Gear

Here at Terradrift, we’re always on the lookout for the perfect bag for travel. And no lie, that’s a pretty tall order. Of course, “the perfect bag” will look different for everyone–someone on a luxury vacation in Europe is NOT gonna be considering the same bags as someone backpacking through South America for three months–but for those of us who prefer to shoulder a pack rather than roll around a suitcase and carry on our luggage instead of trusting it to those black holes at the airport where luggage disappears and–finger crossed–eventually comes back out again, the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Del Día bag may be the perfect travel bag, especially if you consider sustainability a top priority.

Like organization? And durable luggage? In classic (but totally not boring) colors? Have we got a bag for you! It’s the 40L Topo Designs Travel Bag and it. Is. Legit. So if you’re in the market for a new bag for all kinds of travel (business, road trips, international, short and sweet visits with your in-laws…) read (or watch) to learn all about it, including what we thought of this organizational and customizable travel backpack!

Yeah, yeah, I know summer is basically over, but down here in the south and southwest where 5 out of 7 days are still above 85º, we’ve still got a lot of toasty hikes ahead of us. And while we are personally masochistic (or desperate?) enough to head out into dry, sweltering summer temps to hike shade-less trails with naught but a few Nalgenes full of water, we recently discovered a piece of gear that makes those outings exceeding less miserable: The ExtremeMist Personal Cooling System (PCS). And we’re gonna tell you all about the whole misting-and-hydration-in-one in this here review.

Underwear. They’re a fact of life. But most of them aren’t made of particularly eco-friendly or comfortable materials. So what’s a girl to do when she’s constantly on the go or hitting the trail on her next epic adventure or even just lounging around the house? Fill that underwear drawer with the most comfortable and sustainable underwear for women that she can find, that’s what. We’ve even done the legwork for you and researched the 3 best of the best in that department. So read on and, when it’s time to replace the old for the new, try these on for size.

We get excited about a lot of gear here at Terradrift, but we may never have gotten as excited as we got when our Tentsile Connect arrived at our door. I mean, until that point, we had only drilled over photos online and debated whether we should go for it and get one of our own. Because, honestly, we have a great tent and we love our Kammok Mantis camping hammock, so how many sleep setups do we really need? At least one more, that’s how many. And we’ll tell you why it immediately became our very favorite camping equipment the first time we hopped up into that open, airborne structure in this here Tensile review.

When it comes to sustainable outdoor gear and clothing, we love companies who care about the materials they use and the footprints they leave. Brands like Patagonia, BioLite, Toad&Co and Cotopaxi. But while buying new gear from brands who care about the planet is an excellent choice, there’s another option that’s even more eco-friendly (and cost-effective): buying used gear and clothing. Here’s why (and how).

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!

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!

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!