Going on a backpacking, multi-day climbing, mountaineering, hiking, or a camping trip during the dry, winter months can lead to split fingertips. The dry air and other conditions of winter just make it more likely. Those wounds can make using your hands painful. Here's how I help prevent those splits from happening as well as how I deal with the injury if I don't follow my own advice well enough!

I enjoy camping, hiking, backpacking, and alpine climbing, and I enjoy doing all of these things in all seasons. It is always a challenge to find clothing layers that can handle the different activities and conditions I face. This is a review of the Outdoor Vitals Ventus Active Hoodie. Can it handle all of the variables I throw at it?

Kids are more susceptible to the damage UV rays can cause. And while sunscreen and clothing are keys to protecting them, so are sunglasses. We had a hard time finding sunglasses that had quality lenses and were made of materials that would stand up to heavy hiking and climbing use. Then we found the Duco Kids Polarized Sunglasses. Here's a review of how they've been working for us after a year.

In this post you get an opportunity to learn from some "overpacking" mistakes that I used to make when going out into the backcountry for multiple days. Now, carrying some of the kids' gear when we go out, every ounce counts. So, here are four repair kit items that we no longer take with us as camping gear or backpacking gear... and the lighter, multi-use gear we replaced those original items with.

Here is a gear review of the High Stream Gear Ice Cleats for Kids. We've been searching for a kids set of winter traction devices that mimic that industry standard Kahtoola MICROspikes and which are similarly useful both around town and out in nature. These Ice Cleats for Kids cover a lot of the bases, but have some differences that do matter.

An in-depth review of the Deuter Climber 22L backpack.