Gloved hands can struggle with zippers. That's why most cold weather climbing and mountaineering jackets have zipper pulls attached. If you should have one break or go missing while on the mountain, a simple fix may be at hand in your repair kit.

Camping comfortably can mean the difference between being restored every night of our camping, backpacking, or alpine climbing adventure, and reaching our goal, or slowly getting drained to the point where we have to quit. One of the first things to consider about our camp strategy is whether to take a single-walled or double-walled tent. The full video offers some of the pros and cons of each.

Not too long ago, I was asked about how I might be able to add load lifting straps to The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound Ultralight backpack. The full video provides a walkthrough of how I did that.

Our twin boys run, climb, scramble, hike, backpack, swim... you name it. So, it has always been an expensive proposition to get gear that is specific to each of these activities. We try to find items that can be used - and used well - across many different disciplines. We've been using the La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II Jr shoes for life on the trail as well as scrambling on the rocks. How well have they performed as trail runners, hikers, and approach shoes? Follow the link for the full review.

Skiers, Climbers, and Snowmobilers all concern themselves with avalanche dangers and, therefore, avalanche rescue procedures. Well, a recent study has suggested that heated gloves, other heated clothing, and maybe all electronic devices need to be turned off and managed in the event of needing to conduct an avalanche search with beacons.

I had been on an approach hike into a climb when one of my toes started hurting. I hadn't knocked my toe against anything. I hadn't been heading downhill and impacted my toe against the front of my boot. What could have been causing it? Surprisingly, it was my socks. The full video shares how it happened and what I now do to prevent it.

Most modern headlamps for camping, hiking, and climbing have a red-light feature. Why's it there? Why would we use it? Well, take a look; let's all be kind to our tentmates ;)

Our boys, now age 8, have been using the Deuter Climber 22 Liter Kid's backpack for over three years. It's been the pack they take on just about every hiking, backpacking, camping, and climbing adventure. So, with that much wear and trust put into the backpack, we thought it would be worth a review. The full video shares what we dislike, like, and love about this pack.

Whether you are a climber on the approach to the climb or a hiker who is putting in miles on the trail, we want to be conscious about conserving energy and avoiding stumbles and falls. The full video provides a basic understanding of a few rock climbing footwork fundamentals that can help keep us efficient and safe, which will matter a great deal after 10 thousand, 100 thousand, or even 1 million steps.

I don't feel like my family and I should be pushing our limits with hard climbing all of the time. We had previously done a video about learning to find satisfaction with some of the less demanding forms of adventure so that our risk profiles aren't always high. Well, exposing the boys to backpacking was one of those experiences we wanted them to try and see if they enjoy. This is a preview to a short film we made about it.

It's Mental Health Awareness Month so we are discussing some of the mental aspects of adventuring. Climbing is dangerous. I think it can be done safely, but that shouldn't be read as "perfectly safe." This is especially true of alpine and high altitude climbing, which are my preferred styles and which come with more complex, objective dangers. So, I think a lot about how to keep my personal risk profile manageable, and the full video shares that one way I do it is to diversify my outdoor activities.

It's Mental Health Awareness Month so we are discussing some of the mental aspects of adventuring. When my climbing partners and I climb for similar reasons, there are a host of advantages. The full video explores this often overlooked factor in finding compatible climbing partners that stands out, to me, as the most distinguishing factor between a good climbing partner and a great one.

It's Mental Health Awareness Month so we are discussing some of the mental aspects of adventuring. We've all heard, "climbing is an inherently risky activity," and we do our best to understand and manage those risks. But we also sometimes don't notice when we've "gotten lucky," The full video goes into how we assess our climbs when we can't always really know how far away or close we were to disaster?

It's Mental Health Awareness Month so let's get into some of the mental aspects of adventuring. A good part of our channel is about helping get whole families - and that includes the kids - into the outdoors. That brings risk. But learning to assess risky adventures, like climbing, can translate to day-to-day life. The full video offers a simple framework to help us talk with our kids about risk.

It's Mental Health Awareness Month so let's get into some of the mental aspects of adventuring. Years ago, I had a military friend introduce me to the phrase “slow is smooth and smooth is fast.” In the full video, I talk about how I lean on that line of thinking quite often when in the backcountry and particularly when rock climbing, ice climbing, alpine climbing, or mountaineering. Danger and fear can create a strong desire to rush through a situation, and I often remind myself that slowing down and avoiding rework will often speed me up, overall.

My twin (now) 8-year-olds beat up their gear when they are camping, hiking, and attempting summits, but we've managed to keep them in an Outdoor Research Kids' Helios sun hat for about two years. The hats are still going strong, but like any piece of gear, they aren't perfect. The full video offers a long term review of these handy, comfortable, and durable adventure hats.

As I keep saying, all things in mountaineering, backpacking, and camping have pros and cons. There are no perfect solutions or perfect gear. In this quick tip, we talk about how tents with tent poles designed to be pitched from the inside can be great in some circumstances but a problem in others. Perhaps this will be a consideration for you as you plan gear for your next trip.

Ferro rods are an alternative fire starting method that may be easier to use in difficult and cold conditions. Here are a few of the reasons I take a ferro rod with me when I'm on multiday climbs or camps in the mountains.

Lots of clothing, rigid gear, and stiff boots make life in a tent in the cold more complicated. Digging a simple pit at the door of your tent can make your winter camping or mountaineering experience a little easier.

Sublimation of snow (moving from solid directly to gas) not only smells bad, but also robs you of the water you are trying to make (you can't drink a gas). Here's the easy fix to avoid sublimation when turning snow into drinking water when alpine climbing or winter camping.