Honest notes from a mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs.
Eighteen months, two teenagers, two French bulldogs, and one packable daypack that has been to every Texas state park we can drive to. Here is the long-term 4Monster review.
The 4Monster 24L packable daypack is enough for most family hikes. The Osprey Daylite is worth the upgrade if you carry more. Here is the honest comparison from a mom who tested both on the same Texas trails.
Honest notes from a mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs.
Honest notes from a mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs.
The exact way I pack our 4Monster daypacks so nobody runs out of water, snacks, or patience on a family trail day.
Eighteen months, two teenage boys, two French bulldogs, and a pile of Texas state park trails. Here is the honest report on the 4Monster daypack, including the parts I did not love.
A year of weekend hikes at Lost Maples, Garner and Padre Island, plus a week in the Smokies, with one pair of aluminum poles. What held up, what didn't, and who should buy them.
A mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs compares a year on aluminum poles with a borrowed pair of carbon poles. The honest answer for weekend hikers.
Honest notes from a mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs.
A story about the pair of poles that sat in the SUV for a month, then made a 16-year-old eat his words.
Set the right length for climbs, descents, and flat miles, and let your poles do the heavy lifting.
Honest notes from a mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs.
A full season of Texas state park hikes, one Colorado trip, two teenagers, and two flat-faced dogs. Here is what the Sawyer Squeeze actually survived.
Two great filters, two very different styles. Here is how they compare for a family of four plus two flat-faced dogs.
Honest notes from a mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs.
One hot April afternoon, four people and two dogs ran out of water three miles from the car. Here's what we do now.
Honest notes from a mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs, and the five-step routine we use every time we filter water on the trail.
Two years, four people, two French bulldogs, and a whole lot of Texas trail dust. Here is what the Sawyer Squeeze actually does well, what it does not, and where I finally stopped using it.
Honest notes from two years of weekend camping with the Coleman Sundome 4-Person: setup, rain, wind, Texas heat, and two French bulldogs.
Two Coleman family tents, one honest answer from a mom who camps with two teens and two dogs.
A 4-person tent is enough for a family of four, two dogs, and a weekend of state park camping. Here is why we keep reaching for ours.
Two years of Texas weekend trips, one front at Lost Maples, and the Coleman Sundome has never leaked on us.
Honest notes from a mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs.
Two years, maybe thirty nights, two teenagers, two flat-faced dogs, and one Texas storm. Here is what the Coleman Sundome actually does well, and what I wish someone had told me before I bought it.
A year of dark trails, 2 AM tent walks, and one headlamp that never let me down.
Two headlamps from the same family, and the one that costs less is the one I reach for most.
Kendra Lassiter here. I swapped my phone flashlight for a Black Diamond Spot 400 about a year ago. These are the ten reasons I have not gone back.
The night my phone flashlight gave out at Garner State Park, I learned why a real headlamp earns its spot in the pack.
A hands-free way to light the tent, the stove, and the trail to the bathhouse, from a mom who camps with two teens and two French bulldogs.
What nobody tells you about the Black Diamond Spot 400: the beam pattern, the battery math, the way it fits on a smaller head, and the one thing that nearly made me send it back.
Eighteen months, two teenagers, two French bulldogs, and one packable daypack that has been to every Texas state park we can drive to. Here is the long-term 4Monster review.
Eighteen months, two teenage boys, two French bulldogs, and a pile of Texas state park trails. Here is the honest report on the 4Monster daypack, including the parts I did not love.
A year of weekend hikes at Lost Maples, Garner and Padre Island, plus a week in the Smokies, with one pair of aluminum poles. What held up, what didn't, and who should buy them.
Honest notes from a mom who hikes and camps with two teens and two dogs.
A full season of Texas state park hikes, one Colorado trip, two teenagers, and two flat-faced dogs. Here is what the Sawyer Squeeze actually survived.
Two years, four people, two French bulldogs, and a whole lot of Texas trail dust. Here is what the Sawyer Squeeze actually does well, what it does not, and where I finally stopped using it.
Honest notes from two years of weekend camping with the Coleman Sundome 4-Person: setup, rain, wind, Texas heat, and two French bulldogs.
Two years, maybe thirty nights, two teenagers, two flat-faced dogs, and one Texas storm. Here is what the Coleman Sundome actually does well, and what I wish someone had told me before I bought it.
A year of dark trails, 2 AM tent walks, and one headlamp that never let me down.
What nobody tells you about the Black Diamond Spot 400: the beam pattern, the battery math, the way it fits on a smaller head, and the one thing that nearly made me send it back.
