There is nothing that says you can climb with a backpacking park nor backpack with a climbing pack, but they have differing features for specific reasons. I got asked about why climbing packs have zippered pockets in their hoods (or brains), and it has a lot to do with having a secure place to get to items without having to go through all your items.

After one year of use and one big expedition in Asia, I've learned enough about the Samaya Ultra 60 pack. The full video goes deeper into what I've found to be the pros and cons along with a few modifications I've made to my pack.

Just like there is a difference between climate and weather, there is a difference between today’s weather and weather patterns. When we climb in a new area, understanding that difference, can help us strategize our ascents. Various local communities can be a fountain of information in this regard.

Getting our tent packed up and stowed away can be very difficult in windy conditions. By being tactical about when we pull  up our last two tent stakes, we can greatly simplify our task.

One of the most dangerous hazards in the mountains is lightning. Here's how we can use some facts about lightning, and some very simple math, to help assess our risk when we see the clouds roll in and start hearing thunder.

Flextail makes the Zero Pump and claims it to be the lightest self-contained pump for both inflating and vacuum deflating your backcountry sleeping mattress. I purchased my own and tested it out over multiple seasons. The full video provides a complete review of the pump and my take on circumstances when carrying this into the wild makes sense for me.

A trip plan can keep you and your climbing partners on the same page but also can help your loved ones deal with any emergencies that might arise. So, what can we put in our trip plans to ensure we meet these needs? The full video goes into more detail.

When we need to pack 10, 20, 30 days of food for a big expedition, there are lots of ways to do it. What I like to do is create a Ziploc bag of food for each day of the trip. Here's why.

While I look at a lot of different metrics when choosing to buy a tent (peak height, length, water pressure test results, etc.), once I have made the purchase, there are a few I want to be able to find at a glance so that I can choose from amongst my various tents as I select one for a particular trip. Here's what I mark on my tent stuff sacks to make this easier.

Descending from mountain summits can feel like an endless set of steps that can greatly fatigue our quadriceps (thigh muscles) above the knee. By switching up our plane of motion, we can recruit other muscle groups to help give our quadriceps a break.

Whether going from sea level to moderate altitude or from moderate altitude to high altitude, our bodies need time - and water - to adjust and adapt to the reduced oxygen we will take in. The full video gives an overview of the physiology, the potential illnesses, and the preventative tactics that all come into play when we experience significant altitude changes.

When we head out into the backcountry for a climb, hike, or backpacking trip, having a sense of the surrounding topography can prove essential. Beyond having devices and apps, taking the time to plot out routes and familiarize ourselves with area maps creates the mental images we need to make decisions on the fly when things get complicated.

In the older days of gas stoves, conventional wisdom was that a larger pot would make turning snow into boiling water more efficient when on a climbing expedition. But new equipment may have changed the calculus. The full video gets into an experiment I ran to see if smaller or larger pots would be more efficient given different stove types.

When we are out climbing, hiking, or backpacking in the backcountry, there can come times when we want to estimate how much time we have before the sun dips behind the horizon. Here's a quick way to make that estimate without any equipment.

Avalanches are more likely to occur on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees. We can quickly check the angle of a slope in the field by employing some geometry and two matching pieces of equipment like trekking poles or snow pickets. Here's how.

Our boys, Connor and Kade, have been gathering up a pretty good amount of cold, winter, snowy camp experience. So, they wanted to each share three tips - so six tips total - that they find to be the biggest difference makers when it comes to staying warm in camp. The full video goes into all six.

A video can introduce concepts and even provide tutorials, but it cannot cover all of the variable situations and context of outdoor environments. Learn about something here, but then seek qualified instruction to master it.

Remote canister stoves often improve stove performance in cold weather when compared to standard canister stoves. But remote canister stoves can be hard to use in the harshest environments when there is no means to safely hang the stove. Well, the full video provides a step-by-step tutorial to build a DIY(ish) solution for that problem.

There are lots of ways to maintain a warmer temperature for your canister fuel, thus improving the performance of your camp stove when out climbing, backpacking, or camping in the snow. One way is using a bath for the canister, into which you can pour warm water. The full video shows how I made one and some options on how to use one.

The La Sportiva G Summit Boots are designed to be worn as either a single boot or a double boot with a removable liner. So, is it one boot that can serve all your needs? Warm enough for cold, high-altitude climbing? Light and maneuverable enough for technical climbing? How's the durability? What about the fit? The video goes into these questions and more.