Want to get into backpacking? We understand why. The call of the wild, sleeping under a canopy of stars, communing with nature, testing your survival skills, it’s a balm to the soul. But a lot of folks aren’t sure where to start when it comes to preparing for their first backpacking trip. Well, fortunately for you, we’ve put together this handy list of 10 backpacking essentials to help you on your way in our first of a series of Backpacking 101 posts. So gear up and wander on!

Nature therapy doesn’t get much better than solo backpacking. But I find that most people, especially women, aren’t all that interested in solo backpacking. Whether it’s because they think it sounds boring or lonely or they’re worried about safety, many will never attempt it. They’ll see this title and instantly shake their heads and utter a resounding, “Nope.” But you totally and absolutely should try solo backpacking! Especially if you’re female! Read on to find out how to do it right.

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!

When it’s time to shop for a new sleeping bag, there are two main considerations for selecting the right bag for you: type of insulation and temperature rating. Every bag has the latter, usually right in the name of the bag, but those numbers may not mean what you think they mean. In fact, they could be up to 20º off, meaning you could be spending a very chilly night in the woods if you’re not careful! So allow us to enlighten you. Right here, right now, we’ll break down sleeping bag temperature ratings and help you find the right sleeping bag for you by explaining what the temperature ratings actually mean. That way, you can sleep comfortably in the great outdoors any time of year.