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![A phone with with the calculator open above a hiking backpack]()
Thru-Hiking 101: Backpacking Base Weight Calculator
Reducing your pack weight is very important for thru-hikers and long-distance backpackers. To help reduce the total pack weight it’s important to focus on the pack’s base weight.
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![A man packing up a green light weight sleeping bag on a hill side]()
10 Weight Saving Tips for Backpacking
Lightweight backpacking or thru-hiking doesn’t need to be expensive. Following these ten tips will help you along the way to packing a lighter pack.
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![A woman wearing a black beanie and grey shirt out in the forest]()
3 Popular Outdoor Hoods to Keep You Warm
The head represents about 10% of the body’s total surface area and leaving this exposed to the cold can rapidly reduce your body temperature. Here are three different types of hoods you can wear in the outdoors to keep you warm.
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![a large cow trough filled with moss and mirky water]()
How to Purify Water While on Trail
Having a few purification tablets in your pack provides a great backup in case you need to purify water while you are hiking.
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![Colorful down and synthetic jackets hanging, down vs. sysnthetic]()
Synthetic vs. Down: Which is Best for Your Thru-Hike?
The two most popular insulators are made from synthetic fibers or down. When preparing for your thru-hike or backpacking trip, you should know which type of insulation is best for your needs.
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![an assortment of blade sharpeners]()
How to Keep Your Knife Sharp
A dull knife can become more dangerous than a sharp knife so it’s important to know how to keep your knife sharp to maintain its full utility.
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![TSA holding a swiss army knife found in luggage. A violation of TSA rules.]()
Plane Restrictions (TSA Rules) to Consider Before Leaving for Your Thru-Hike
It’s always important to check the most current TSA rules before traveling to your thru-hiking or backpacking destination by plane.
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![insect repellent being sprayed onto clothing]()
How to Use Permethrin Insect Repellent on Clothing
The insect repellant, Permethrin, is designed for clothing and is effective against mosquitoes, ticks, spiders, chiggers, and mites.
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![4 different common tent stakes]()
Holding Strength of 4 Common Tent Stakes
We tested the holding power of four of the most popular and commonly used tent stakes to see how they performed. Here is what we found…
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![Spray Painting Tent Stakes]()
Why You May Want to Paint Your Tent Stakes
If you have tent stakes that are silver and are not colored at the top, they will likely be hard to see when you put them in the ground. Try this easy hack!
