them through actual backcountry terrain, I have a clear picture […]

I have spent the last three winters testing camp footwear on sub-freezing nights from the Catskills to the Rockies, and I can tell you the right pair of down booties changes everything. The best down booties for camping turn a shivering, sock-curling night into the kind of warm, lazy evening that makes you forget you […]

When I rolled into a Colorado campsite at 3 AM last October with the thermometer reading 19F, my sleeping bag was good, my down jacket was good, but the gap between the two left my core freezing for hours. That night taught me what every cold-weather camper eventually learns: a heated vest for camping is […]

I'll never forget the time I sat at a 25F trailhead in my base layers, shivering through dinner while my buddy looked completely comfortable in his puffy pants. That night, I learned the hard way that the best puffy pants for camping aren't optional gear. They're a survival tool that lets you actually enjoy cold […]

I'll be honest with you, our team ran into the same wall most campers hit: too much gear, not enough space. After hauling coolers, tents, sleeping bags, and camping shower methods across three months of weekend trips, we set out to find the best roof racks for camping gear on the market in . We […]