I've gone ahead and ordered a bear cannister. I figure if nothing else, it gives me the encouragement to go ahead and get out West a bit, as well, to try some of their terrain. At 2 pounds, 4 ounces, it's not light, but it's also not going to be what keeps me from accomplishing any of the things I ...

I’ve read that the Ursack is vulnerable to small critters, not quite waterproof, and if something gets ahold of it the food ends up crushed.

I do think a 10ft hang is overkill on the island. I usually hang mine from a board in the shelter or keep it in the tent with me. I did have a ground ...

Having used both Bear Bag hangs and a bear canister, I am team canister now. There have been times when it’s taken 30 minutes plus to find an “OK” branch. With my canister I just have to close the lid and find a bush to put it away from water and cliffs. Plus it serves as a little table or seat ...

Doing some AT section-hiking isn't off-limits to me after the bubble heads north this summer either.

Areas of the AT in NC were catastrophically hit last fall by Hurricane Helene, but I haven't recently followed the AT clean-up efforts. Just in case you weren't aware, be sure to double check ...

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! It's hard to plan in advance so places with months-long reservation lists are probably out of the question, but I do see the Sylvania Wilderness is first-come-first-serve until Mid-May and again after mid-October. I've wanted to do the Porkies for a while so I ...

Does anyone have a favorite long-weekend (think 2 night/3 day) loops or out and backs in the MW? I'm in Chicago and looking for a decent backpacking weekend that isn't a park campground. I've heard the Ice Age Trail is OK, but also that it has a lot of road walks and I'm not sure about the campsite ...

It’s cool that you can pitch the XMid without the fly! Condensation isn’t a picnic—one of my backpacking mates negates the weight she saves by sleeping in a single-wall trekking pole tent by lugging along a humongous towel to wipe it off with. But my bigger reservation is that if the fly and the ...

We've used a Zpacks triplex on several trips, but pretty much all single wall tents will condensate in the right conditions. I have no real complaints but I sleep better in a hammock.


Zpacks Duplex is a dream tent for me but I'm not ready to drop $700 on one just yet (even if it weighs only 1lb ...

I did a search but some of the most recent conversations about these are 5+ years old.

Does anyone here use trekking pole tents on your trips? I've always use free-standing or at least partially-free-standing tents including the TarpTent Rainbow/Double Rainbow, but I decided to give a trekking pole ...

Yea I like a wider toebox but narrower heel / mid shoe which the cascadia fit the bill. I bought a newer version and used it at work but it just wasn’t the same fit for me. It could be that my feet are just changed too. Either way I’m on the hunt. After you’ve used the catamounts you should post a ...

I’m annoyed they removed that cash out option. They used to cut you a check if you didn’t want to spend it. I’ll likely put mine towards new trail runners. My shoe size changed after pregnancy so even though my old ones are still good they are now a bit snug. Better size up. What’s everyone ...

I’m annoyed they removed that cash out option. They used to cut you a check if you didn’t want to spend it. I’ll likely put mine towards new trail runners. My shoe size changed after pregnancy so even though my old ones are still good they are now a bit snug. Better size up. What’s everyone ...

Anyone have any guess as to how this plays out? What do they mean that animal-resistant food storage will be required? Will someone be checking? Is this similar to the requirement that you filter and chemically treat water that most people don’t actually do? I’ve read that people coming from the ...

I just checked and mine is $7.86! I can buy half a backpacking meal!

In the spirit of the old "what are you spending your REI dividend on?" threads, and given the new food regs, I'm thinking this won't help much for a new Ursack :roll: :
"Use your rewards now: $5.26"


I hung a bear bag on my SHT hikes but on IR have always just slept with it. I like the idea of ...