Gear

If it wasn’t for my dad, who knows if I would enjoy the outdoors as much as I do! My parents took me and my sister camping, backpacking, and hiking before we could walk, so I was lucky to grow up with a special bond with the great outdoors. If you have an outdoorsy dad, too, celebrate him with something he’ll not only love but be able to put to good use (so no ties this year, OK?). Check out our top 10 gifts for outdoorsy dads and, for even more ideas (and because we think all outdoor gear is gender-neutral) take a look at our list for Mother’s Day, too! You never know what you might find!

I’m addicted to coffee. It’s a problem, I know, but there are worse things to be addicted to, right? Thing is, we have a habit of drinking some pretty bad coffee on the trail. Instant was a staple for quite some time. I blame it on the fact that I am a minimalist when it comes to backpacking and I don’t like to carry the extra weight of complex devices (like this personal press that weighs more than I’m willing to carry). However, there are plenty of ways to make a cuppa on the trail and many of them don’t take up that much room in your pack or weigh a ton. Here are 5 ways to make coffee while backpacking or camping.

When most people head to their local outdoor store to stock up on socks, one thing you’ll see everywhere is wool, which is a no-go for vegan hikers who eschew animal by-products on an ethical, environmental, or animal welfare basis (check out our post on why we avoid wool). But synthetic hiking socks can be trickier to locate. Fortunately, we found 9 vegan hiking socks made entirely without wool so you can explore blister free.

We love gear. Especially ultralight gear. Because who wants to clomp around in the backcountry with 50 pounds on their back? Not us. Certainly not I, whose pack weight maxes …

We love backpacking and camping. And we frequently hear other folks say they think they’d love it, too, but that it’s just too expensive to get into. We get it. …

Every outdoorsy man and woman needs a good backpack. Also a daypack, but that’s a post for another day. For multi-day backpacking trips, we don’t think anything out there rivals …

Most of the time when we set out to enjoy the outdoors, we are fully and 100% prepared. Sure, there are those times when we’ve forgotten trekking poles or didn’t …

Have you always wondered what’s in our backpacks when we hit the trail? Have you read our backpacking checklist and post about the uncommon essentials we take with us when …

I’ll admit it right up front: I’m a Nalgene girl. Always have been. I honestly can’t recall a time in my life where I had any other brand of water …

I hate shopping for new hiking boots and shoes. I don’t know if my feet are weird or I’m too cheap or too picky, (it’s likely a combination of all of the above) but add in the necessity that my hiking boots contain no animal products, and finding footwear that fits the bill is a veritable nightmare. Fortunately, we’ve done some of the legwork for you and found 20+ of the best vegan hiking boots and shoes so you can wander on confidently and cruelty-free. You’re welcome.