In 1999, Henry Shires started a road that has lead him to be a well known name in the Backpacking world. Why? He made a tent. an 18 ounce solo shelter that is still working after 3000 miles of use. He made that tent design available for others, but that …

HiTec shoes Canada is giving away shoes to 5 people who like their facebook page when they reach 1000 likes. Take a look at their page, “Like” it and check out their products on their website. http://www.facebook.com/HiTecCanada?sk=wallhttp://www.hi-tecstore.ca/

Whether or not you buy the gear or just use the idea to make your own, check out the Gossamer Gear cookset. For one person, this 5 oz set is a pretty cool idea.  Here’s what it contains: .95 oz. (27 g.) Caldera Cone .88 oz. (25 g.) Fosters Can …

This post will be updated with websites that list hikes in the USA. http://www.wta.org/ hikes, reviews, magazine, interactive trail map for Washington.http://www.cooltrails.com/ Northwest hiking trail reviews.http://http//sectionhiker.com/long-distance-hiking-trails/ Long Distance trails in America (plan a week to several months).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-distance_trails_in_the_United_States The title is kind of obvious. Please comment if you know of other good websites.

Well, for all you hikers who want to dabble in a bit of Canada hiking, I’m going to start a continuous list of resources: http://www.clubtread.com/ – Hikes, articles, forum, trail reviews and GPS coordinates.http://www.trailpeak.com/ – Hikes, kayak, mountain biking, climbing, and more. They cover some US trails as well. Please feel free to …

Helle knife before final sanding. I always wanted a nice knife. Something better than the cheapy knives that are offered for $9.99 in that store that you always shop at. But I never could justify… or convince my wife that $100 for a knife was worth it. So I decided …

 Credit: James Davies (used with permission)  For a while I’ve been looking at putting together a survival kit. Well, a good first aid kit was my idea, but James Davies thought of more than that. He started a 1 man business that offers kits for almost every (if not all) …

Just a heads up on a fellow blogger’s give away. Jason Klass (Gear Talk with Jason Klass) is giving away a firesteel on his blog. You only have until tomorrow, February 27th at 5PM MST to get in on the giveaway. Just post a response to This blog posting describing your …

Even in Bolivia you can find backpacking gear. There are two North Face stores that sell primarily South American made gear (yes, I didn’t miss the irony) and an army surplus store that, amongst other things, sells classic solid fuel (esbit style) stoves.   It has some real treasures. They sell a light, …

For those of us who are light or ultralight backpackers or even those who grumble on the trail thinking, “why on earth did I bring so much stuff”. Erik the Black has something that might help. Erik is an ultralight backpacker with several books to his name (including “ultralight backpacking” …

Here’s a video review of the esbit style stove: Please note that esbit makes tablets that are much better than the two I’ve tried.