Lifestyle

Does anyone like DEET anymore? I mean, I know people who swear by it, and it’s certainly proven effective, but nobody likes it, right? By now, we all know that it dissolves plastic (and rayon and spandex…). And frankly, anything that does that to synthetics, I’m not too keen to inhale and spread all over my largest organ (that’s skin, for those of you who have forgotten 7th-grade science class), even if the EPA has cleared it as a safe and effective insect repellent. But what are the alternatives? And do they work as well? We’ll break them down in this round-up of the 5 best DEET-free bug spray brands for those of us who would prefer to skip the harmful chemicals.

Looking to gear up this holiday weekend? Stock the ol’ gear closet? Well, the timing is right, because the 4th is always brimming with stellar sales and we’ve rounded up the best of the 4th of July sales. So start browsing and enjoy the best sales on outdoor gear this week (which we’ll update as the holiday approaches)!

June 19 is Juneteenth. It’s a celebratory holiday I didn’t even know existed until I moved to Texas. It’s not an official national holiday, of course (or, not yet), but …

Every year, more and more people head into the outdoors for a bit of exploration and relaxation. And we’re willing to bet that goes double this year, what with people all over the country scrapping summer plans that were supposed to involve theme parks, international travel, or crowded tourist attractions. But if you’re new to camping, how do you even get started? What camping gear do you *actually* need? Well, take a deep breath, cause we’ve got your back. We’ll help you figure it out with our handy beginners guide to camping: 10 things you need to start camping.

It’s summer! Which means a lot of folks will be heading out to the river/lake/ocean/stream or whatever body of water is nearby for some aquatic fun and recreation. Personally, we’ve been taking our kayaks out since January, but we live in Texas so we can do that without full wetsuits. But if you’re new to kayaking or think it’s about time to level-up your water recreation game, you may be wondering what to bring kayaking when you head to the launch site. Well fear not! Because we’ve compiled a checklist of kayaking essentials so you can go prepared!

There’s been a lot of turmoil and unrest in our country lately, mostly centered around racism. The black lives lost to police violence–the most recent being George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor–has launched an explosive civil rights movement across the nation. Protests abound, voices are raised, and social media abounds with demands for change. And rightly so; the systemic racism in the U.S. is real, and that extends past the city streets, courtrooms, capital buidlings, college campuses and workplaces of the city; it involves access to the outdoors, too. Which is why we wanted to do more than simply say “Black Lives Matter in the Outdoors,” but actually do something about it.

Leather is everywhere in the outdoor industry: boots, bags, climbing shoes, even decals and zipper pulls on backpacks and jackets. But why? For ages, leather has been the material of choice for sturdy, “natural,” durable gear that lasts. But now that other materials are available, do we really need leather? And is leather sustainable? While many in the industry would say yes, citing that it came from nature and will eventually biodegrade back to nature, leather is far from natural and neither sustainable nor environmentally responsible. But how does it stack up against competitors and substitutes like synthetic materials and faux leather? We’ll break it down and take a look at why you might want to ditch leather.

Now that summer is nearly here, it’s time to break out the hiking sandals! Here are the 4 best adventure sandals of 2020!

Sunscreen. It’s a summer staple. A product ubiquitous in beach bags, backpacks, and drugstores the world over. It protects our skin while we’re out in the world exploring and keeps us from looking like leather couches as we age. But could the sunscreen we use be doing as much damage to the environment as it’s doing good for our body’s largest organ? Turns out, a lot of the ingredients in suscreen damages coral reefs (which are not only a natural wonder, but living things, remember), makes ocean life sick, and contaminates waterways. How can we avoid such destruction while still preventing skin cancer? With reef safe sunscreen, of course! We rounded up 7 quality options that are not only reef friendly, but vegan, too, so you can wander (and swim) on!

Maybe this is the first time you’re hearing of BioLite. Maybe you’re a fan from afar but haven’t yet acquired any of their dope, eco-friendly products. Maybe we can help with that. We recently tried out the BioLite CampStove 2 Bundle and if you were hoping for a review, wish granted. We’ll break down what’s included, how it functions, and who might want to grab one for themselves in this here review. So grab the popcorn and watch the vid or read on to find out more!