Gear guides and trail knowledge

Start here, then go outside.

Everything there is to know about hiking gear and where to take it. Picks ranked from specs and buyer reviews, never paid placement.

Explore the latest guides What we cover →

Hiker seen from behind, climbing a ridgeline trail at sunrise toward canyon cliffs

Latest guides

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Winter Accessories

Best Cold-Weather Hiking Accessories of 2026

HotHands hand and toe warmers, fleece neck gaiters, a balaclava, merino beanies and liner gloves: the small, cheap things that keep hands, feet and face warm on a winter hike.

8 min readRead the guide →

Gear Repair

Best Gear Repair and Waterproofing Products of 2026

Wash-ins, sprays, boot wax, Tenacious Tape, seam sealers, a pole splint and a zipper kit that fix a wetting-out jacket, tired boots or a dripping tent instead of replacing them.

9 min readRead the guide →

Stove Fuel

Best Camp Stove Fuel and Cooking Accessories of 2026

Fuel canisters that fit your stove, plus a canister stand, a recycling tool, a long spoon, lighters, a fire steel and three camp mugs worth restocking before the next trip.

8 min readRead the guide →

From Basecamp

All of Basecamp →

Trails, skills and the words everyone uses without explaining. No gear pitches.

Safety

Lightning safety for hikers: what to do when you hear thunder on the trail

If you can hear thunder, you're close enough to be hit by the next strike. Summer storms in the mountains usually arrive on a predictable clock, so your best protection is a turnaround time set before you start. Then comes where to go if one catches you anyway, and what to do if someone is struck.

12 min readRead it →

Skills

How to prevent blisters when hiking

Almost every hiking blister warns you first, as a warm, rubbing patch called a hot spot. Stop for five minutes when you feel one and the rest of the day stays good. Below: what causes blisters, how to set your feet up before the trailhead, and what to do when one starts anyway.

10 min readRead it →

Photo: Ermakae — CC0, cropped

Destinations

Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc hut to hut: the 11 stages, the refuges and how to book them

Eleven days around the highest mountain in the Alps, through France, Italy and Switzerland, sleeping in staffed refuges that cook dinner and lend you blankets. The stages, the shorter sections, what a night costs, and how the booking actually works.

16 min readRead it →

The words on the box

Gear listings are written in a language nobody teaches you. Every term our guides lean on has its own page, with a straight answer at the top.

R-value Fill power Base weight Denier Heel-to-toe drop DWR

Browse the whole glossary →

How we pick gear

Research-backed picks

We weigh published specs against Amazon buyer reviews, so you can see what actually works.

Trail focused

No gym shoes or car-camping bloat here, just what works on dirt, rock, and ridgeline.

No paid rankings

Picks are ranked on specs and buyer reviews, never on who pays us.

For every hiker

Side-by-side comparisons that show why one pick beats another for your kind of miles.