We spent 5 days drinking nothing but tablet-purified water to find out which brand of water purification tablets truly works best. Ultimately, we discovered that Katadyn Micropur MP1 is the brand to choose. It has decent flavor, combats against cryptosporidium and the smell won’t burn your nose hairs.

It was a long journey to discover that Katadyn Micropur MP1 was the right choice to go with. It started way back when I was a little girl playing the virtual Oregon Trail game.

After my 7th fatal strike with dysentery that week, I promised myself something: I would never die of dysentery again.

More importantly, I’d never let any of my family or loved ones go through that awful death again. That’s why, among other arguably more realistic reasons, I carry water purification tablets when I go backpacking.

There are lots of water purification tablets to choose from on the market, plenty more than there were in the 1800s. But which brand tastes the best? Which ones kill cryptosporidium? Which one will ensure your wheels and axles don’t snap during river crossings?

We set off to find out.

Top Pick: Katadyn Micropur MP1

I’ll be honest with you.

I really wanted to give this award to the Aquatabs, given its flavor and easy instructions.

But the top water purification tablet should kill all microorganisms, including cryptosporidium. Functionality over flavor. These tablets do that, while the Aquatabs only kill bacteria and viruses.

For that reason, the Katadyn Micropur MP1 took home our Top Pick award.

The Katadyn Micropur MP1 tablets have the best taste of all the crypto-fighting tablets and come in a durable package that is still fairly easy to open. Water purified with these tablets didn’t irritate my skin or throat at all, but know that I’ve been using tablets for a few years now. Irritation and side effects are different for every person. These tablets are also fairly cheap comparatively, which gave this option bonus value points as well.

Runner-Up: Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide

I consider the Potable Aqua Chorline Dioxide tablets to be your average, safe water purification tablets. They’re not too strong in smell or taste, and the packaging is fairly durable.

This brand is very similar to Katadyn, except for one small thing: water purified with one of these tablets may have given me a scratchy throat.

Admittedly, this was the first tablet that I sampled for a full day. It’s possible that my body was just getting used to adding chlorine back in the diet. However, know that the score was so close between these tables and the Katadyn Micropur MP1 tablets that that one side effect became the deciding factor in me choosing this as the Runner-Up instead of the Top Pick.

Best Taste: Potable Aqua with PA+Plus

After a few days of chugging chemicals, I was curious what this two-part powerhouse could do.

I put in the iodine tablet and let it do it’s job. Before even using the second-step tablet — whose only purpose is to neutralize the iodine after-taste and color in the water — I smelled and tasted the treated water.

It smelled like water. It even tasted like water! I was impressed that the chemical taste was nearly nonexistent.

I then put in the neutralizing tablets. I’m not sure how big of a difference they made, but I was already pleased. Water treated with these tablets was the best tasting water I drank all week, and it posed no irritation whatsoever.

Note: Potable Aqua sells their iodine tablets with or without PA+Plus. PA+Plus tablets are neutralizing tablets for use after water has been treated with Potable Aqua. They neutralize the iodine after-taste and color in the water. If you don’t want the PA+Plus tablets, you can buy just the Potable Aqua tablets.

Best Value: Aquatabs

Although Aquatabs do not combat cryptosporidium, they would probably keep my Oregon Trail family safe.

I was impressed by the bang for the buck on this one. We found them for fairly cheap online.

The taste is good, while the smell is only mildly chemical. These tablets are lightweight and don’t take too long to purify — only 40 minutes.

The only problem with the Aquatabs is that the packaging isn’t very durable. This was the only brand that didn’t pass the durability test. The tablets just crumbled into dust. But, on the other hand, the package is easy to open, something I can’t say for all tablets we tested.

Best Nose Hair Burner: Aquamira Water Purifier Tablets

The Aquamira Water Purifier Tablets — like all other crypto-combatting tablets — take four hours to purify water.

I had heard that this stuff is extremely potent so, out of curiosity, I took a big whiff of the Aquamira-treated water around the 2-hour purification mark.

Big mistake.

I coughed. I wheezed. It burned my nose hairs. It had me double checking that I got the dosage right.

After the purification process completed 2 hours later, the water no longer smelled like pure bleach, but it was still certainly the strongest smelling of the products. The flavor was decent but chemical. My lips tingled every now and then throughout the day, but that may not have been related to these tablets (I eat lots of jalapeños).

I found it interesting that the Aquamira tablets were so strong, because before this project, my favorite water purification method was the two-part Aquamira water treatment drops.

Summary

Here are the best water purification tablets:

• Katadyn Micropur MP1
• Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide
• Potable Aqua with PA+Plus
• Aquatabs
• Aquamira Water Purifier Tablets

How to Choose the Best Water Purification Tablets for Your Needs

Beyond looking for water purification tablets that “just work”, here are the important specs to consider before buying.

Time to Purify/Ease of Preparation

Are you somebody who always forgets to do things on a schedule? Then a 4-hour wait time probably isn’t ideal. Go with the Aquatabs or the Potable Aqua with PA+Plus. Both of these purify your water in less than an hour.

Note: Despite their convenience, neither Aquatabs nor Potable Aqua with PA+Plus combat against cryptosporidium, a protozoan known to be present in North America.
Otherwise, if you can afford to wait 4 hours for your water to purify, our Top Pick and Runner-Up are the two options we liked best.

Weight

Weight is, of course, a crucial consideration for any backpacking gear. The packages of all the brands we tested weighed less than an ounce, but some were more durable than others.

If you want your pack to be as light as possible, go with the Potable Aqua tablets. They were the lightest tablets we tested.

If you prefer a package that is more durable, the Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide tablets and Aquamira tablets are both extremely difficult to open without a camping knife or backpacking knife but keep your tablets intact.

Taste & Smell

How much of a chemical taste and smell can you handle in your water?

If you’re highly sensitive, we recommend you get the Potable Aqua with PA+Plus since the PA+Plus tablets neutralize the iodine after-taste and color in the water.

Alternatively, if you like a strong chemical smell that leaves you 100% confident that any living organism that once lived in your water is certainly dead, then pee-yew, Aquamira Water Purifier Tablets are right for you.

Microorganisms the Tablets Are Effective Against

All the water purification tablets we tested kill viruses and bacteria when used correctly. However, not all kill cryptosporidium.

Make sure to choose a brand that kills all the microorganisms you might encounter on your backcountry trip. We’ve indicated which of the brands we tested are effective against cryptosporidium in the table at the top of this article.

Alternatives to Water Purification Tablets

Here are two alternative ways to purify water:

• With a backpacking water filter. In our experience, this is the most popular method employed by hikers and backpackers.
• By boiling water on a camping stove or backpacking stove. It’s good to have the necessary supplies to boil water should your primary water filtration method fail. Our testers like carrying an ultralight backpacking lighter with them to light stoves. We also know some backpackers who like taking fire starting rods to help them start a fire.

How We Tested

Our testing process was three-fold.

1) Taste Test

First and foremost, we wanted to test the actual taste of the purified water. To do this, we drank water purified with each tablet. We then scored the waters on how badly they smelled of chemicals and how much the taste reminded us of water at a public pool.

2) Side-Effect Test

Secondly, we wanted to ensure that there wouldn’t be any side-effects from consistently using each brand. For five days, we exclusively drank water purified by these tablets — whether it came from streams, rivers or sketchy-looking park faucets.

Each day, we focused on a different brand and then measured how we felt throughout the day. Did anyone get a sore throat? Did anyone experience eye irritation or, at worst, chemical burns?

3) Packaging Test

Lastly, we scored each brand on its packaging. We threw each package of tablets in the bottom of backpacks and suitcases, stepped on them, you name it. If the tablet exploded into a powder, it lost points.

While durability was important here, for the next part of this test, we measured the opposite. How easy are the packages to open? Do I need a knife (because if I do, that really blows because I don’t always carry one of those) or will my teeth suffice?

Notes

No matter how well the tablet scored in taste, smell and packaging, 10 points were deducted from the final score of any tablet that is not effective against cryptosporidium. We hope that, by doing this, we can bring extra awareness to this spec, in cases where this may jeopardize your health.

All products tested are certified and meet EPA microbiological water purifying test standards. We’re not working from a lab here, so we just had to trust that if these things are on the market, they won’t kill us. Nobody died of dysentery during our research, so we call that a win.

The post 5 Best Water Purification Tablets appeared first on 99Boulders.

We bought 5 of the best backpacking lighters available and set about testing their water-resistance by soaking them in water, their wind-resistance by trying to blow them out, and their reliability by striking them until we got blisters. Our tests confirmed what backpackers have long known: the BIC Mini Lighter (commonly called the “Mini BIC”) is the best lighter for backpacking.

It is ultralight, reliable, decently water-resistant, and a great bang for your buck.

The Mini BIC’s only downside is it’s not wind-resistant. A simple windscreen can usually solve this problem though.

If you need a lighter for backpacking in extremely wet or windy conditions, we recommend the UCO Stormproof Torch. It was the most wind- and water-resistant lighter we tested.

Also, it’s important to point out the Mini BIC earned the top score in our tests by the slimmest of margins. The Clipper Mini Lighter is an excellent alternative. It isn’t as easy to find in the US, however — you’ll likely have to pick one up online or at a head shop.

Read on for our full reviews.

Top Pick: BIC Mini Lighter

Supremely affordable and available everywhere, the Mini BIC earned our Top Pick award because of its reliability, value, and ultralight weight.

When I struck the BIC 200 times, it lit a perfect 200. BIC has perfected lighting consistency.

The Mini BIC is also decently water-resistant. After performing 3 “Soak Tests” with it — submerging the lighter in water, shaking it out, and then trying to light it in 1-minute intervals — it took an average of 2 minutes before it started lighting again consistently.

(To dry it out quicker you can also run it up and down a piece of wood or your pants leg for 30 seconds.)

The BIC’s main drawback is how poorly it holds up in windy conditions. The flame is difficult to light in even a slight breeze.

It’s an easy problem to overcome though — I usually have luck with using my hand or windscreen to block the wind long enough to light my backpacking stove.

If you’re worried that you need something beefier to take into the backcountry, don’t be.

BIC lighters have been put through the ringer countless times by backpackers of all varieties. Every year plenty of AT and PCT thru-hikers complete their hikes having used only Mini BICs. And adventurer Andrew Skurka uses a BIC in his Cadillac Stove System.

Runner-Up: Clipper Mini Lighter

The Mini Clipper is another excellent backpacking lighter.

While not nearly as ubiquitous as the Mini BIC, it performed actually better in our tests.

For starters, like the Mini BIC it lit a perfect 200/200 times.

It is also slightly more wind- and water-resistant than the Mini BIC.

Where it took the BIC 2 minutes on average to start lighting consistently after having been submerged in water, it took the Clipper 1 minute. I was also able to light the Clipper more easily in a slight breeze.

You might be wondering at this point…

“If it performed better in your tests, why didn’t it get a higher score?”

Based on reports I read of backpackers who had used a Clipper for a long time, the general consensus was that a Clipper’s flint wore out quicker than a BIC’s. As such I docked it some points for being less reliable over the long-term.

In my view you still can’t go wrong if you take a Clipper on your next backpacking trip. Let price and availability be your guides if you’re undecided between the two.

Mini Clippers ship pre-filled but unlike BIC lighters they are refillable with butane. You can also purchase replacement flints and replace a used-up one yourself.

Best for Adverse Weather: UCO Stormproof Torch

Most backpackers — whether you’re a beginner or seasoned thru-hiker — don’t need this lighter.

It’s heavy, bulky, and costly relative to BICs and Clippers.

Its flame is impressive but unnecessary for all but the most adverse weather conditions.

But should you truly need a weather-resistant lighter, the UCO Stormproof Torch is your best option.

While neither truly windproof nor waterproof like UCO’s incredible stormproof matches, this lighter was the most wind- and water-resistant that we tested.

When submerged with the cap on, the inside of the lighter remained completely dry and lit immediately after shaking off the excess water. As marketed, the case is waterproof.

When submerged without the cap, it took just one minute of drying in my pants pocket before the lighter started lighting again consistently.

Its wind-resistance isn’t anything to write home about — it was pretty easy to blow out — but it was the best lighter we tested in this regard, just edging out the competition.

I do have some long-term reliability concerns with this lighter however. The more I struck it the more the flame started to sputter. If you do go with the Torch, take a back-up ignition source with you just in case.

There are two versions of this lighter: one comes with a bottle opener, the other with duct tape. I tested the duct tape version.

UST Wayfinder Lighter

The Wayfinder Lighter from UST, like the UCO Torch, is a butane lighter with piezo-electric ignition.

UST says it “performs without fail in the most adverse conditions.”

I found it to be reliably unreliable.

When I struck it 200 times, it lit just 87, the least of any lighter by far. It is marketed as “windproof” and is apparently able to withstand winds of up to 80 mph. I didn’t test it in those conditions, but I was able to blow it out by blowing air at a moderate rate.

The Wayfinder’s performance was heavily affected by being submerged in water. The inside of the lighter got wet even when the cap was on. Also, air bubbles came out of the fuel refill port, which made me wonder if water was entering the fuel chamber.

It took an average of 9 minutes of drying the lighter in my pants pocket before it lit again, and over 20 minutes before it started lighting consistently.

One of my main gripes with the Wayfinder is that there’s no way to know how much fuel is left. On backpacking trips, especially long ones, this in an important thing to know.

Overall I wasn’t impressed. The unreliability and high price point make this lighter a less than ideal choice for your next backpacking trip.

Zippo Matte Lighter

The Zippo is a classic, but it makes for a bad backpacking lighter.

The biggest drawback of this lighter is its unreliability.

Now, I don’t mean this lighter doesn’t light consistently. It does. The Zippo was the third most reliable lighter in that regard, lighting 175 out of 200 times.

In this case, I mean it’s unreliable because of the issues that stem from its fuel.

First, I had an issue with the fuel leaking. After soaking the lighter in water to test its water-resistance, the fuel started leaking on my hands, in my pants pocket, and on the outside of the lighter.

This poses two threats when out in the backcountry:

1. It increases your chances of running out of fuel
2. It poses a fire hazard should you light the lighter without realizing it’s been leaking

What’s more, the fuel evaporates slowly out of the lighter. There are numerous accounts online of people complaining about this and trying to come up with their own fixes to the problem.

This even happened to me when I took these lighters with me on an overnight backpacking trip. The Zippo had fuel in it when I left. When I returned just a day later, despite lighting it only a handful of times, it was empty.

The last thing you want on a backpacking trip is for the fuel in your lighter to leak or evaporate. As such, we don’t recommend the Zippo.

And that’s good news actually — the Zippo has the highest retail price of any of the lighters we tested, you need to buy fuel for it and refill it yourself, and it’s heavier than a backpacking lighter needs to be.

Save yourself a couple ounces and a handful of dollars: pick up a Mini BIC or Mini Clipper and be done with it.

Summary

Here are the best backpacking lighters:

• BIC Mini Lighter
• Clipper Mini Lighter
• UCO Stormproof Torch
• UST Wayfinder Lighter
• Zippo Matte Lighter

Alternative Ways to Light Your Backpacking Stove or Start a Campfire

In my experience, lighters are the most popular way backpackers light stoves and start campfires.

There are other ways, though, which we’ve also written about. Consider these other products if you’d like an alternative to lighters (click on the link to see our reviews of the top options):

• Fire starters
• Stormproof matches
• Waterproof matches

Even if you do go with a lighter, you might want to take a back-up ignition source just in case. Most backpackers I know who do this will carry one in the form of a ferro rod, magnesium fire starter, or pack of waterproof or stormproof matches.

How to Choose the Right Backpacking Lighter for Your Needs

Weight

When it comes to backpacking gear, lighter is always preferable.

The lighters we tested ranged from 0.39-3.21 oz. That isn’t terribly heavy in the grand scheme of things, but relatively speaking the heaviest lighter weighs over 8 times as much as the lightest.

Unless you want to go with our top option for adverse weather, the UCO Stormproof Torch, a lighter shouldn’t cost you more than an ounce in pack weight.

If you’ll be backpacking for an extended amount of time you might want to consider bringing a back-up lighter or, if your lighter is refillable, extra fuel.

Flint vs. Piezo-Electric Ignition

Flint lighters — like the BIC, Clipper, and Zippo — use a flint to generate sparks.

Piezo-electric lighters — like the UCO and UST — use a spring-loaded hammer to hit a piezo-electric crystal and create an electrical charge.

I found the flint lighters to be much more reliable over the long-term than the piezo-electric lighters.

Unless you need a highly weather-resistant lighter such as the UCO Stormproof Torch, I’d recommend you go with a flint lighter.

There are also battery-powered electric lighters (aka plasma lighters). These are not water-resistant and thus are less than ideal for taking into the backcountry.

Weather-Resistance

There is no perfectly windproof or waterproof backpacking lighter. However, all the lighters we tested sported some degree of weather-resistance.

Although, just because you expect to encounter adverse weather on your trip doesn’t mean that you need to bring along a highly weather-resistant lighter.

While I would generally recommend you go with a Mini BIC or Mini Clipper for the weight and cost savings, there are some situations where a highly weather-resistant lighter might be preferable — such as emergency or survival scenarios. Also, if you aren’t concerned with the extra weight and bulk it’s hard to put a price on peace of mind.

Pre-Filled vs. Empty

BICs and Clippers come pre-filled. The other three lighters we tested come empty and you must fill them with the appropriate fuel, which you also must buy.

Pre-filled lighters are less hassle and cheaper upfront. You don’t have to buy fuel or fill the lighter yourself.

Empty lighters you must buy fuel for and fill yourself. They are refillable and thus may work out to be cheaper in the long-run. The two types of fuel we used were butane for the UCO Stormproof Torch and UST Wayfinder Lighter and Zippo lighter fluid for the Zippo Matte Lighter. (The Mini Clipper can also be refilled with butane.)

Type of Fuel: Butane vs. Lighter Fluid

Backpacking lighters are generally butane lighters. The fuel they use is premium butane.

We also tested the Zippo Matte Lighter which uses Zippo Lighter Fluid.

After testing these lighters side-by-side, I personally would never take anything other than a butane lighter on the trail.

The reason?

The Zippo started leaking fuel after being submerged in water. The fuel got on my hands, on the outside of the lighter, and on my pants pocket where I had placed the lighter to dry.

How We Tested

Soak Test

For each lighter I did the following 3 times and averaged the results:

1. Submerged it in water for 5 seconds
2. Shook off excess water for 10 seconds
3. Tried to light it
4. If it didn’t light, I stuck it in my pants pocket to dry and took it out and tried to light it in 1-minute intervals, recording how long it took before each lighter started lighting consistently again

Results:

• Mini BIC: 2 minutes
• Mini Clipper: 1 minute
• UCO Stormproof Torch: immediately when submerged with cap on; 1 minute when submerged with cap off
• UST Wayfinder Lighter: 9 minutes when submerged with cap on; didn’t bother testing with cap off
• Zippo Matte Lighter: 20+ minutes when submerged with lid closed; didn’t bother testing with lid open

(H/T to this reddit thread for giving me the idea for this test, as well as the idea to test a Clipper lighter in the first place.)

Reliability Test

This was a straightforward test: I struck each lighter 200 times and recorded how many times each one lit.

Results:

• Mini BIC: 200/200
• Mini Clipper: 200/200
• UCO Stormproof Torch: 200/200
• UST Wayfinder Lighter: 87/200
• Zippo Matte Lighter: 175/200

Since I didn’t have time to test long-term durability, I then read reports of backpackers who had used these lighters for extended periods of time. If other hikers consistently reported that a lighter was unreliable over the long-term, I incorporated that into my final reliability rating.

Note: I removed the metal safety band from my Mini BIC prior to testing.

“Wind” Test

I don’t have a fan or leaf blower, but I do have lungs.

I lit each lighter and then tried to blow it out, starting by blowing lightly and getting progressively more forceful. It was an admittedly crude test.

Overall, I was disappointed in the wind-resistance of these lighters. If you’d like something that is truly windproof (and waterproof), read our reviews of the best stormproof matches. Otherwise, just be sure to bring along a windscreen to block the breeze.

The post 5 Best Backpacking Lighters appeared first on 99Boulders.

We put 10 of the best tent stakes on the market through months of experiments and real-world use. 

At the end of our tests, our top pick was the MSR Groundhog. It’s strong, durable, lightweight, and the best option if you want one stake that can do it all. 

The burly Coleman 10-in Steel Tent Stake was our top pick for car camping. You wouldn’t want to carry a set of these very far, but they were simply unmatched in their ability to keep a tent in place.

Read on for our full reviews and for tips on how to figure out what type of tent stake is right for you.

Top Pick: MSR Groundhog

The MSR Groundhog is a staple for most backpackers, and for good reason. Through all of our tests, it stood out as the most versatile of all the stakes we tested.

At 0.46 oz each, the Groundhog is plenty light for backpacking, but also strong enough for just about anything you can throw at it.

In our holding strength test, it held well over 50 lbs of force. The only stakes stronger than the Groundhog were also twice the weight (or more!).

These are durable enough to be driven into harder ground with a rock, hammer, or camping hatchet if need be. Despite months of hard use, we’ve only ever had one minor bend in one Groundhog.

Some reviewers have said that the Groundhogs tend to bend or break at the narrow neck. We’ve put the Groundhogs through a lot of use and never had an issue with this, though.

As for price, they aren’t cheap. But they won’t break the bank, either.

We think they are a solid investment, especially for backpackers who need a balance between weight and strength, or for anyone who wants one set of stakes that they can use just about anywhere.

Best for Car Camping: Coleman 10-in Steel Tent Stake

Talk about bomber! For car camping, you couldn’t ask for a stronger stake than the Coleman 10-in Steel Tent Stake.

Plus, it’s also one of the cheapest tent stakes we tested.

The Coleman held an average of just under 90 lbs in our tests, making it by far the strongest stake we tested.

In fact, during our strength test, we actually had to stop and go find some 110 lb paracord because our 3mm cordage kept breaking before this stake failed.

In our durability test, we genuinely tried to bend or break the Coleman Tent Stake, but could barely even scratch it.

You could wail on this beast all day with a rock or a hammer and it would barely feel it.

One negative is that the plastic top seems fairly weak compared to the rest of the stake. We never had issues with it breaking, but we did have it slide out of place and down the stake a couple of times

Multiple other reviewers mentioned that the plastic top broke, and we could see how a misplaced blow from a hammer could easily do just that.

Of course, no one would ever call these lightweight — if you need a set of 8, you’re looking at well over a pound!

As long as you only have to carry them 20 feet from the car to the tent, though, the Coleman 10-in Steel Tent Stake is awesome, and a great addition to anyone’s camping gear stash.

Best Snow Tent Stake: REI Co-op Snow Stake

All three of the “extreme” stakes we tested (the REI Co-op Snow Stake, the MSR Blizzard and the MSR ToughStake) were in the same ballpark when it came to strength.

So our top choice here came down to minor details:

The REI Snow Stake is the lightest and cheapest option and outperformed the MSR Blizzard just barely when buried as a “deadman” anchor.

We generally bring a few of these for key stake-out points, and have weathered some pretty epic blizzards with four REI Snow Stakes and four MSR Groundhogs.

We were curious if this could double as a regular stake in a pinch, so we tested it in the ground.

While it held very well in both hard ground and soft soil, it was very difficult to press into the ground, and bent much quicker than a regular stake would.

We don’t recommend it for regular camping. But for camping on snow, the REI Co-op Snow Stake is affordable and reliable, and is our stake of choice.

Best Ultralight Tent Stake: MSR Carbon-Core Tent Stake

The MSR Carbon-Core Tent Stake is not only the lightest stake we tested — it’s crazy light. A set of these feels like next to nothing in your hand.

Despite that, they were durable and much stronger than we expected for the weight.

We expected them to bend or break easily, but they showed hardly any signs of wear throughout our field testing and durability testing.

Of course, you pay for it — these are expensive tent stakes.

We aren’t big fans of the shape of the top. It was too easy for the cordage to slip off, and there is nothing there to really catch the tent lines.

We had to re-do our holding strength tests multiple times because the cordage kept slipping off before the stake actually came out of the ground.

As long as you take extra care to make sure that the angle of pull is perpendicular to the stake and not upwards at all, they’ll work. But we found it a little bit annoying how difficult it was to get the cordage to stay on them.

If you want the lightest tent stakes out there, and don’t mind paying a premium, these are pretty sweet. Apart from being slightly annoyed at the cordage slipping over the top of the stake if we weren’t careful, we loved them.

Reviews of the 6 Other Tent Stakes We Tested

REI Co-op Steel Stake

The REI Co-op Steel Stake is the cheapest stake we tested.

If you are looking for an inexpensive, strong, and durable set of stakes, we think this is a great option.

Just don’t plan on bringing them backpacking — each stake is a solid 2.7 ounces.

The REI Steel Stake took second place in our strength test, holding an average of 74 lbs at a 45-degree angle.

Out of all the stakes we tested, it immediately felt the toughest with its simple, solid, and heavy steel construction. Our durability test confirmed our initial impression: this stake is basically indestructible.

What we didn’t like was that it was difficult to get this stake in and out of the ground. The blunt tip didn’t drive very well through the soil and almost always required a couple of good hits from a hammer.

The top of the stake, while it held onto tent lines with no problem, offered virtually no grip to pull the stake out.

Despite those minor annoyances, as far as car camping tent stakes go, these are a close second to the Coleman 10-in Steel Stake. They’re a great choice for anyone who wants a set of cheap but incredibly strong car camping stakes.

MSR Blizzard Tent Stake

The MSR Blizzard Tent Stake makes for a super solid snow anchor, holding an average of 65 lbs of force when buried as a deadman anchor.

The main reason this didn’t win our “Best Snow Tent Stake” award is that, at less than half the cost, the REI Snow Stake outperformed this one just slightly when buried as a deadman, though the difference between the two was minimal.

At 1.12 oz, the MSR Blizzard Tent Stake is also slightly heavier than the REI Snow Stake, which weighs just an ounce.

We tried using this as a regular stake and found that, like the REI Snow Stake, it bent very easily. These definitely aren’t meant for anything other than snow (and loose sand) camping.

On the whole, this is a great snow stake that we would trust 100% through the harshest of winter conditions. We just don’t think it’s worth the premium price when compared to the REI Snow Stake.

MSR ToughStake

The MSR ToughStake is a unique design, which we were excited to try out.

It’s a steep investment, though. The ToughStake was the most expensive option we tested.

In snow, it didn’t outperform the REI or MSR Snow Stakes as significantly as we expected. It held a max of 78 lbs when buried at a 45-degree angle, to the REI Snow Stake’s 69 lbs.

That’s impressive, to be sure, but for its price and weight, we expected the ToughStake to leave the other two snow stakes completely in the dust.

We’re not sure if the slight difference in holding power in snow is enough for us to justify the weight and high cost.

We suspect that you could make up that gap fairly easily by just burying the MSR or REI stakes a little bit deeper, or piling more snow on top of them.

(In fact, an MSR Groundhog buried about 4 feet deep outperformed any of the snow stakes. It took a couple of tries to get it positioned right and we had to bury it about twice as deep, but we found that how well you bury a snow stake affects the holding power about as much or more than the actual stake itself.)

We tested the small version, and MSR also sells a larger medium version. At 5.5 ounces each, these are pretty hefty to bring backpacking.

Still, they get good reviews, and might be worth considering if you’re expecting a full-on blizzard. We suspect that with the extra surface area, they’d hold incredibly well once you got them buried and set in the snow.

While we didn’t have a chance to test the MSR ToughStake in deep sand, other reviews rate it highly for that purpose. We’d definitely consider a set of these for a windy day at the beach.

Overall, this was a fantastic stake in snow — just not great enough that we’d buy and carry a full set of them when there are cheaper and lighter snow stakes that work nearly as well.

REI Co-op Aluminum Hook Tent Stake

The REI Co-op Aluminum Hook Tent Stake did much better than we expected.

We have at least a dozen cheaper aluminum hook stakes that have been mangled and destroyed over the years, so we were pleasantly surprised that this stake held its own.

It’s the cheapest stake in our test that we’d consider bringing backpacking, weighing only 0.5 oz per stake.

It held a respectable 45 lbs in our holding strength test, putting it around the middle of the pack.

While we did manage to bend this stake slightly in our durability test, it held up better than expected. We didn’t have any issues with it during our field testing, despite driving it into some rocky soil.

If you’re looking for a cheap set of reasonably lightweight backpacking tent stakes, you could do a lot worse than the REI Co-op Aluminum Hook Tent Stake.

MSR Groundhog Mini

We liked the idea of the Groundhog Mini more than we liked the stake itself.

Initially, it seemed awesome. After all, we love the full size Groundhog, so a stake that’s smaller and lighter and still has most of the Groundhog’s holding power seemed perfect.

In practice, though, we found just the opposite.

While it is significantly smaller, the Mini is only .11 oz lighter than the full-sized Groundhog. That translates to a weight savings of 0.66 oz for a set of 6.

In our holding strength test, the Mini held barely half of the force that the full-sized Groundhog held, and was one of the weakest stakes we tested.

It’s not bad, by any means. We just don’t see much benefit of going with this one over the full-length Groundhog.

We’re all about shaving weight from our packs, but when it comes to gear as crucial as tent stakes, we’ll sacrifice less than an ounce for significantly stronger gear.

Vargo Titanium Tent Stake

We loved the light weight and slim profile of the Vargo Titanium Tent Stake.

Unfortunately, it was the least durable and weakest stake in our tests, holding only 27 lbs at its best.

One of the Vargos bent significantly in the first few days of our field testing, and another bent pretty early on in the durability tests.

Although some reviewers have said they were able to simply bend the stakes back, those of us without superhuman strength had trouble with this and were stuck with crooked stakes.

The Vargo Titanium Tent Stake’s narrow, needle-like diameter did make it easier than some of the thicker stakes to drive into hard-packed ground. If you often camp in very hard soil, this stake may be worth considering.

We were also very, very glad for the fluorescent orange coating on the head of the stake. The coating chipped very easily, but there were multiple times when these tiny stakes would have completely disappeared on us if it weren’t for that coating.

The Vargo Titanium Tent Stake was easy to use, tiny, and extremely light, and it served us well on fair-weather camping trips. It just doesn’t have enough holding power for us to rely on it in anything worse than a light breeze.

Summary

Here are the best tent stakes:

• MSR Groundhog
• Coleman 10-in Steel Tent Stake
• REI Co-op Steel Stake
• REI Co-op Snow Stake
• MSR Blizzard Tent Stake
• MSR ToughStake
• REI Co-op Aluminum Hook Tent Stake
• MSR Carbon-Core Tent Stake
• MSR Groundhog Mini
• Vargo Titanium Tent Stake

How to Choose the Best Tent Stakes for Your Needs

There is no one-size-fits-all tent stake. What’s perfect for the car camper on soft, grassy campsites is going to be useless for the backpacker who frequently sets up camp in rocky or snowy locations.

Below, we break down the different types of tent stakes, the different properties to look for, and how to figure out what’s best for you.

Types of Tent Stakes

Shepherd’s Hook: The Shepherd’s Hook is the classic tent stake. Depending on the diameter and construction, these can be quite strong.

Y-Stakes: Shaped like a “Y,” these stakes pack a lot of surface area into a fairly light weight, giving them excellent ability to grip the soil.

J-Stakes (aka V-Stakes): A lot of tents come with aluminum J-Stakes (also sometimes called V-Stakes). These are lightweight, and have a lot of the same advantages of Y-stakes, although we’ve found them to be slightly weaker.

Nail Pegs: Essentially, these are shaped like large nails that you drive into the ground. They usually have some sort of pull cord or plastic top to help you get them out of the ground.

Snow/Sand Stakes: These stakes have a much higher surface area and often have multiple holes that are meant to fill up with sand and snow and help anchor the stake down. They are specifically designed to hold in loose sand/snow conditions when most other stakes won’t, but aren’t very useful in any other condition.

Other: From spirals to screws to fabric designed to be buried under the snow, there are dozens of other varieties of tent stakes. Most are extremely specialized, though, and not too common.

Material

Aluminum is the most common material for tent stakes, especially in the backpacking world. It’s light, relatively inexpensive, and, while it does have a tendency to bend, it’s plenty strong enough when used correctly.

Steel is the material of choice for most car camping tent stakes. Steel stakes are definitely not light, but they are some of the strongest stakes out there.

Titanium and Carbon Fiber are relatively new on the market for tent stakes. While extremely light and strong, tent stakes made with these materials are also extremely expensive.

Weight

For backpackers, weight is crucial. However, having the lightest tent stakes on the trail doesn’t do you any good if they don’t actually hold your tent down, or if they turn themselves into a pretzel as soon as they touch a pebble in the soil.

Even for a full set, ultralight tent stakes will probably only save you around an ounce or less.

Our two cents: when it comes to tent stakes, campers and most backpackers shouldn’t sacrifice too much performance for the minimal weight savings.

Holding Strength

How much force a tent stake can hold, and how durable it is, is probably the most important consideration, especially if you often camp in less than ideal conditions.

To give you some idea of how strong your stakes need to be, we did some calculations.

We used a wind load calculator to determine that 40 mph winds would put somewhere from 30 to 45 lbs of pressure on a tent stake (depending on how big your tent is, how many stakes the load is distributed among, the elevation, and a number of other factors). 60mph gusts would range from 50 to nearly 100 lbs.

We’re not engineers, so these are loose estimates. But make sure whatever stakes you bring are more than strong enough to withstand any conditions you may encounter. Consult our test results below for an idea of each stake’s holding strength.

How We Tested

Holding Strength Tests in Ground & Snow

We wanted to know how many pounds of force each stake could hold, so we used a pull scale to measure the force at which each stake popped out of soft, grassy ground.

We were also curious if putting stakes into the ground at a 45-degree angle really is stronger, so we tested each stake at 45 degrees and at 90 degrees.

For the snow stakes, we tied cordage through the holes of the stakes and buried them at least 2 feet deep in moderately dense snow, in a typical stake configuration (buried at about a 45 degree angle toward the direction of pull) and as a deadman (buried horizontally).

Testing notes:

• The MSR ToughStake is not intended to be buried as a deadman anchor, so we did not test it in this way
• For each test, we took the average of three measurements. We attempted to keep the direction of pull at around 45 degrees from the ground, to simulate the direction of pull from a tent rainfly or guyline.

Durability Test

We wanted to know how easily each stake bent, so we found a spot next to a large rock and pressed the stakes in diagonally toward the rock.

Once the stake hit the rock, we continued pressing on them with the toe of our boots for around 30 seconds each. After that, we gave each one a solid 10 taps on the top with a rock.

Testing notes:

• We did not perform this test on the MSR Blizzard and REI Snow Stakes. They bent when we pressed them into the soft, slightly rocky ground where we did our strength tests.
• We also did not perform these tests on the MSR ToughStake, since it is not intended to be pressed into the ground at all

Field Testing

We replaced our usual tent stakes with these for nearly four months. From camping on snow in the Tetons to camping in sandy Southern Utah, to camping in rocky Redwood forests along the California Coast, we tested these stakes in a variety of conditions.

The post 10 Best Tent Stakes appeared first on 99Boulders.

We put six of the best solar-powered camping lanterns to the test. After over three months of experiments and real-world testing, the MPOWERD Luci Pro Outdoor 2.0 led the pack as our top pick. It was bright, long-lasting, quick to charge, and its mobile charging ability was respectable.

The Goal Zero Crush Light and the MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0 were tied for runner-up. Both charged quickly, were extremely light-weight and compact, and produced pleasant light that we loved hanging out under.

Read on for our full reviews, and information about how to choose the right solar-powered lantern for your needs.

Note: If you’re looking for a regular camping lantern, check out our guide to the best camping lanterns.

Top Pick: MPOWERD Luci Pro Outdoor 2.0

The Luci was the original collapsible solar lantern, and in our opinion, it’s still the best. The MPOWERD Luci Pro Outdoor 2.0 was our top all-around pick.

This light has it all: great features, excellent ambiance and light quality, a quick-charging and efficient solar panel, and surprisingly decent mobile charging capabilities.

At 150 lumens, the Luci Pro was the brightest lantern that we tested. However, we found ourselves using its lower settings more often, especially in the tent. Its warm white LEDs put out a comfortable, diffused light with great ambiance.

We were also impressed with how quickly its solar panel charged. It would charge itself up enough to run for a few minutes just from ambient light and indirect sunlight indoors.

We also loved that its handle can unsnap, allowing for easier hanging.

While the mobile charging capabilities can’t really compare to a dedicated solar charger or portable battery pack, it still impressed us. When fully charged, the Luci Pro gave a 34% boost to a phone in 1 hour and 32 min before being completely drained.

That may not sound super impressive, but it’s twice what the other mobile charging lantern (the Suaoki) could handle. Even when completely drained, the Luci Pro could charge a phone from sunlight alone.

Its mobile charging could be a little finicky, and there were a couple of times, charging under the sun, where we couldn’t get it to register on our phone. We suspect that it was because it wasn’t drawing enough power from the weak early-winter sun at the time.

If you want to have the capability to occasionally top up your electronics throughout a trip, the Luci Pro’s charger does the trick.

The cons? It’s heaviest lantern we tested. It’s also the priciest as of this writing. But considering that you get a solar lantern and a solar charger in one, it’s not a bad deal.

Overall, we were impressed with this light, stoked on its mobile charging, and would recommend it to anyone looking for an awesome, durable, high-quality solar lantern.

Runner-up: MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0

What the MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0 lacked in features, it more than made up for in quality, performance, and simplicity.

Some might see the lack of any USB port as a negative, but we actually liked the simplicity of this light. A true solar lantern, it runs 100% off of the sun, and it does it well.

Its 75 lumens were more than bright enough for cooking or setting up camp, while its low setting was perfect for reading or hanging out in the tent.

Fully charged, the Luci Outdoor 2.0 lasted just over 6 hours on high in our tests, and has a claimed runtime of up to 24 hours on low.

Its three-light battery indicator tells you roughly how much charge it has. Plus its solar panel charged extremely efficiently.

In our testing, we placed each light under sunlight and artificial lights for the same amount of time, then measured how long they stayed on in high power. In both tests, the Luci Outdoor 2.0 lasted the longest out of all the solar camping lanterns while still putting out usable, bright light.

Like the Luci Pro Outdoor, our top pick, it has an adjustable strap to make it easier to hang up without a hook or carabiner, a feature which we loved.

The only cons we can come up with are that it’s a little on the heavy side, at 4.4 oz. And the snaps on its adjustable strap can be difficult to open and close.

Its light was also a slightly harsher, cooler white color than the Luci Pro. We didn’t mind the cool white LED light, but preferred the warmer tones of the Luci Pro and the Goal Zero Crush Light (reviewed below).

Those complaints are minor, though. For the price, the MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0 is a bargain. No frills — just a durable, high-quality, solar-powered camp lantern. We can definitely get behind that.

Best Lightweight Solar Lantern: Goal Zero Crush Light

Weighing only 3.2 oz, the Goal Zero Crush Light was not only the lightest solar lantern that we tested, but also one of our overall favorites.

This lantern had a lot of positives. For us, the biggest selling point, other than its light weight and compactness, was the light quality.

Its warm, yellow-orange color blended right in with the campfire and never felt jarring or out of place around the campsite like the bright white LED lights often did.

This was the light we most often found ourselves reaching for to cook dinner or hang out in the tent, purely because of the warm, cozy light.

The candle-light mode, which flickers and dims the light randomly to mimic a candle, was a nifty idea. It’s pretty unconvincing, though.

After playing around with the setting for a couple of minutes, we found that we had zero reason to actually use it. Still, it does nothing to diminish the rest of the light’s awesome properties, so we’re indifferent to it.

Although the Goal Zero Crush Light had overall shorter runtimes than most of the other lights in our tests, it actually kept a good bit of power in reserve after it shut off.

Once the other lights shut off, they were completely done, drained, and unable to turn back on until they were recharged. Once the Goal Zero shut off on high power, we could turn it back on and usually get another hour or more out of it on low power.

Especially since the Crush Light doesn’t have a battery indicator to tell you when it’s getting low, it’s nice to know that it won’t just abruptly shut off and leave you completely in the dark.

Its solar panel worked remarkably well, considering that it was the smallest panel of all the lanterns in our test. The Crush Light charged up fairly quickly in direct sunlight.

There really were only a few negatives with this light. First, it could be difficult to actually crush, requiring some coaxing for all of the folds to snap into place.

Second, it lacked any kind of battery indicator, leaving you guessing as to its state of charge. It does have a light next to the USB port that turns red when it is charging (either through USB or sunlight) and green when it is fully charged.

Finally, it was the only lantern without some sort of bottom or cover. If you happened to have it hanging in your tent directly above you, the LEDs could be a little binding when you looked up.

We’d recommend this light just for the ambiance alone, as it had such a cozy, natural quality to the light.

Combined with the fact that it was the lightest and most compact light we tested, and that it performed very well in out tests, we think this is a top choice not only for backpackers, but for anyone looking for a simple solar lantern to bring a little light to your nights in the backcountry.

Reviews of the 3 Other Solar Camping Lanterns We Tested

LuminAID PackLite Nova USB

The LuminAID PackLite Nova USB had a lot of good qualities, but enough negative ones that it didn’t make it into our top picks.

Like the two MPOWERD Luci lanterns, it has a battery charge indicator and an adjustable strap to make for easier hanging.

It also lasted impressively long in our runtime test, getting beat out only by the BioLite SunLight (reviewed below).

It feels well-built and durable, and the snaps on the adjustable strap were much easier to use than the Luci’s straps.

Its solar panel didn’t impress us though. It regularly took over an hour in direct sunlight to get enough power to even turn on. To be fair, once it did build up enough power, it stayed on for a respectable amount of time.

We could excuse its slow charge time, considering that it outlasted many of the other solar lanterns when it came to runtime. Unfortunately, this lantern puts out a harsh white fluorescent light reminiscent of the flickery office lights we prefer to escape when we go backpacking. It was by far the least pleasant illumination for our tent and campsites.

If you don’t mind the harsh white of its LEDs, the LuminAID PackLite is a solid, well-constructed camping lantern. Our three award winners, though, give you a little more bang for your buck, and are overall much more enjoyable to light up your campsite with.

BioLite SunLight

The BioLite SunLight was the only non-collapsible solar lantern that we tested, and it had some of our favorite features.

The color and ambiance of the light was awesome. We loved the dimmable white light, and the ability to choose from a variety of different lights.

Its “party mode”, where it slowly cycles through different colors of light, was a fun feature when we were hanging around camp after a good dinner.

It’s extremely compact, lightweight, and lasted an incredible 13 hours and 10 minutes in our runtime test. As a rechargeable USB camping lantern, we absolutely loved it.

Unfortunately, its solar panel was one of the weakest in our test, and since this is a review of solar camping lanterns, that weighs pretty heavily.

It took three hours under full sunlight for the BioLite to even have enough power to turn on in reserve mode, a low-power mode that limits its functionality to just a dim white light.

For reference, both Luci lights and the Goal Zero light turned on within a minute, and usually within seconds, of being in sunlight.

Even after more than five hours in full sunlight, it did not have enough power to get out of reserve mode. However, when we plugged it into a USB charger for a couple of seconds and then disconnected it, it immediately turned on in full power mode and worked for over an hour.

We find it hard to imagine that the solar panel, in five hours of full sun, couldn’t generate the amount of power produced by a couple of seconds on a wall charger.

We’re not sure if we got a lemon with some weird glitch that requires a boost of USB power to get out of reserve mode, or if the solar panel is just extremely inefficient. Whatever the reason, we were disappointed.

If you plan to primarily keep the light charged via USB and use the solar panel to give it a boost every now and then, this is still a good option, and an all-around fun light to have.

We liked it, and would recommend it with the caveat that, based on our tests and experience, it is super inefficient at charging with sunlight alone.

Suaoki LED Camping Lantern

We wanted to add a budget pick into our test. The Suaoki LED Camping Lantern, with mostly good online reviews, seemed like a good bet.

Unfortunately, this was by far the poorest quality and worst performing lantern that we tested.

The cheap materials started to show wear almost immediately, with the plastic crinkling and starting to tear after the light was expanded just a few times.

The solar panel seemed to work sporadically. During our test, it charged the lantern up enough for around half an hour of runtime in 90 minutes of sunlight.

In another instance, though, the Suaoki sat in full sunlight for over three hours without building up enough power to turn on.

Although its overall runtimes look pretty good based on the numbers alone, it lost brightness very quickly. Most of its runtime was light that would barely be usable for close-up tasks like reading, let alone cooking or setting up camp.

This lantern features mobile charging capabilities, but it only gave our phone an 11% boost before it was completely drained. It also was unable to charge the phone from solar power alone.

We did like that when it was collapsed, the light was channeled into a focused flashlight beam, which was a neat feature.

This lantern — and countless duplicates — litter Amazon and are available for cheap. Even at the Suaoki’s low price, we think anyone interested in solar lanterns would be better off spending a few extra dollars for the Goal Zero Crush Light or the MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0.

With its flimsy build and poor performance, and with so many better options out there in the same price range, we just don’t see any reason to recommend this light to anyone.

Summary

Here are the best solar camping lanterns:

• MPOWERD Luci Pro Outdoor 2.0
• MPOWERD Luci Outdoor 2.0
• Goal Zero Crush Light
• LuminAID PackLite Nova USB
• BioLite SunLight
• Suaoki LED Camping Lantern

How to Choose the Best Solar Camping Lantern for Your Needs

Types of Solar Lantern

Compressible: Some inflate like a balloon, some squish like an accordion, but compressible lanterns are the most common type. They can collapse down to less than half an inch thick.

Fixed: There are various types of “fixed,” i.e. non-compressible, lanterns. They range from traditional lanterns to small blocks like the BioLite SunLight.

String lights: Relatively new on the scene, solar-powered string lights are like a string of Christmas lights. They let you spread the illumination out around your campsite.

USB rechargeable: When they first came on the scene, solar lanterns were 100% solar-powered. The trend has moved toward lanterns that can be charged up either through solar panels or a USB port. Many solar lanterns that you will find are USB-rechargeable in addition to solar-powered. These lanterns can be compressible, fixed, or string lights.

Solar Charging Time

Most lights charge within a couple of hours on a wall charger. Under the sun, though, it’s a different story. If you plan on using your solar lantern primarily off the grid, then you need to know how long it will take to replenish those photons.

Most manufacturers will state how long the light takes to reach full charge in sunlight. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story.

We have found that some lights may take a long time to reach their full capacity, but within less than an hour can pick up enough charge to run on low through an evening. Other lights take hours to even charge up enough to turn on.

Light Quality

The lights we tested ranged from warm and soft to cold and harsh. All other characteristics aside, this was one of the biggest factors in how much we actually liked using these lights.

We recommend taking into consideration the quality of light that you prefer (warm or cold, diffused or sharp) and making sure the light you get suits your preferences.

Lumens

Lumens are a measure of how much light a lantern produces at its light source. The lights we tested ranged from 60 to 150 lumens.

We found that 60 lumens was more than adequate for cooking, hanging out, and doing various tasks around camp. The extra brightness is nice to have, but certainly not necessary.

Mobile Charging Capabilities

Some solar lanterns also have the ability to function as a solar charger for your mobile devices. While this is a neat feature to have, it’s important to realize that their charging capacity is very limited.

They’re great for occasionally topping up your mobile devices, but not sufficient for regular heavy use.

Solar Camping Lantern Alternatives

Not interested in any of the above options? No problem — here are some alternatives:

• Battery-powered camping lanterns
• Camping flashlights
• DIY solar lantern (made from a mason jar!)

How We Tested

Runtime Test

We gave each light a full charge and then used a timelapse camera to measure how long they lasted on their highest setting.

Solar Panel Testing

We wanted to know how efficiently the solar panels charged the lanterns. We made sure that each light was fully drained, placed them under direct sunlight for 90 minutes, then measured how long they lasted on their highest setting.

We also performed the same test under the controlled environment of artificial light (full spectrum fluorescent plant lights).

Testing notes:

• Of its 95-minute runtime after charging under sunlight, the Goal Zero Crush Light lasted 5 minutes on high and 90 minutes on reserve low lighting
• The Suaoki LED Camping Lantern emitted an extremely dim light when charged under sunlight and artificial light. Most of its runtime was light that would barely be usable for close-up tasks like reading, let alone cooking or setting up camp.
• We left the LuminAID PackLite Nova USB under artificial light for an additional 8 hrs. It lasted around 45 min.
• We also left the BioLite SunLight under artificial light for an additional 8 hrs. It still did not turn on.
• All of our testing was performed in late autumn and early winter. We suspect that under much stronger summer sunlight the lanterns would have longer runtimes relative to their time in sunlight.

Mobile Charging Test

Two of the lights had two-way USB ports, allowing for mobile charging capabilities. We wanted to know how well they could charge a phone from their internal reserves alone.

We made sure both lanterns were fully charged, and measured how much of a boost they gave a phone before the lantern was fully discharged.

Mobile charging results from full charge:

• MPOWERD Luci Pro Outdoor 2.0: 34% boost in 1 hour 32 min
• Suaoki LED Camping Lantern: 11% boost in 47 min

We also wanted to know how well these two lanterns could charge a device off of sunlight alone. After the lanterns were fully drained, we brought them out to a sunny spot.

Mobile charging results from sunlight:

• MPOWERD Luci Pro Outdoor 2.0: Almost immediately began charging our phone, although at a slower rate and occasionally losing charging capacity
• Suaoki LED Camping Lantern: Did not charge our phone at all

Field Testing

We used these solar lanterns to light up our nights for over 3 months on various camping and backpacking trips throughout the Southwest, and occasionally around home for some extra light.

We put each one through multiple charge and discharge cycles, on both USB and solar power, over the course of our testing.

The post 6 Best Solar Camping Lanterns appeared first on 99Boulders.

Much to Smokey the Bear’s chagrin, we lit a lot of stuff on fire this week. But don’t worry, it was all Leave No Trace-friendly.

We field tested 10 of the best fire starters and judged them on their ease of use, compactness, and the size and strength of their spark. We found the UST Strikeforce to be the best overall for its reliability and ease of use, though good options abound.

Read on for our full reviews. Or, if you’re interested in alternative ways to start a campfire, check out our articles on the top backpacking lighters, stormproof matches, and waterproof matches.

Top Pick: UST Strikeforce

The UST Strikeforce is the bulkiest and one of the heaviest starters we tested. So why is it our Top Pick?

Though it’s certainly not for ultralighters, the Strikeforce is incredibly easy to use and makes great use of space.

Unmatched reliability aside, the flint-based starter is housed in a durable waterproof case. The case doubles as a handy storage compartment for tinder and comes with a lanyard as well.

Though it’s flint-based, the length and width of the rod makes for lots of big, happy sparks that ensure a quick switch fire. The fires we lit with the Strikeforce were consistently instantaneous, making this a great tool for both beginners and emergency situations.

Best One-handed Starter: UST Blastmatch

“Why,” I snorted, “are these one-handed things so popular? Are people really this short on hands?”

Then I thought back to the infamous Aron Ralston, the author and firsthand experiencer of 127 Hours and shrugged. Yeah, I bet Ralston would have liked a good one-handed fire starter.

If you’d also like a good one-handed fire starter, look no further than the UST Blastmatch. It’s the best of its kind.

The Blastmatch is extremely effective, comfortable and easy to use. It does not require a hard surface to work. Just find yourself a heavy log, build your tinder and plunge right into your future fire den for a quick and easy heat machine. It also folds back onto itself for easy, waterproof storage. Handy and simple enough.

Best Sparker: Überleben Zünden

Oh, man! This baby lights up like a Christmas tree.

The Überleben is slick-looking, with its natural, handcrafted handle and ferrocerium rod. Without being a chemist, this fire starter convinced me that ferrocerium can vary widely in quality, and the ferrocerium in this rod is top notch.

Of the ten fire starters we tested, four rods claimed to be made of ferrocerium. Three didn’t light up so well. The Überleben on the other hand sent some of the longest, brightest and most consistent sparks, despite being comparative in size to the smaller Sparkforce, Bear Grylls, and Light My Fire fire starters.

The brand claimed to produce a “molten metal shower of sparks,” and it delivered.

The Überleben is also a multi-tool of sorts, coming with a bottle opener, hex wrench, map scale, ruler, and both scraper and serrated edge for sparking. Not to mention that the lanyard is long enough that you can wear it as a necklace, which is kinda fun. Of all the starters that included accessories like this, this one was my favorite.

Best Value: Survival Spark Magnesium Survival Fire Starter

The Survival Spark is a small, multi-tool of a fire starter with some extra handy gadgets to go along with it.

It lights up well and works exactly as promised — all at a fraction of the price of most of the others. With the added compass and whistle, this is a well-priced addition to any emergency bag.

The only claim that really makes me snort is that this fire starter is “windproof.”

To get a good crackle going on a magnesium starter, you must carve off a bit of the outer coating and make a pile of shavings. Magnesium shavings are obviously lighter than a feather and can blow away with the slightest waft of your hand. It is not easy to use under windy conditions, but then again no striking fire starter really is.

Reviews of the 6 Other Fire Starters We Tested

There are very few things I dislike about the UST Sparkforce, Bear Grylls, and Light My Fire fire starters. They just didn’t match up to the competition. That being said, the problems I have with the nanoSTRIKER, Sparkie, and Coghlan’s are definite dealbreakers.

UST Sparkforce

The UST Sparkforce is a mini version of our Top Pick, the Strikeforce. It’s effective and while the boxy design is far from ergonomic, you won’t be using it long enough to notice.

This is a quick strike starter, able to light fires just as fast as its big brother. Like the Strikeforce, the detachable cap can store a bit of tinder and the case itself locks up for easy pocketability.

While it doesn’t have any versatile gadgets to go along with it, at 1 oz, this would make for a simple, lightweight edition to your backpack.

Gerber Bear Grylls Fire Starter

You may expect a celebrity-endorsed product to fall short when pitted against the big dogs, but TV survivalist Bear Grylls has put his money where his mouth is with this easy to use, beginner-friendly rod and striker.

The sides have been painted with helpful distress graphics in case of emergency and the rubber handle makes it easy to hold in your hand — an ideal feature for the practicing survivalist. The rod is made of ferrocerium and produces a hearty dose of sparks when used correctly.

I’d recommend this starter for beginners or as a holiday gift for the camper who already owns everything.

Light My Fire Swedish FireSteel 2.0

One of the only fire starters to boast ergonomics as its elevating trait admittedly isn’t the most comfortable to hold.

Still, the FireSteel, with its ferrocerium rod and steel striker, is in the mid-quality range. Though I can’t attest to it, the FireSteel claims to last through 12,000 strikes. That’s 4,000 more than the Bear Grylls fire starter, which may be plausible given its longer rod.

If you’re having a hard time deciding between the Bear Grylls and the FireSteel, given their similarities in every way, including price, consider that the FireSteel may live a longer life. Plus, it comes with a whistle.

Exotac nanoSTRIKER XL

The ultimate keychain companion, the nanoSTRIKER. It’s tiny size makes it an easy addition to your pocket, for those in-a-pinch situations.

But its high price point is definitely something to guffaw at, especially since small size equates to difficult usability and a shorter lifespan. Surprisingly, despite its size, it’s not even the lightest striker we tested.

While the nanoSTRIKER is cute and ultimately does make sparks fly, unless you’re looking for a base for your car keys or a good gift for a survivalist aficionado, I don’t recommend it.

UST Sparkie

Picture the UST Blastmatch. Now remove all the unnecessary weight, gut it and make it as light as possible without entirely obliterating functionality.

You now have the UST Sparkie.

Although the Blastmatch is a much better fire starter than the Sparkie because of its size and the length of its rod. The Sparkie is a one-handed wonder that requires either a) hard surface or b) two hands.

I get the concept and I’m exceptionally impressed by the 0.8 oz weight, but the ease of use and functionality fell short on this one and I can’t recommend it. I’d much prefer a simple two piece striker.

Coghlan’s Waterproof Flint Striker

I don’t recommend this striker to anyone, unless you’re on a budget and this is the cheapest option you can find.

Technically it does work, but the Coghlan’s Flint Striker is small and difficult to wield. I had to really dig into the outer coating to even get an initial spark, with something like 20 of the first strikes not producing anything.

That being said, once it was broken in a bit, it did seem to work better. The strike takes a bit of finesse, best maneuvered more as a switch than a striking motion. Compared to all the other dummy-proof strikers, I had the hardest time with this one.

How to Choose the Best Fire Starter for Your Needs

When choosing a fire starter, consider first your skill level, how and why you intend to use it and the general specs and makeup of your various options.

Skill Level

You may be reading this article because you want to buy your very first fire starter. If so, you want something beginner friendly that you can practice on for long periods of time and that is really reliable. That’s why the Strikeforce won out in our tests. It is easy to use and effective, no matter your skill level.

Weight

If you’re a man (or woman) after my own heart and really just want to shave down weight and size, go for the small stuff. The sheer thought of the 3.7 oz Strikeforce, however reliable it may be, may make you shutter. Instead, you could opt for the nanoSTRIKER or wear the Überleben as a necklace just to shave weight off your pack.

Though if you’re really going lightweight, do you even need a striker? or will you just use the fuel from your Jetboil for an emergency light?

If emergency situations, rather than weight, are your primary concern, get something that will really perform during panic mode. That 0.8 oz striker sounds nice for now, but won’t be as easy to handle under pressure. Under these circumstances, prescribe to ‘better safe than sorry‘ and go for the reliability.

Magnesium vs. Flint vs. Ferrocerium

A quick lesson:

Ferrocerium is a pyrophoric alloy containing metals that include iron, magnesium, lanthanum and cerium. It’s a firecracker on a stick.

Comparatively, flint and steel starters will naturally send fewer and smaller sparks.

Magnesium requires a pile of shavings to really get a light, which can be difficult to near impossible in windy conditions.

Consider that of the ten starters we tested, the top four use three different materials. In short, any materials will work. Don’t get intimidated or impressed by the specs. Just because ferrocerium lights brighter doesn’t always mean that it is a higher quality starter.

A good deal of design goes into making a quality striker as well. Take into consideration the size and comfort of the handle and the length and thickness of the rod.

How We Tested

Cotton balls, alcohol, and ferrocerium make for a pyromaniac’s dream. We put these fire starters to the test with rigorous, repetitive use and carry.

Cotton Ball Test

First thing first, let’s make sure these babies actually work. What better way to ensure a flame than to dose a cotton ball with alcohol? This quick and ease way to identify how each starter handles allowed us to get a good feel for their ease of use and functionality.

Along with this, we did a preliminary gauge and comparison of the spark production. How big, bright and far do sparks fly from each strike rod?

Spark Test

As we’ve mentioned, ferrocerium is a sparkler of an alloy that produces firework-quality shavings. Magnesium creates shavings in the same way but with less spark. Flint works entirely differently.

When apt, we built up shaving piles to create and judge firecracker displays. We set the sparks to tinder and determined how various types handled our flames.

Every Day Carry (EDC) Test

I am a backpacker first, so EDC is important to me. How practical is it to lug a bulky or heavy fire starter around? Depending on your needs, probably not very.

We spent time lugging around each of the fire starters, tucking them in various bags, clipping them to keychains, living with them like we would a potential new pet.

You’d be surprised how much this can matter. You may adore that 8″ dream starter at first use, but once your thru-hiking pack is swollen with other gear and it’s the last piece to cram in, your thoughts change very quickly.

The post 10 Best Fire Starters appeared first on 99Boulders.

We tested six of the best hiking socks on the market by putting them through the ringer of nonstop wear with no wash. We hiked with, slept with, worked with and even sniffed each pair for a total of one week each.

Of them all, Darn Tough Light Hiker Micro Crew Light Cushion came out on top. It was the most durable sock we tested, and it’s moisture-managing abilities help keep sweaty feet dry. Plus, all of Darn Tough’s socks come with an unconditional lifetime guarantee.

The Smartwool PhD Outdoor Medium Crew was a close second for its versatility, and the Wigwam Hiking Outdoor Pro offers the best bang for your buck.

Read on for our full reviews.

Top Pick: Darn Tough Light Hiker Micro Crew Light Cushion

I don’t know what else you would want out of a hiking sock. Darn Tough is durable, comfortable, moisture-managing and smells like roses, sort of.

This brand has developed the perfect fabric blend for ideal versatility. Even my sweaty feet managed to stay relatively dry during high activity. The sock doesn’t wear and maintains its fit and shape over long periods of activity.

The moment I knew I loved Darn Tough Light Hiker above Smartwool, I was on a day hike on the Colorado Trail. On a stream crossing, both my socks and shoes got soaked. This was around 11 AM, but I kept them on. By the time it was ready for bed, these socks were bone dry and ready to go.

As a brand, Darn Tough is a clear winner. However, this specific sock won because of its light cushioning. Cushioning is predominantly a personal preference and many folks, especially with less sweaty feet hiking in colder climates, may find this particular sock a little thin. Luckily, Darn Tough makes its Hiker sock in a variety of thicknesses.

Women’s version: Darn Tough Light Hiker Micro Crew Light Cushion Women’s

Full review: Darn Tough Light Hiker Micro Crew Light Cushion

Runner-Up: Smartwool PhD Outdoor Medium Crew

Smartwool is one of the most well-known sock brands because of its versatility and countless different styles and specializations.

They’ve covered every section of the market and offered a variety of awesome color patterns to go along with it. Most everything they produce is great, but in this case their socks weren’t the best.

Darn Tough beats out Smartwool because of its higher durability, effectiveness in keeping its shape and superior moisture-managing ability. Still, I enjoy wearing Smartwool for high-exertion activities like trail running more than anything. There is minimal cushioning, meaning it won’t impact how my foot sits in my shoe. Plus, merino wool continuously wicks sweat away from the skin, meaning that even during high activity, your feet stay precisely the perfect temperature.

I have Smartwool socks that are over a year old that already show wear on the ankle and heel. Likewise, these things can really, really produce a stink. But who cares about that?

Women’s version: Smartwool PhD Outdoor Medium Crew Women’s

Full review: Smartwool PhD Outdoor Medium Crew

Best Value: Wigwam Hiking Outdoor Pro

One of my favorite things about a Wigwam sock is the initial snug fit on the crew cut.

However, after wearing these socks without wash for extended period, the fabric does stretch. I like the fit around your calf on the Wigwam and the material is fairly comfortable, especially given the moderate price.

When considering why a product earns ‘Best Value,’ you must consider the durability, comfort and price point. The price point is the best thing about these socks, followed by comfort. Though they are durable, when compared to other brands, they don’t always match up.

I do love Wigwams for sleeping. This is the kind of sacred pair of socks I would keep at the bottom of my sleeping bag and for use around camp.

Women’s version: Wigwam Hiking Outdoor Pro Women’s

Full review: Wigwam Hiking Outdoor Pro

Reviews of the 3 Other Hiking Socks We Tested

In a market where hundreds of different socks compete for the spotlight, when you narrow the choices down to six, it gets really nitpicky. Of the six socks we tested, all are reliable and viable choices. Here’s how the other three pairs compared.

Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Cushion

There are few differences between the Darn Tough Micro Crew and the Darn Tough Light Micro Crew. I’m a big fan of minimal cushioning, but that’s not to say this isn’t a fantastic sock.

Most of my hiking time is spent in southwestern Colorado, which can be warm, cool and freezing. I would use the Darn Tough Micro Crew for sleeping more than I would hiking.

Ideally, I’d carry two to three pairs of socks on a 30-day backpacking trip: Two pairs of our Top Pick, Darn Tough Light Hiker Micro Crew Light Cushion, and one pair of this sock, Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Cushion.

Women’s version: Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Cushion Women’s

Smartwool Hike Light Crew

To be honest, personal preference largely drove me to rank the Smartwool PhD Outdoor Medium Crew above this pair, the Smartwool Hike Light Crew.

It’s a very similar sock but, as you’ll notice, the greater the cushioning, the lower the score tended to be.

Some folks appreciate the extra support that comes with cushioning for long treks, but I’ve found that for my sweaty feet, the excess warmth negatively affects my overall comfort. If I were mountaineering in drastically colder conditions, that may be a different story.

Women’s version: Smartwool Hike Light Crew Women’s

Injinji Outdoor Midweight Crew NuWool

I like Injinji for its unorthodox take on the hiking sock. Toe socks, in most cases, should always be acceptable.

However, when hiking with the Injinji, the extra fabric feels incredibly weird and takes some getting used to. Mostly, its a comfortable set-up when you do but the separation between the toes makes it difficult to retain warmth when not in motion.

They were fine socks, but when compared with the competition they ended up being our least favorite.

Full review: Injinji Outdoor Midweight Crew NuWool

Summary

Here are the best hiking socks:

• Darn Tough Light Hiker Micro Crew Light Cushion
• Smartwool PhD Outdoor Medium Crew
• Darn Tough Hiker Micro Crew Cushion
• Wigwam Hiking Outdoor Pro
• Smartwool Hike Light Crew
• Injinji Outdoor Midweight Crew NuWool

How to Choose the Best Hiking Socks for Your Needs

Though there are some definite winners to show in our research, socks are, like any other article of clothing, a matter of preference. You may disagree with our rankings simply because of the thickness of a certain sock.

When choosing your go-to pair or brand, consider where you intend to hike, how long you intend to wear them and what length and thickness you prefer.

Preferred Thickness

As REI experts have attested, “a bit of cushion can protect your feet during high-impact activities like running and backpacking, but…thicker socks are warmer and can cause your feet to sweat.” It’s all about balance. If you naturally sweat more than the average person, you may want a thin to medium thickness, despite cold conditions.

Here are the most common thicknesses with the explanations of who or what each is best suited for:

• Lightweight — Trail running, mountain biking; high-exertion activities where you expect to sweat a lot
• Midweight — Hiking, cross country skiing; a more versatile thickness that can handle fairly most any condition
• Thick weight — Mountaineering, winter skiing, snowshoeing, sleeping; for those instances where you really need to keep your feet warm and cushioned

Preferred Length

All the socks we tested had a crew cut, which is ideal if you hike in boots with strong ankle support. There is a lot of debate on whether hiking shoes or trail runners are better for thru-hiking, and there isn’t a correct answer.

However, if you are on the team of trail runners, you may want an ankle length sock. Consider what style of sock you wear in your day to day and if that preference will cross over into your hiking activity.

Here are the most common length options along with the scenarios they are designed for:

• Ankle Length — trail running, mountain biking; great for hot to mild climates
• Quarter Length — trail running, mountain biking, hiking with trail runners; a versatile length great for mild to moderate climates and conditions
• Crew Length — Bushwhacking, hiking with boots, mountaineering, winter skiing, snowshoeing, sleeping; for those instances where you need extra insulation or protection on the calf.

As a rule of thumb, with the arguable exception of trail running, keep your socks at least half an inch in length above the top of your shoe or boot. This reduces friction and the chance of blisters.

Duration of Use

These socks were worn multiple days straight without wash. Though we couldn’t spend years testing the long-term durability, we were able to see which ones maintained their comfort from day one.

If you care or are looking for socks that stand the test of time without too much stink, Darn Tough has been recognized countless times for its darn toughness. Consider how long you plan to wear a pair between washes and how long you want them to last. Opt for quality over quantity.

Climate & Weather

When your feet get cold, the first things to go are the toes. This is your body’s natural way of pulling all your heat into the core and away from the extremities. How warm and how thick the fabric feels in the toes is crucial. The colder the weather, the more valuable a thick pair of socks is.

Growing up in the lower south, I rarely ever hiked in socks with more than a thin layer of cushion. In the Chihuahuan Desert, high cushioning will just equate to extra sweaty, wet feet. BUT: You’ll probably really appreciate a dense pair on your summit attempt of Mount Rainier.

In rainy or wet conditions where it can be challenging to keep dry, fabric matters. Merino wool is renowned for its moisture-managing properties, and that’s one reason Darn Tough and Smart Wool are held in such high regard.

How We Tested

You really have to put a pair of socks through the ringer before declaring true love. Something that feels comfortable for a few hours may make you so irritated by day seven that you throw them in the campfire (not that I’ve done that).

For that reason, we took a lifestyle approach to testing. AKA: devoting five days of nonstop wear, no matter the schedule, to each pair of socks, without wash. That meant working, hiking, sleeping and everything else in between.

Hike Test

A day hike is a quick way to identify everything you love or hate about your socks. Sticking your wool-bound feet in hiking shoes for long periods of time risks blisters, slippage, wear, and stink. Each pair of socks was worn for a number of day hikes and trail runs, which allowed us to identify everything wrong with each pair.

Sleep Test

The importance of the sleep test is predominantly testing moisture control. “Never go to to bed with the socks you hiked in,” is a backpacking mantra for a reason. Sweaty socks equate to freezing feet under most conditions. If the socks can’t handle moisture or don’t retain warmth, this is where you’ll most notice it.

Smell Test

And what do you do after five days of nonstop wear? You take a big ol’ whiff. I have a strong stomach and frankly think I smell like roses all the time, but even I couldn’t handle myself after this.

The post 6 Best Hiking Socks appeared first on 99Boulders.

After subjecting 5 people, including myself, to a blind taste test of 8 popular powdered milk brands, the results are clear — Carnation NonFat Dry Milk is the best tasting powdered milk out there.

We’re an outdoor gear site, so we tasted and reviewed these milks with campers and backpackers in mind. Powdered milk is a popular way to add flavor to trail food or instant camp coffee, after all.

However, whether you’re an ultralight hiker or someone who just wants to know which powdered milk tastes best, our results will help you pick the right brand for your needs.

Read on for our reviews.

Best Tasting: Carnation NonFat Dry Milk

Carnation was the clear winner in terms of taste and aftertaste, receiving more 5-star ratings than any other brand. If you’re looking for the best tasting powdered milk brand, this is it.

“Tastes the most like actual milk,” wrote one tester on her comment card. “Rich, sweet, creamy,” wrote another.

The only real downside of this brand is related to backpacking — it has the lowest calories per ounce ratio of any brand we tested.

Overall, we figured taste would be the most important attribute for someone looking for powdered milk. And if that’s the case with you, Carnation is the brand we recommend. However, if you can’t find it or you want a dairy-free option, the other award winners are good alternatives.

Runner-Up: Peak Full Cream Instant Milk Powder

Peak received the second-best rating for taste and tied for the second-best aftertaste. One tester noted it was “creamy,” while another liked its “smooth” texture. It was also one of the easiest brands to mix together.

When would you choose Peak over any of the others?

We’d only recommend it if you already have an affinity for the taste or can find it for a good deal. Its 142 calories per ounce also makes it a solid option — but not the best — in terms of caloric density.

Honorable Mention: Nido Powdered Milk

When researching for this assignment, Nido was the most frequently mentioned brand in forums and other articles on the topic. It seems to be the most popular brand among backpackers.

While Nido averaged a lukewarm 3/5 in both taste and aftertaste, its mixability was among the best and, importantly for backpackers, it has the highest calories per ounce ratio of any cow’s milk brand we tested.

For lightweight backpackers who carry a lot of powdered milk, Nido is a good option. You get decent flavor for the weight.

For non-backpackers, there isn’t any reason we’d recommend this option over Carnation.

Best Milk Alternative: Z Natural Foods Coconut Milk Powder

If you’re lactose-intolerant or don’t like consuming dairy, we recommend Z Natural Foods Coconut Milk Powder. It was the highest-rated alternative milk powder in our tests.

What’s more, this brand would have likely received better ratings had testers known beforehand it was coconut.

One tester, once I revealed that this brand was coconut, admitted that “it tastes better now that I know it’s coconut.” Other testers shared similar sentiments.

It seems our testers were expecting a flavor akin to cow’s milk and — when they didn’t taste that — they were a little grossed out and rated this brand poorly.

This brand is also one of the top options for backpackers from a weight perspective. It packs a staggering 194 calories per ounce since it is mostly fat and contains very little sugar relative to the other brands. If you’re a backpacker who’s looking for a lactose-free option, we highly recommend this stuff.

As for cons, the overall taste was still worse than our two top brands, Carnation and Peak. And this brand was the hardest to mix together.

Reviews of the Other 4 Powdered Milk Brands We Tested

The remaining brands we tested ranged from passable to unpleasant. They didn’t win any awards because they simply didn’t taste as good as the ones listed above.

As such, we don’t recommend any of them, but we’ve briefly reviewed them here for the curious.

Hoosier Hill Farm Whole Milk Powder

“Kind of tastes watery — smells like powdered milk,” wrote one tester. “Dry,” wrote another, though I forgot to ask him what he meant by that…

The Hoosier Hill Farm powdered milk was neither loved nor hated. In fact, it was almost perfectly average. All but one of its ratings for taste and aftertaste were either 2/5 or 3/5. And we rated it a middle-of-the-road 3/5 for mixability.

I can’t think of a scenario in which we’d recommend you go with this brand over any of the ones mentioned above. Bottom line: it’s not terrible, but there are better options out there.

Meyenberg Whole Powdered Goat Milk

Meyenberg’s powdered goat milk was the most intriguing option on the list for me. I love goat cheese and was excited to see if reconstituted goat milk would be as wonderfully creamy.

Overall, all our testers (including myself) weren’t thrilled with it. It scored 2.6/5 for both taste and aftertaste.

I should note, however, that this brand would have also likely received slightly higher ratings had the testers known beforehand that it was goat milk. One tester wrote down that this brand had a “very strong and distinctive flavor, kinda tastes like sour milk.” Yet when I revealed to him that it was goat milk, he said the flavor made “more sense” because he could place it better.

If you’re intrigued by the idea of powdered goat milk, then by all means go with this option. It does in fact taste like goat’s milk.

But if you’re simply in search of the best flavor or a high calorie per ounce ratio, we don’t recommend it.

Milkman Instant Lowfat Dry Milk

Our testers gave Milkman the most 1/5’s for taste and aftertaste of any brand. (The only reason that it didn’t rank dead last was because one tester, interestingly enough, rated it 5/5 for taste and 4/5 for aftertaste.)

“Really Extremely unpleasant aftertaste,” wrote one tester. “Couldn’t figure out the flavor but I didn’t like it,” noted another.

Personally, I thought the taste was awful. The aftertaste reminded me of the inside of the foil pouch the powder came in.

Look elsewhere.

Better Than Milk Vegan Soy Powder

We decided to test Better Than Milk’s powdered soy milk after seeing a couple recommendations for it in this forum thread on Backpacking Light. We figured it might make a nice dairy-free alternative.

However, this brand received the worst overall rating for taste of all the brands we tested: 2/5. It had the second-worst aftertaste, too.

“No to the soy milk!” wrote one tester who identified it by its flavor despite not knowing which brand was which. Another tester thought it “tastes like paint smells.” I thought it was passable and gave it a 3/5 for taste — but that was the highest rating of any of our testers. The consensus was that this brand did not taste good.

If you’re a vegan or someone who doesn’t drink cow’s milk, we recommend the powdered coconut milk reviewed above.

Video of Taste Test Results

How to Choose the Best Powdered Milk for Your Needs

Taste

Of course, taste will be the most important consideration for most people. We’ve accordingly indicated our ratings for each brand’s taste and aftertaste.

Mixability

It can be a minor annoyance to have to stir excessively to mix the powder and water together. This is by no means a major consideration unless it’s just a pet peeve of yours — or if you’ll be consuming your powdered milk on the trail and you don’t carry a utensil for whatever reason.

Calories per Ounce

This consideration applies to backpackers only. If you’re buying powdered milk to take into the backcountry, like any other food you take you’ll need to consider the calories per ounce ratio of your powdered milk brand.

Powdered milk in general is calorically dense, but some brands — Peak, Nido, and Z Natural Foods Coconut in particular — are a great mix of taste and caloric density.

How We Tested

This was the fun part.

To keep the results as objective as possible, I recruited 4 testers to participate in blind taste tests. I also tasted the milks myself in a semi-blind way (since I knew which milks were in the running, it was easy for me to pick out the soy, goat, and coconut milks the moment I tasted them, so my tasting wasn’t 100% blind).

The 4 testers I recruited were:

1. Kevin, 27, a very occasional car camper and backpacker
2. Max, 24, a former NOLS employee and backpacking guide and occasional car camper and backpacker
3. Ann, 63, a very occasional day hiker and car camper
4. Gardner, 24, an occasional weekend camper and backpacker

How We Conducted the Blind Taste Tests

I performed 3 of these blind taste tests — once with my family members and twice with two different friends. They were conducted in the same way:

1. First, I labeled 8 empty cups or glasses with the numbers 1 through 8.

2. Next, I prepared an 8 oz glass of each brand of powdered milk according to the instructions on the package.

3. Then I prepared some comment cards so testers could record their ratings for the taste and aftertaste of each glass of milk (on a 5-point scale) as well as any additional comments they wanted to include.

4. Then I let the testers have at it and taste the milks to their hearts’ content.

5. Once the testers had tasted all the milks and written down all their ratings and comments, I revealed which milk was which. This was an interesting part of the taste test because almost every tester mentioned how a particular brand — in particular the soy, goat, and coconut ones — tasted better after they learned what it was.

Testing Notes

These blind taste tests weren’t very scientific and shouldn’t be treated as such. They were just a fun and informal way to get a number of differing opinions.

The greatest flaw in these taste tests that I didn’t realize until too late was that I didn’t standardize the amount of powder. I followed the instructions on each brand’s package which led to discrepancies since some brand called for 2 tbsp of powder while others called for 1/3 cup.

To account for some of this I told testers to rate the taste not on the strength of flavor but instead on the quality, however mild it may be. I can’t be certain they were able to effectively do that, though.

The post 8 Best Powdered Milk Brands appeared first on 99Boulders.

After poring over dozens of spec sheets, performing discharge tests, and using five lightweight power packs for over a month, we think the Anker Astro E1 6700 is the best portable battery pack for most campers and backpackers, particularly weekend warriors.

It packs enough power to charge a phone one and a half to two times and weighs a mere 4.3 oz. It’s also the smallest battery pack we tested. Anker markets it as “candy-bar sized” which isn’t too far off.

However, for some campers and backpackers the Astro won’t be enough. Those going on longer trips or taking multiple devices should look at the Anker PowerCore II 10000.

It weighs only a couple ounces more and has enough juice to fully charge a phone 2.5-3.5 times or a larger device like an iPad mini around one and a half times.

We only tested five battery packs, yet our month of testing shed insight on the dozens of other options out there and who they’re right for. Along with our reviews, we discuss who should get a battery pack with Qualcomm Quick Charge and important considerations when buying.

Let’s dive right in.

Top Pick: Anker Astro E1 6700

Most of the campers and backpackers we know are weekend warriors, and the Astro earned our Top Pick with them in mind.

At 6700 mAh capacity (4,121 mAh based on our discharge test) and only one output port, the Astro is a rather minimalist battery pack when it comes down to it.

Yet that is what makes it great for our purposes.

At 4.3 oz, It is one of the smallest and lightest battery packs for its capacity. It holds enough juice to charge a smartphone around 1.5-2 times — a perfect amount for 2-4 days of limited phone use.

Simply put, for most weekend warriors, the Astro is an affordable battery pack that gives you everything you need to keep your devices charged and nothing more.

Its max input charging speed of 1A leaves something to be desired though. This isn’t a huge issue unless you need to charge it constantly on your trip, such as when thru-hiking. Otherwise you can just recharge it once you get home.

While the Astro is our Top Pick, it isn’t perfect for every camper and backpacker. We spend the rest of this article discussing good alternatives, especially power packs with greater capacity.

If you’re looking for the opposite — a battery pack with less capacity — check out the Anker PowerCore+ Mini 3350. It’s a 3 oz “lipstick sized” pack that can give a smartphone about a half to a full charge.

Best for More Power: Anker PowerCore II 10000

When deciding which battery packs to test, I spent some time reading relevant threads in hiker forums and subreddits.

From that I learned the PowerCore II 10000 and the first-generation PowerCore 10000 are two of the most popular battery packs among ultralight backpackers.

It turns out the popularity is warranted. If you need more power this is the pack we recommend.

But it’s not just ideal for backpacking. It’s also a great portable power source for camping trips.

On a recent weekend climbing and camping trip to Sand Rock, Alabama, five friends and I used this power pack exclusively to charge our phones and Bluetooth speakers. It had more than enough power to handle all the different devices.

Indeed, the PowerCore II has the greatest capacity of all the battery packs we tested according to our discharge test.

Here are the discharge test results of the three battery packs with a stated 10,000 mAh capacity:

• Anker PowerCore II 10000: 6,518 mAh
• Puridea S2 10000: 6,352 mAh
• RAVPower 10000: 4,878 mAh

Anker lists the pack at 6.9 oz, but when we weighed it ourselves it clocked in at 6.7 oz. Its low weight and high capacity make it the best option in terms of power per ounce (mAh/oz).

The main drawback is the lone output port. You won’t be able to charge two devices simultaneously with this pack. While testing we rarely found ourselves needing two output ports, but we know this might be important to some of you.

Since older generation battery packs are constantly being discontinued, we tested the 10000 mAh model from the newer PowerCore II generation. The 10000 mAh model from the previous PowerCore generation, the Anker PowerCore 10000, is worth a close look as long as it’s still around. It’s slightly cheaper and lighter.

Campers and backpackers who need even more power (and output ports) should look at the packs in the PowerCore and PowerCore II line with greater capacity, such as the PowerCore 13000 and PowerCore 20100. We didn’t test them but they’re well reviewed around the web.

Jackery Bolt 6000

Looking at specs alone can mislead you when it comes to the Jackery Bolt.

Here’s what I mean:

The Bolt weighs 5.57 oz and has a capacity of 6000 mAh (4,063 mAh based on our discharge test).

The Anker Astro E1 weighs 4.3 oz and has a capacity of 6700 mAh (4,121 mAh according to our discharge test). It also isn’t as bulky and retails for a little less at the time of publishing.

The Astro is the obvious choice, right? It’s lighter, smaller, cheaper, and has greater capacity.

Not so fast.

For an apples-to-apples comparison, you have to take into account the Bolt’s built-in features:

• Micro USB cable
• Lightning cable
• Flashlight

(Not to mention that the Bolt has a faster input charging speed and can charge three devices at once.)

If you brought along your own cables and light, at the very least (assuming you buy the shortest possible cables and the lightest possible flashlight or headlamp) that’s an extra 1.5-2 oz of weight.

That would make your charging ‘system’ with the Astro slightly heavier. You’d also end up spending more overall.

All this plus the fact that the Bolt with its built-in cables is just less hassle and you have a battery pack that is certainly the right choice for some.

However, the Bolt isn’t perfect and we actually don’t think it’s better than the Astro for most backpackers. While the built-in light is nice, it can’t replace a good backpacking flashlight or headlamp. It’s too dim, too limited in functionality for most purposes — like the flashlight on your phone.

Though it can charge three devices at once, assuming you’re charging devices like smartphones it doesn’t have enough capacity to provide more than a partial charge to each.

For the backpacker who only needs to charge their phone, and prefers to pack a good headlamp or flashlight, the Bolt is overbuilt.

I’ll finish by saying that towards the end of my month of using these five battery packs in daily life the Bolt became the one I used almost exclusively. It sounds minor, but not having to carry around extra cables made all the difference. If you want one battery pack that you can use on the trail and in your daily life, we recommend the Bolt.

Budget Buy: Puridea S2 10000

When deciding which battery packs to test, we combed through plenty of spec sheets and product pages, paying special attention to price, weight, and stated capacity.

The S2 stood out as a potential budget-friendly option with a stated capacity of 10,000 mAh and a competitive weight of 7.13 oz.

Like many products from these obscure brands that are only available online, the S2’s price fluctuates constantly. As long as it doesn’t creep too high the S2 is worth a look.

We want to make sure you’re aware of the drawbacks upfront. So let’s start with the negatives.

The S2 has some fake positive reviews which is never reassuring. While I’ve used it for over a month without problems, some reviewers (hopefully some of the reliable ones?) have reported that the pack has died after a couple weeks or months. Rest assured we’ll update this review if ours dies prematurely.

Caveat emptor.

With that out of the way, let’s look at the positives.

While it doesn’t look like it from the photos, the S2 is actually the second least bulky battery pack (in cubic inches) we tested, behind the Astro. It’s surprisingly slim, just under half an inch tall.

In our discharge tests we recorded an average capacity of 6,352 mAh. That was second only to the 6,518 mAh of the PowerCore II and roughly 1500 mAh greater than the RAVPower 10000.

Unlike the PowerCore II, the S2 has dual output ports so you can charge two devices at once. For a change of pace, it also has plenty of color options.

Bottom line:

Considering the price we paid and the results from our testing, we think the S2 is a good choice — but only for those on a budget.

RAVPower 10000

The only thing we liked about the RAVPower was its price.

As for dislikes, it’s the heaviest (9.14 oz) and bulkiest option on the list by quite a bit. That’s never a good title to hold in the world of camping and backpacking gear.

The results of our discharge test with the RAVPower were also uninspiring.

The RAVPower had an average capacity of 4,878 mAh. That’s more in line with the capacities of the Astro E1 6700 and Bolt 6000 than the other battery packs with stated capacities of 10,000 mAh.

The RAVPower does have two output ports, but so does the Puridea S2. In other words, we don’t see any good reason to pick this pack over any of the other options.

Summary

Here are the best portable power packs for camping and backpacking:

• Anker Astro E1 6700
• Anker PowerCore II 10000
• Jackery Bolt 6000
• Puridea S2 10000
• RAVPower 10000

What about Battery Packs with Qualcomm Quick Charge?

The ideal Quick Charge battery pack has Quick Charge input and output, but forced to choose we would pick a battery pack with just Quick Charge input over one with just Quick Charge output.

Why?

We’d rather shorten the time we spend waiting in town for our battery pack to charge than the time it takes to recharge our devices while hiking.

Here are some well-reviewed, lightweight Quick Charge battery packs to consider:

• RAVPower Slim 10000 (QC input & output; 6.8 oz)
• Anker PowerCore+ 10050 (QC input & output; 8.3 oz)
• Anker PowerCore Speed 20000 (QC input & output; 12.6 oz)

Don’t forget to pick up any related accessories. Your wall charger and charging cable also need to be Quick Charge compatible to get the benefits on the input end.

And on the output end, your devices need to be Quick Charge compatible as well, otherwise they will charge at their standard speed. This is another reason why we’d prefer just QC input over just QC output.

(Here’s the official list of Quick Charge compatible devices in case your not sure if yours is.)

Do You Actually Need a Quick Charge Set-up?

Clearly a Quick Charge set-up is the more expensive route. This begs the question:

Which campers and backpackers would benefit most from a Quick Charge set-up?

Thru-hikers.

Thru-hikers need to recharge their battery pack when in town. A Quick Charge set-up could shorten each stop in town by hours.

Weekend warriors on the other hand won’t benefit as much from Quick Charge. A single charge of a battery pack will last most of their trips. They most likely won’t be stopping in town during the trip either.

Of course, Quick Charge output can charge your devices much quicker assuming they’re Quick Charge compatible. That would benefit both thru-hikers and weekend warriors alike.

How to Choose the Right Battery Pack for Your Needs

Beyond the ever-present considerations of weight and bulk, here is what to take into account when picking out a battery pack for camping or backpacking.

Capacity

To estimate how much capacity you need, take into account the devices you’ll be taking, the number of times you’ll be charging each, and their battery capacity.

Calculate the total capacity you’ll need in mAh, then pick a battery pack with a stated capacity roughly 1.5x greater since in real-world conditions battery packs aren’t perfectly efficient.

For example, let’s say I’ll be taking my iPhone 5s and Kindle Paperwhite on a 4-day backpacking trip.

Here is the battery capacity of each:

• iPhone 5s: 1570 mAh
• Kindle Paperwhite: 1420 mAh

I estimate I’ll need to charge my phone three times and my Kindle once. That works out to the following:

(1570 mAh * 3 charges) + (1420 mAh * 1 charge) = 6,130 mAh

The batteries that performed best in our discharge test discharged on average about two-thirds of their stated capacity, so to calculate how much stated capacity I need my battery pack to have I’d do the following:

6,130 mAh * 1.5 = 9,195 mAh

In this example I’d pick a battery pack with a stated capacity of 9,000-10,000 mAh.

Number of Ports

Pick up a battery pack with enough ports to charge as many devices as you’ll need to charge at once.

Input & Output Charging Speed

This one’s straightforward:

The faster you need your devices and battery pack to charge, the faster should be your battery pack’s input and output rates.

At one end of the spectrum is 1A, the lowest we saw, which is quite slow. Quick Charge is on the other end of the spectrum and lives up to its name.

Manufacturers will list the input and output charging speeds on their product pages. Unlike capacity, these tend to accurately reflect real-world performance.

Miscellaneous Features (Beyond Quick Charge)

We didn’t view any miscellaneous battery pack features as critical. They could tip the scale for you one way or the other though.

Examples:

• Built-in cables
• Built-in flashlight
• Built-in wall charger

How We Tested

Discharge Test

We used a USB power meter and USB load tester to perform two discharge tests on each battery pack to measure capacity. Battery capacity depends on discharge speed, so we tested every battery at a constant output of 1 amp.

Here are our averaged results:

• Anker Astro E1 6700: 4,121 mAh
• Anker PowerCore II 10000: 6,518 mAh
• Jackery Bolt 6000: 4,063 mAh
• Puridea S2 10000: 6,352 mAh
• RAVPower 10000: 4,878 mAh

Because of our crude instrumentation, take these results with a grain of salt.

Important Specs & Ratios

We weighed and measured the battery packs and calculated two important ratios for each:

• mAh/oz — power per ounce
• mAh/$ — power per dollar

These value and weight efficiency ratios as well as the absolute weight were weighted heavily in our scoring.

Field Testing

We took these battery packs with us to Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in north Georgia and Cherokee Rock Village in northeast Alabama to test them in the field.

We planned to field test them for a week but realized quickly that capacity and the specs and ratios mentioned above were most important. What’s more, using these battery packs on the trail and at camp didn’t much alter our thoughts on them. We cut the field testing short after four days.

Usually the results from our field testing are heavily weighted in our scoring. This time they weren’t.

We also used the battery packs in daily life over the course of a month to charge everything we could — phones, Kindles, speakers, Bluetooth headphones, and so on. Each went through multiple recharge and discharge cycles.

The post 5 Best Portable Battery Packs for Camping & Backpacking appeared first on 99Boulders.

We put seven of the best camping knives to the test. After months of field testing and rigorous experiments, our Top Pick was the Morakniv Companion. This affordable knife is tough, versatile, and can handle any camp task with ease.

For those who plan to abuse their camping knife with heavy-duty use, we loved the KA-BAR Becker Campanion. It’s a serious, durable, well-made knife for larger camp tasks like splitting firewood.

The Schrade SCHF 36 Frontier won our Honorable Mention award for being an incredibly tough, well-thought-out, and affordable heavy-duty camping knife.

Note: If you’re looking for smaller, lighter knives you can take on a backpacking trip, check out our guide to the best backpacking knives.

Top Pick: Morakniv Companion

The Morakniv Companion was our Top Pick all-around for a camping knife. It’s simple, versatile, and compact, and it performed all the essential camp chores we needed and then some.

This knife almost immediately became the first knife we’d grab for just about anything around camp. We’re honestly not sure how we ever got by without it.

It had one of our favorite grip shapes, with a rubber handle that nestled perfectly in any size hand.

The blade was one of the sharpest right out of the box and sliced like a dream through tomatoes, onions, and whatever other veggies we put it up against.

The stainless steel is easy to clean and maintain, making this knife perfect for going from whittling wood to chopping vegetables.

For its affordable price, this knife held up amazingly well to intensive tasks. We’ve used this knife on a few occasions to clean freshly-caught fish. One of our testers once made an entire backpack frame out of Juniper branches with a Morakniv Companion.

We didn’t have a lot of negative things to say about this knife. It’s clearly not designed for really heavy-duty tasks, so if you’re looking for something you can use to bring down small trees in a survival situation, check out our recommendation below.

The Companion also requires fairly frequent re-sharpening. After a month of testing, it had dulled slightly, and we got a small bend in the edge from chopping on a hard surface. Still, the blade is easy to work and resharpen to a razor edge.

If you’re only going to buy one camping knife to do everything, this is it.

Product Specs

• Weight: 4.2 oz
• Blade Length: 4.1″
• Material: Sandvik 12C27

Best for Heavy-Duty Use: KA-BAR Becker Campanion

The KA-BAR Becker Campanion is a beast of a knife. Weighing a full pound and with a solid full-tang construction, this knife is ready to rumble right out of the box.

It feels well-balanced and basically indestructible, and all of our testing confirmed that impression.

We were able to plow through a 2″ thick branch in less than 10 seconds with this knife. The only other knife in our test that came close in woodcutting ability was the Schrade Frontier, which took longer to get through a slightly thinner branch.

The KA-BAR Becker was also excellent at batoning through firewood. It split multiple hard cedar logs better than some of the camping hatchets we tested.

We loved that the steel extends slightly beyond the handle, making a perfect hammer for tent stakes.

The knife is made of 1095 Cro-Van steel, which is very hard and durable. However, it isn’t a stainless steel, so rust is a potential issue and this knife requires a bit of maintenance.

The coating is durable and held up to abuse without chipping or wearing. It did, however, pick up a lot of gunk from chopping through wood and was hard to completely clean. This was the last knife that we’d want to prep our food with.

Its thick blade made it one of the slowest in our cutting speed test, but that thickness is what makes it tough enough to chop through firewood and tree branches.

Another minor gripe with this knife is that the sheath is extremely tight. When we first got the Campanion, multiple people tried and failed to remove the knife from its sheath until we used a hairdryer to soften the plastic.

Even after working the plastic to loosen it, popping this knife out of its sheath still takes a considerable amount of effort. This seems to be a common issue with a particular batch of sheaths.

If you want a tough-as-nails knife that can chop like a machete, split wood like a hatchet, and hold up to hard work around camp, then the KA-BAR Becker is the perfect option.

Product Specs

• Weight: 16 oz
• Blade Length: 5.25″
• Material: 1095 Cro-Van

Honorable Mention: Schrade SCHF 36 Frontier

The Schrade SCHF 36 Frontier is a lot of knife for the price.

It’s a burly, full-tang knife that also comes with a sharpening stone, a ferrocerium rod and striker, and a decent sheath to hold it all.

We loved the finger notch directly beneath the blade. It provided a comfortable, ergonomic hold for more precise tasks.

When chopping through branches and splitting firewood, it did impressively well for a knife that we were able to find on sale online for not too much. It didn’t feel quite as solid as the KA-BAR Becker, though. The Schrade lacked some of the heft that made the Becker such a powerful tool, and it took us a little longer to get through branches and firewood.

Its coating wasn’t as durable as the KA-BAR’s, and we noticed a few chips and scratches after a month of use. It also wasn’t as well-suited to hammering in tent stakes with its rounded base.

Like the KA-BAR, this knife’s wide blade isn’t really designed for food prep. It can handle it, but it’s made to be a workhorse camp knife, not a kitchen knife.

Still, this knife doesn’t mess around. For the price, you get a high-quality and tough knife, as well as a decent sharpener and fire starter. If you’re looking for a heavy-duty knife without the KA-BAR’s price tag, this is a safe bet.

Product Specs

• Weight: 12.3 oz
• Blade Length: 5″
• Material: Powder Coated 1095 High Carbon Steel

Reviews of the 4 Other Camping Knives We Tested

Spyderco Endura 4

The Spyderco Endura 4 is an incredibly sharp and durable folding knife that feels solid and well made.

The Spyderco Delica 4, which is essentially a smaller version of the Endura 4, was our Top Pick for backpacking knives. We liked this knife for all of the same reasons.

The Endura 4 opens and closes with a smooth, snappy feel. Its thumb hole makes for easy one-handed opening.

It’s razor sharp right out of the box, and just as comfortable carving wood as it is slicing open packaging. It was right at home boring holes in wood, carving out notches for improvised tent stakes, and slicing through thick cordage with its serrated edge.

It wasn’t the most comfortable knife to use for food prep — the grip and style just didn’t lend themselves well to chopping vegetables. But the Endura 4 has a very generous handle, and it’s well-suited to people with large hands.

If you want a tough, sharp, and well-made folding knife for around camp, you can’t go wrong with the Endura 4.

Product Specs

• Weight: 3.6 oz
• Blade Length: 3.75″
• Material: VG-10

Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Fixed Blade Knife

Billed as a survival knife, the Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Fixed Blade Knife comes with a myriad of tools, including a whistle, a sharpening block, a ferrocerium rod, and a (very) basic survival guide.

If you’re looking for a decent and versatile knife, it’s a solid option.

It was far from the sharpest camping knife in our test, but its long blade and partial serration made it lightning fast at heavy-duty cutting tasks.

It also has a hard metal pommel on the end that can be used as a hammer, which came in handy for pounding in tent stakes. A number of other reviewers mentioned a lack of durability in the pommel hammer. Despite putting it through the wringer on tent stakes, tree stumps, and even a couple of rocks, we didn’t have any durability issues.

This blade is not as heavy-duty as either the KA-BAR Becker or Schrade Frontier. Still, it’s a much more versatile knife.

Its partial serration worked well for sawing into branches, while its stainless steel construction handled food prep and other basic camp tasks passably well. It also worked extremely well for fire starting with its included ferro rod.

The Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife is a jack of all trades, master of none. It wasn’t as powerful for heavy-duty use as some of the other knives in our test, nor was it as comfortable in the camp kitchen. But overall, it’s a good camping knife that manages to be both tough and versatile.

Product Specs

• Weight: 14.7 oz
• Blade Length: 4.8″
• Material: 7Cr17MoV

Light My Fire Swedish FireKnife

The Light My Fire Swedish FireKnife lives up to its name.

It was far and away the best at getting a fire started, sending an impressive shower of sparks onto our tinder with minimal effort. We liked the way that the included ferrocerium rod locks into the handle for storage.

For tasks other than fire starting, though, this knife was nothing special.

While the handle and grip felt very similar to the Morakniv Companion, the blade itself was a little lacking in comparison. In our paper test and cutting speed test, it was consistently a touch behind the Morakniv.

Where we really noticed the difference was in food prep. The FireKnife didn’t slice anywhere near as smoothly and effortlessly as the Morakniv.

Overall, we think it’s a decent knife with a lot of similarities to the Morakniv, but its main strength is the ability to start a fire. If that’s your priority, this is an excellent knife to have. Otherwise, we’d recommend the Morakniv Companion over the FireKnife.

Product Specs

• Weight: 4 oz
• Blade Length: 3.63″
• Material: Sandvik 12C27

Kershaw Clash

We’ve always been a fan of Kershaw knives. The Clash is one of their entry-level, affordable models.

Its blade is impressively sharp, and the partial serration makes it a mean cutting tool despite a comparatively short blade. It also has a comfortable and natural grip.

It didn’t feel quite as stable or solid as the Endura 4, and the assisted open felt slightly clunky. The materials didn’t seem to be quite as durable as other knives in our test, either. The Clash showed noticeable wear on the clip, the assisted open lever, and the handle after a month of use.

It did passably with food prep tasks, although the partial serration and short blade gave us a pretty limited edge to work with for cutting veggies.

The Clash’s retail price isn’t the cheapest, but we’ve regularly seen it online at a steep discount. When on sale we think it’s a worthwhile purchase. It’s a solid knife and worth having in your pocket around camp.

Product Specs

• Weight: 4.3 oz
• Blade Length: 3.1″
• Material: 8Cr13MoV, bead-blasted finish

Summary

Here are the best camping knives:

• Morakniv Companion
• KA-BAR Becker Campanion
• Schrade SCHF 36 Frontier
• Spyderco Endura 4
• Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Fixed Blade Knife
• Light My Fire Swedish FireKnife
• Kershaw Clash

How to Choose the Best Camping Knife for Your Needs

Types of Camping Knives

Fixed Blade – For camping knives, where weight and size aren’t a huge issue, fixed-blade is our preferred style. Quality fixed-blade knives are stronger and more durable than folding knives. A good full-tang fixed blade knife (where the steel of the blade extends all the way to the end of the handle) is a simple and virtually indestructible tool, ideal for heavy-duty or survival usage.

Folding – Compact, easy-to-carry, and lightweight, folding knives have the benefit of being able to slip into your pocket for easy access. Although fixed-blade knives are generally easier to use for food prep and more stable for heavy duty camp tasks, there’s a lot to be said for the convenience of a good folding knife.

Tang

You’ll often see knives described as half-tang or full-tang. In fixed blades, tang refers to how far the steel of the knife extends into the handle in one solid piece.

Half- or quarter-tang knives are fine for most camp tasks, and if they’re well made they can be very stable.

Full-tang knives offer much greater stability and durability for heavy-duty tasks. You may also see “rattail tang” or “stick-tang” knives, which means that the steel of the blade narrows to about a centimeter in width and extends the length of the handle.

Material

Most knives are made from steel, but the market is filled with hundreds of varieties, each with its own unique characteristics. It’s beyond the scope of this article to describe all the varieties, but it’s worth taking a minute to research a steel type to see if its qualities suit your needs and usage.

In general, softer steels will shape easily into a razor edge and will be easier to sharpen, but they tend to be less durable and lose their edge quicker.

Harder steels, on the other hand, are more durable but difficult to sharpen.

A lot of high-quality knives are made from non-stainless steels. Non-stainless steels can be easier to sharpen in the field without any specific tools, and they usually retain their edge better.

However, they are prone to rust and require a little more maintenance. Stainless steel, on the other hand, is easy to maintain but generally harder to sharpen.

Blade Coating

Some blades have a coating over the steel. This hardened material protects the blade, increases durability, and adds visual appeal to the knives.

However, coatings make it impossible to use the spine of the blade on a fire starter, forcing use of the blade itself if no other striker is available. These coatings can also be hard to clean, and (depending on how durable the coating is) they can chip or grind off as you sharpen the knife.

Fire-Starting Ability

Pretty much every knife is capable of sparking a fire on a ferrocerium rod, but some are a lot better at it than others. Some knives have special edges carved into their spine specifically for the purpose of striking a spark. With others, especially knives with a coating, you may have to use the blade. This can damage the blade if done too often.

How We Tested

Paper Test

Before anything else, we tested each knife’s sharpness right out of the box. A sharp knife should be able to slice through a piece of standard printer paper cleanly with minimal effort. The more snagging and catching, the duller the knife.

Cutting Speed Test

Thick cardboard is a challenge for knives due to its abrasive and inconsistent surface. We timed how long it took to cut through a 2-foot section of cardboard with each knife.

Ferrocerium Rod Test

We measured the number of strikes it took on a ferrocerium rod to get a ball of dryer lint to ignite. If we were unable to get a spark from the spine of a knife, we used the blade.

Chopping & Splitting Wood

Only a few of the knives in our test were tough enough for heavy duty tasks like splitting firewood or chopping through branches. We pushed these knives to their limits and describe the results in the reviews above.

Field Testing

We brought these knives on camping trips (and even a few backpacking trips) for over a month, using them for camp tasks from chopping food to splitting firewood. We made sure to spend some time with each knife whittling wood, chopping vegetables, and cutting cordage.

The post 7 Best Camping Knives appeared first on 99Boulders.

We put 6 of the best backpacking headlamps through months of experiments and real-world testing.

After all that our top pick is the Petzl ACTIK CORE. It was the most versatile headlamp we tested. It’s bright, lightweight, and intuitive to operate. Plus it can be used with either the included USB rechargeable battery pack or standard AAA batteries.

The Petzl TIKKINA is our budget pick. It’s a solid, reliable light for anyone who wants a simple, inexpensive headlamp.

Read on for our full reviews and for buying advice on deciphering headlamp specs to find the one that’s right for your needs.

Top Pick: Petzl ACTIK CORE

This light ticked all of our boxes for features and specs, and was our top all-around pick.

The ACTIK CORE had all the features and settings we needed — including a spotlight (low, medium, and bright), a red light, and a red strobe — while still being intuitive to use.

We liked that it can be used with Petzl’s included rechargeable battery pack or with standard AAA batteries. The emergency whistle and reflective headband were also welcome features.

Of the rechargeable headlamps, the ACTIK CORE lasted the longest in our runtime tests. It also maintained a consistently brighter light than any other headlamp for 120 minutes, before dropping to a lower mode.

No headlamp is perfect, and there were a few drawbacks with this light. The lack of a locking feature was a bit of a bummer, though we never had issues with it accidentally turning on in our packs.

Also, in our water resistance tests, a few small droplets made their way inside of the casing. However, the design of the casing directed the water away from the batteries.

Based on these results it seems possible that with prolonged exposure to rain the batteries could get wet and problems could arise. Still, it did rank among the top of the pack in water resistance.

The other big drawback is the price tag. It’s the priciest headlamp we tested. While we really liked the features and the light quality, the lightweight plastic feels cheap for the price.

Regardless, the beam quality, brightness, and runtime combined with this headlamp’s impressive versatility make it our favorite for anything from backpacking to trail running to cooking dinner around camp.

Product Specs

• Max light output: 350 lumens
• Max beam distance: 95 m
• Battery: CORE USB rechargeable battery (included) or 3 AAA
• Weight: 3.2 oz
• IP rating: IPX4

Best Ultralight Headlamp: Nitecore NU25

At only 1.9oz, the Nitecore NU25 is the best headlamp for ultralight backpackers who don’t want to sacrifice performance.

It’s plenty bright for everything you need, and was also one of the most intuitive lights to use. One button cycles through the white lights and a second button cycles through the red lights.

We were also impressed with this light’s ruggedness. It feels solid despite its light weight, and it was the top performer in our water resistance test (tied with the Petzl e+LITE).

The NU25’s beam distance fell short of the ACTIK CORE, and its 360-lumen “turbo” mode can only be activated for 30 seconds at a time. Its 190-lumen “high” setting is more than adequate for most tasks, though.

It was also the only headlamp we tested that didn’t have removable batteries, limiting its usefulness for backpackers who don’t typically carry a portable battery pack or solar charger.

Overall, the NU25 is an excellent option for its weight and price. It’s our recommendation for ultralight backpackers in search of a good rechargeable headlamp.

Product Specs

• Max light output: 360 lumens
• Max beam distance: 81 m
• Battery: Built-in USB rechargeable battery
• Weight: 1.9 oz
• IP rating: IP66

Best Value: Petzl TIKKINA

The Petzl TIKKINA is an impressive light for just the price. It’s lightweight, simple, and plenty bright for all but the most demanding uses.

The TIKKINA’s lone button simply cycles through low, medium, high, and strobe settings, making it one of the easiest headlamps to operate.

It’s not the brightest light, but its 150-lumen high beam casts more than enough light for night hiking.

We were a little disappointed that it doesn’t have red light or strobe functions. Red light is good for nighttime use because it doesn’t bother our eyes the way white light does, and some hikers find it to be an important feature.

The TIKKINA also didn’t hold up very well in our water resistance test. About a minute into the test, we could see that water was leaking in under the clear plastic front. When we opened up the battery compartment, there were large drops of water on the battery connectors and throughout the compartment.

It doesn’t do great at keeping water out, but the TIKKINA is simple, bright, lightweight, and affordable. As long as you avoid getting it too wet, it’s a great all-around backpacking headlamp for the price.

Product Specs

• Max light output: 150 lumens
• Max beam distance: 55 m
• Battery: 3 AAA or CORE USB rechargeable battery (sold separately)
• Weight: 3 oz
• IP rating: IPX4

Honorable Mention: Petzl e+LITE

It wasn’t a top pick, but this ultralight headlamp is still pretty awesome.

The e+LITE’s dispersed floodlight beam made it perfect for use around camp. Its 50-lumen max setting was on the dim side for active tasks like route finding, though.

It also held out exceptionally well against water, earning a 10/10 rating in our water resistance test.

Instead of a button, this light uses a switch that rotates through all of the settings. In general, we liked the simplicity of this, although at times it was easy to overshoot the setting we wanted.

For minimalist, ultralight backpackers who don’t expect to have very extensive lighting needs, we could see this being a go-to headlamp. Most other users will find it just a bit too limited for general use, but an excellent backup in a pinch.

Long-Term Test Notes

99Boulders owner and editor Alex Beale has been using the Petzl e+LITE as his personal backpacking headlamp for over a year.

Its biggest advantage, he says, is its weight. On his kitchen scale it clocks in at a mere 0.95 oz, or 27 grams. It is truly ultralight.

The main drawback is it isn’t very bright. Alex says on backpacking trips it’s bright enough for normal camp chores but too dim for his taste when it comes to night hiking. He also prefers a brighter headlamp for car camping.

Over his year of using the e+LITE he hasn’t had any durability issues with it and expects it to last for years to come. It’s a minor inconvenience that it uses CR2032 batteries because they’re not the most common, so he recommends stocking up on replacements in advance.

Alex says he’d recommend the e+LITE to hardcore ultralight hikers who mainly need a headlamp for typical camp chores such as prepping dinner, washing dishes, and filtering water.

If you want a light that can also be used for night hiking or car camping he instead recommends a brighter headlamp.

Product Specs

• Max light output: 50 lumens
• Max beam distance: 10 m
• Battery: 2 CR2032 batteries
• Weight: 0.95 oz
• IP rating: IPX7

Reviews of the 2 Other Backpacking Headlamps We Tested

Black Diamond ReVolt

Although it didn’t win any awards, the Black Diamond ReVolt is a solid light, albeit with a few drawbacks.

When we say solid, we mean solid. Of all the lights we tested, this one felt the burliest and most durable. At 3.5 oz it was also the heaviest headlamp we tested.

We loved the amount of control over the exact brightness and concentration of the beam. The ReVolt also has a spectacular floodlight setting which casts a wide, clear beam nearly 180 degrees.

The ability to switch on the wide-angle beam on the light’s highest setting is awesome, too, especially for trail finding purposes.

However, all these features come at a cost: the ReVolt was by far the most complicated headlamp to use. It took one of our testers the longest to figure out how to use all of the functions on this light, and he rated it as the least user-friendly.

In our opinion the ReVolt and Spot also have the lowest beam quality of the lot. They each have a yellow spot in the middle and discoloration at the outer edges (see photos in the testing section below).

We were also a little disappointed with how this light (and the Spot) handles water, since Black Diamond bills it at waterproof.

When we opened the battery compartment after our water resistance test, we saw droplets of water on the batteries and around the edges of the battery compartment. The ACTIK CORE and e+LITE, despite lower IP ratings, had much less water around the battery compartment.

Although the light continued to work when fully submerged, the batteries and battery compartment are not watertight. Once we dried everything out, the light had no issues that we noticed.

We also think it’s worth noting that the ReVolt gives out 300 lumens with alkaline batteries, while the included rechargeable NiMH batteries only give you 175 lumens on the max setting. This is clear on the included instructions, but would be easy to miss if you’re buying the ReVolt online.

Product Specs

• Max light output: 300 lumens
• Max beam distance: 80 m
• Battery: USB rechargeable battery (included) or 3 AAA
• Weight: 3.5 oz
• IP rating: IPX8

Black Diamond Spot

Since the Spot is very similar in function to the ReVolt, most of what we said above applies here.

The floodlight and the minute control over brightness are great, but we saw the same yellow spots in the beam, and found the single button control confusing to operate.

Its 200 lumens were plenty bright, and it did great in our runtime test, staying bright for well over 20 hours.

Interestingly, about 20 minutes into our runtime test, the Spot shut itself off. There is no automatic shut-off feature that we’re aware of, and nothing touched or disturbed the headlamp during the test.

We suspect a loose battery connection, since the middle of the light’s 3 AAA batteries is extremely loose and often falls out as soon as the battery cover is opened. We didn’t have any other reliability issues with the Spot, though, so we’re willing to write this off as a fluke.

As with the ReVolt, our water resistance test showed that the battery compartment got wet within seconds of being submerged. The light did continue to work underwater, and had no problems after it was dried out.

Black Diamond bills the Spot and the ReVolt as waterproof, but, as our tests showed, that definitely doesn’t mean they’re watertight.

Product Specs

• Max light output: 300 lumens
• Max beam distance: 80 m
• Battery: 3 AAA
• Weight: 3.1 oz
• IP rating: IPX8

Summary

Here are the best backpacking headlamps:

• Petzl ACTIK CORE
• Nitecore NU25
• Petzl TIKKINA
• Petzl e+LITE
• Black Diamond ReVolt
• Black Diamond Spot

How to Choose the Best Backpacking Headlamp for Your Needs

Types of Backpacking Headlamps

Ultralight: These can weigh as little as 1 ounce, and are ideal for minimalist and ultralight backpackers. Their light weight and small size also makes them a good choice for backup or emergency lights. The light weight usually involves sacrificing brightness or features.

Ultrabright: These tend to be the exact opposite of ultralight. They are heavier, sometimes outright bulky, and are often designed with people who have extreme lighting needs, such as cavers or mountaineers.

Technical: These aren’t quite as intense as high-lumen, ultrabright varieties, but they come with a number of specific features catered to certain uses. They may give you a high level of customization to suit various tasks, or have specific types of light beam catered to technical uses such as climbing or trail running.

All-purpose: Simpler and cheaper than any of the specialized headlamps above, these lights aren’t super bright or super feature-heavy, but are perfect for anything from searching around your shed to hanging out around camp.

Lumens

Lumens are kind of a big deal in the headlamp world, but they can be misleading. More lumens aren’t necessarily better.

Lumens are simply a measure of the total light output. What they don’t tell you is how focused that light is, how high- or low-quality it is, or how long it will last.

We’ve found that lights with similar advertised lumens can be drastically different in terms of how bright the beam actually appears.

Most activities don’t require as many lumens as you think. 300-lumen beams are nice if you’re looking for a distant trail marker or trying to see what’s watching you from behind the trees. For hiking and for most tasks around camp, 150 is more than adequate.

Beam Distance

Beam distance is the maximum distance at which a certain level of light can be detected. In other words, how well focused are all those lumens?

Lumens and beam distance are both measured with brand new batteries in the headlamp. Both degrade very quickly. That means that, unless you intend to change your batteries every few hours, you’ll want to choose a light that exceeds the lumens and beam distance you think you’ll need.

Beam Quality

The quality of the beam of light is a little more subjective and hard to measure, but it can make a big difference in usability. How clear and crisp is the light? How tightly focused is the spotlight? Are there artifacts or discoloration affecting any parts of the beam?

Beam Modes

Floodlights provide dimmer illumination to a wider area. This mode is ideal for close-up tasks, like reading or administering first aid.

Spotlights concentrate light into a more powerful beam that reaches a much farther distance. This is the setting you want for hiking at night, or scoping out that noise outside your tent. Most headlamps have spotlights with a few different brightness levels.

Red light keeps your night vision intact. It’s ideal for stargazing or rummaging around without waking up your tentmates.

Strobes are an important emergency feature. Headlamps can have either white or red strobes. Strobe mode conserves energy and can be seen from quite a distance.

Runtime

Also sometimes called “burn time or “usable light,” runtime is how long the light functions at each setting.

Take stated runtimes with a huge grain of salt — different manufacturers measure them differently. Know that the beam distance also quickly degrades to a fraction of its claimed distance.

IP Ratings

IP ratings are an international standard for classifying the degrees of protection against both solids and liquids in electrical enclosures.

The first digit tells you how protected the item is against solids such as dust (replaced by an X if it’s not tested). The second digit tells you how protected the item is against liquids.

For most backpackers, a rating of IPX4 is sufficient. This means the headlamp has been tested to function in splashing water, such as hiking during a rainstorm. You’ll still probably have to let the light dry out afterwards.

Don’t confuse a high IP rating with a headlamp being waterproof. In nearly all of the lights we tested, some water made its way into the battery compartment.

Also, keep in mind that these ratings are based on room-temperature fresh water. Ice cold, muddy lake water or hot water may cause more immediate damage.

Weight

The headlamps we tested ranged from 0.9 oz to 3.5 oz, measured with batteries and headband. There are definitely heavier headlamps out there, but with so many great, bright, fully-featured options for less than 4 oz, we don’t see any point to add more weight to your pack than necessary.

We recommend thinking of weight in terms of your lighting system, not just the headlamp itself. Unless you are going on an overnighter, you will need to pack spare batteries or some kind of recharging method, all of which factor into your lighting system’s total weight.

We also recommend focusing more on features, durability, and reliability first, and weight second, since the weight difference is fairly minimal among high-quality headlamps.

Backpacking Headlamp Alternatives

Here are some backpacking headlamp alternatives that we’ve also tested and reviewed:

• Backpacking flashlights
• Camping flashlights
• Camping lanterns
• Solar camping lanterns

How We Tested

Runtime Test

We gave each headlamp a full charge or a new set of batteries, and placed them on high in a dark room. We took a photo every 10 minutes for 10 hours and compared runtimes and brightness levels over time.

Here’s a time lapse of the test. From left to right: Black Diamond ReVolt, Nitecore NU25, Petzl TIKKINA, Petzl ACTIK CORE, Black Diamond Spot, Petzl e+LITE

Note: the Spot turned itself off after about 20 minutes. We turned it back on at the 40-minute mark.

Water Resistance Test

All of the headlamps we tested were rated at least IPX4, which means they should be able to withstand water spraying or splashing from nearly any direction.

We used a spray bottle to spritz the headlamps from about 2 feet away for 2 minutes. Then we checked to see if any water had gotten into the battery compartment and gave them a rating from 1 (no water protection at all) to 10 (seems watertight).

The Spot and ReVolt are the only lights rated to be fully submerged in water (IPX8), so we went one step further with these lights and submerged them, on high setting, in a bowl of water.

We could immediately see air bubbling up from them and found that both battery compartments had flooded within seconds, though the light never wavered. After we dried out the compartments and batteries, both lights worked without any apparent issues.

Usability Test

We gave each headlamp to a tester who had not used them before and asked him to perform the following functions: turn it on high, turn it on low, turn it on red (if the light had one), and turn it off.

We timed how long it took to cycle through these settings, and asked him to give the headlamp a usability rating from 1 (hardest to use) to 10 (easiest to use).

Beam Quality

We shined each setting of each light onto a white wall to examine beam quality, color, and artifacts.

Field Testing

We used these headlamps during camping and backpacking trips along the California Coast, in the desert southwest, and in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains.

We also made sure to dedicate time with each headlamp to night hiking and attempting close-up tasks such as cooking or setting up camp.

The post 6 Best Backpacking Headlamps appeared first on 99Boulders.

We bought six of the best hand warmers on the market and tested them over the course of a month. We used them in daily life, measured their runtimes and heat output, and took them outdoors for some climbing and hiking to see how they hold up in the cold. The overall winner was the Zippo 12-Hour Hand Warmer, which runs on lighter fluid (sold separately).

Warming up hands is a topic near and dear to my heart. I have a mild case of Raynaud’s Syndrome in my fingers, which means that my arteries don’t circulate efficiently to the extremities.

This poses a challenge because, as a climber, I often find myself outdoors in cooler weather. Fall brings the best climbing temperatures, but it means battling numbness with every outing.

The utility of hand warmers isn’t limited to climbing. On ski days, mountain trips, or even just chilly cookouts, hand warmers are a major quality-of-life upgrade. In this test, I was out to find the best hand warmer for as many outdoor applications as I could.

This is a sentence I don’t get to write often, but every product made a strong argument for itself. They all have pronounced strengths and weaknesses, which lend themselves to different styles and activities.

Curious which will work for you? Read on.

Top Pick: Zippo 12-Hour Hand Warmer

I’ll be honest:

At the beginning of this test, I was nervous about putting a device that burned lighter fluid in my jacket pocket.

But by the end of testing, the Zippo was my favorite warmer.

The Zippo does require extra work. You must first fill the small plastic fuel funnel, remove the device’s catalytic burner, fill the tank, replace the burner, and use a lighter to begin the catalytic process.

Once lit, the (flameless) combustion cannot be stopped or turned off.

The Zippo is messy to fill, smells a little like lighter fluid, and requires filling before each trip. The catalytic burner will eventually need to be replaced (Zippo sells extras), and you have to buy lighter fluid separately.

These are minor inconveniences, but they add up. If you want a warmer that requires no effort, this is not the one.

But once lit, the Zippo was the most reliable and useful hand warmer in the test. It didn’t quite live up to its name, but I got about 11 hours worth of heat from a tank of fluid. That’s the longest in the test, and the Zippo remained at a consistent heat.

It comes with a fabric pouch to spread heat during use. Placed inside, it emits a gentle glow of heat.

When my hands were severely cold, I preferred to take the chrome hand warmer out of the pouch, where it became one of the warmest devices in the test. Heat can be roughly adjusted by how much oxygen the burner receives.

Even better, the Zippo isn’t fragile. The electric hand warmers couldn’t handle cold, had inconsistent battery life, and had to be protected from falls.

The Zippo was simple, reliable, and supremely durable. To cap it all off, as of this writing the Zippo is the cheapest of the reusable hand warmers.

Those virtues overcame the inconveniences and won our hearts. The Zippo is messier than most hand warmers, but it makes up for it with enduring heat and excellent reliability.

Best Electric Hand Warmer: Human Creations EnergyFlux Ellipse 5200mAh

Here’s a riddle: why did the electric warmer with the smaller battery last longer?

I don’t know the answer, but that’s what happened in our testing.

With remarkable consistency, the smaller Human Creations hand warmer would outlast its sibling by thirty minutes to an hour.

It’s just as hot, a couple ounces lighter, and retails for a little less. As a result, it takes home our award for the best electric hand warmer.

The best part about electric warmers is the heat. Outside in the cold, they were hottest to the touch. The conductive metal surface dissipates heat quickly, but warmth always returns after a moment or two. The Human Creations warmers were usually the quickest way to warm up numb fingers.

The EnergyFlux Ellipse is the more diminutive of the two, but it’s a nice shape. The controls are simple: hold the power button for heat, tap it again to enter the High setting, and hold again to turn it off. Three blue lights denote battery levels.

Where the electric warmers struggled was consistency. Human Creations advertises a 6.5-hour lifespan at room temperature, which I found the Ellipse could routinely exceed.

But outdoors in the cold, it struggled to break 6 hours and sometimes died an hour or two earlier. This is a quirk of electric warmers, and Human Creations acknowledges the fact with an asterisk in their marketing.

Still, it’s frustrating to be uncertain when your hand warmer will give out.

As a small bonus, the electric warmers can be used as battery packs to charge devices. 5200 mAh isn’t that much, but it gets the job done in a pinch.

(If you’re looking for a standalone battery pack check out our reviews and recommendations in our guide to the best portable battery packs.)

For their heat and easy reusability, electric hand warmers are worth a look, and the Ellipse was our favorite.

Best Disposable Hand Warmer: HotHands Hand Warmer

HotHands is a favorite in the world of disposable warmers, and they managed to best their rival Grabbers in our testing.

The traditional HotHands hand warmers weren’t the hottest. They don’t provide as much surface area as the Super Warmer or the reusable warmers. In the first hour or two after activation, the Grabber warmers often felt hotter to the touch.

But the HotHands was consistent: it was hot enough and remained hot throughout its lifespan.

By contrast, the Grabber hand warmers tended to have an initial flare and then subside.

The smaller warmers aren’t quite as hot as the larger HotHands Super Warmer, but in our testing they were more consistent. They also got close to their advertised 10-hour lifetime.

The great advantage of disposable fabric hand warmers is durability. If you’re tossing a warmer in your chalk bag (which I frequently do when climbing outdoors), you’ll be throwing it out at the end of the day.

When one warmer runs out, you can just start another — at less than an ounce, the HotHands warmers are light enough that you can take plenty.

The smaller warmer is a good size for many applications like placing in climbing gloves or chalk bags. Add in the fact that you get twice as many warmers per package, and it’s clear why the HotHands warmers took are our favorite disposable option. They’re reasonably hot, consistent, and durable enough to go anywhere.

Reviews of the 3 Other Hand Warmers We Tested

Human Creations EnergyFlux Enduro 7800mAh

For a product named the Enduro, this warmer was a bit of a letdown.

It’s versatile and hot, but it failed to match the lifespan or consistency of the smaller electric warmer.

Like the Ellipse, the Enduro has two heat settings, a charging port, and a USB output for charging devices.

The Enduro is more effective as a portable battery thanks to its larger capacity. It also has a flashlight, which is a nifty addition but didn’t feel strictly necessary.

Along with the Ellipse, the Enduro was the hottest warmer in the test, especially on high. Unfortunately, it couldn’t match the Ellipse’s runtime.

Its battery indicators were less reliable too, changing suddenly from two dots to blinking empty.

At 196 grams, it’s the heaviest warmer in the test. The chunky curves are nice to hold, but the Enduro doesn’t fit well into pockets, and forget about gloves.

The nail in the coffin is the price: the Enduro is the most expensive warmer in this test.

It scored well based on its heat and usability, but unless you need the extra battery capacity, the Ellipse is our electric warmer of choice.

HotHands Super Warmer

As far as I can tell, the Super Warmer is essentially two HotHands Hand Warmers stitched together into a larger pouch.

It behaves almost exactly the same, with decent heat and a large surface area.

The Super Warmer isn’t as convenient to stuff in gloves, but it’s quite pleasant to hold or stow in a jacket pocket.

Where the Super Warmer failed was consistency. Far from achieving its advertised 18-hour lifespan, the Super Warmer usually gave out between hours 10 and 11 — hardly longer than its little sibling.

That’s still plenty of time, and having an extra-large disposable warmer was handier than we thought it would be. But for the price, we’d still opt for the smaller warmers most of the time.

Grabbers Hand Warmer

The Grabbers warmer scored lowest in this test, but that’s not because it was particularly bad.

In fact, in the time period following activation (~30-120 minutes), Grabbers were frequently the hottest disposable hand warmers.

Sadly, after that initial peak, the Grabbers tailed off. By hour 2 or 3, they were noticeably fainter than the HotHands.

And although they exceeded their advertised lifespan of 7 hours, they couldn’t touch the 10-hour runtime of the HotHands.

The Grabbers only make sense for specialized uses. If you need a disposable warmer for relatively short periods (like a send attempt on a climb), the Grabbers warmer may be the hottest at the outset. But if you prefer a more consistent heat, turn to the HotHands.

Summary

Here are the best hand warmers:

• Zippo 12-Hour Hand Warmer
• Human Creations EnergyFlux Ellipse 5200mAh
• Human Creations EnergyFlux Enduro 7800mAh
• HotHands Hand Warmer
• HotHands Super Warmer
• Grabbers Hand Warmer

How to Choose the Best Hand Warmer for Your Needs

Reusable hand warmers are much more expensive than disposable ones, but you only have to buy them once. If you seldom use hand warmers, the investment may not make sense, but otherwise reusables are worth a look. They’re substantially hotter and provide a more uniform heat source.

The downsides are durability and size. Reusable warmers require maintenance, which means they can’t be forgotten or misused.

Because of the extra size, reusable warmers won’t fit in most gloves — they work best in a pocket or as a quick way to warm the digits.

There are two types of reusable hand warmers:

• Electric: Electric hand warmers require charging, which takes hours. It’s best to charge the night before an outing, as quick charges yielded poor results. Electric warmers are susceptible to impact and moisture, requiring some care. They can double as mobile batteries (or a flashlight), but their batteries lose life in the cold.

• Catalytic: Catalytic hand warmers, like the 12-Hour Zippo Hand Warmer, run on lighter fluid and must be started with a flame. Filling them up is quicker than charging the electric warmers, but it’s messier. If you carry lighter fluid and a good lighter with you, refilling can be done on the go. Once lit, the catalytic burner combusts without a flame to produce heat. The Zippo has a bit of a learning curve, but it’s reliable and burly.

Disposable hand warmers are cheap, durable, and long-lasting. You don’t have to worry about breaking or misusing them, and if you lose one you can just open another. They’re the lightest warmers, which is an advantage on backcountry trips.

In testing, however, disposable warmers were less hot and less uniform. They were slower to warm up cold hands, and displayed more variability between peak performance and low performance.

If allowed to stiffen, heat can disappear until the warmer is re-shaken. The convenience is great, but disposable warmers are not the most efficient heating system.

All disposable warmers run on a chemical reaction that oxidizes iron powder. They require no maintenance or preparation and begin reacting on contact with air. They can take around half an hour to build up heat.

How We Tested

Heat Output & Runtime Tests

In the first phase of testing, I did trials to test the warmers’ heat ouptut and runtime.

Heat output was difficult to measure because the surface temperature of the warmers was highly variable. I ended up trusting the impression that mattered most — which device was warmest to the skin. The ratings in the chart below are on a scale of 1 to 10 and based on skin contact while outdoors.

Note: The electric hand warmers’ heat output ratings are for the “High” heat setting. On the “Low” heat setting their heat output rating was 9. The Zippo’s heat output rating was taken with the warmer out of the pouch. In the pouch its heat output rating was 5.

For the runtime tests I activated all the hand warmers and timed how long it took them to die. I repeated this test multiple times, and the numbers in the chart below represent an average of trials.

Note: The electric hand warmers’ times are for the “Low” heat setting.

Daily Life & Field Testing

In the second phase of testing, I took the warmers out on activities from climbing to hiking to bike trips across town. I used the warmers in as many ways as I could think of and rated them in three categories: heat, consistency, and durability.

The post 6 Best Hand Warmers for the Outdoors appeared first on 99Boulders.

We put 6 of the best backpacking mugs to the test to see which ones held up to the rigors of backcountry life.

After nearly a month of testing, the TOAKS Titanium 450ml Double Wall Cup is the one we recommend. Its great insulation, durability, and well-thought-out construction made it our go-to mug.

The GSI Outdoors Infinity Backpacker Mug was a surprisingly fierce contender for how cheap it is, holding its own in both insulation and weight with the much pricier titanium mugs.

We highly recommend this mug as a budget option. It’s a great alternative to splurging on titanium.

Read on for our full reviews.

Note: If you’re looking for insulated camping mugs and thermoses, you’ll find our reviews and recommendations in our guide to the best camping mugs. Or if you’re looking for a mug that’s part of a complete set of dinnerware, check out our guide to the best mess kits for camping and backpacking.

Top Pick: TOAKS Titanium 450ml Double Wall Cup

Serious coffee drinkers need look no further.

Although at 4.7 oz this was the heaviest mug we tested, the TOAKS Titanium 450ml Double Wall Cup was still our Top Pick.

It’s solid, durable, well-made, and a pleasure to drink out of. It’s really everything you need in a backpacking mug.

It tied with the Snow Peak Ti-Double 450 Mug as the best performer in our heat retention tests, keeping water hot for 48 minutes without a lid and for 1 hour 56 minutes with a lid.

It also had the perfect amount of heat radiating out of the sides to warm our hands on chilly mornings.

TOAKS offers a titanium lid that weighs 0.5 oz. Although the lid is designed for heat retention rather than drinking, it’s a nice addition to keep coffee warm between sips.

It’s a pricey backpacking mug, but we think the durability and quality design warrant the investment. This quickly became our favorite for sipping coffee in the morning and scarfing down ramen on cold nights.

Best Value: GSI Outdoors Infinity Backpacker Mug

For an affordable price you get a lot of bang for your buck with the GSI Outdoors Infinity Backpacker Mug.

Not only is it our Best Value pick, it was one of our overall favorites, beating out most of the expensive titanium mugs.

The mug is made of clear polypropylene (a type of plastic) with a cloth sleeve for insulation. It’s also the only mug we tested that comes with a lid.

We initially thought the webbing handle was kind of silly, but we quickly came around to it. It makes it easy to hold the mug when it’s full, and it’s awesome for clipping the mug to your pack.

In our heat retention tests, the Infinity Backpacker Mug kept water hot for a whopping 1 hour 47 minutes with the lid on. That’s only 10 minutes behind the double-wall titanium mugs (and you have to buy the lid for those separately).

We also consistently felt the least amount of heat radiating out the sides of this mug, though it was still just enough to warm up our hands on cold mornings.

The main drawback to this mug is it’s not as durable as the titanium mugs. After only a few weeks of use the rim started to show some scratches and signs of wear. The cloth sleeve also collects grime and is hard to clean.

But ultimately those are pretty minor complaints. For not a lot of money you get a mug almost a full ounce lighter than the two double-wall titanium mugs we tested that insulates nearly as well. We’re impressed.

Best Single-Wall Mug: Snow Peak Ti-Single 450 Mug

Single-wall mugs don’t insulate as well as double-wall mugs, but a lot of backpackers prefer them for the versatility of being able to cook in them.

They also don’t weigh as much. At only 2.4 oz, the Snow Peak Ti-Single 450 Mug is impressively light.

Without a lid, this mug kept water hot for 42 minutes. To compare, the Snow Peak Ti-Double 450 Mug kept water hot for 48 minutes.

It definitely didn’t provide a nearly as enjoyable coffee drinking experience as the more insulated backpacking mugs, though.

When filled with boiling water, it was way too hot to hold without the handles and prone to burning lips.

(Burnt lips is a common problem with single-wall mugs. Snow Peak makes a product called Hotlips to solve it.)

In chilly weather, the Ti-Single 450 Mug cooled off too fast for us to actually enjoy sipping our hot beverages. But that’s the nature of single-wall mugs.

We didn’t have the issues with the handles or the easily scratched coating which we describe below for the Snow Peak Ti-Double 450 Mug. The handles were easy to flip in and out. They stayed firmly in the position where you put them, which is exactly what we wanted.

For backpackers looking for a minimalist, ultralight single-wall mug, the Snow Peak Ti-Single 450 Mug is our top choice.

Reviews of the 3 Other Backpacking Mugs We Tested

Snow Peak Ti-Double 450 Mug

Snow Peak gets a lot of rave reviews in the backpacking community, so we were excited to test the Snow Peak Ti-Double 450 Mug.

After doing so, we think this is a good double-wall mug with a few minor issues.

First, the good: It’s 0.5 oz lighter than the TOAKS double-wall mug (though slightly more expensive).

Its performance in all of our tests was almost identical to the TOAKS double-wall mug. It kept water hot for 48 minutes without a lid and for 1 hour 57 minutes with one.

We like that Snow Peak offers a coffee mug style lid, which you can actually drink from. However, at 1.1 oz — and with pretty consistent negative reviews — we’re not sure it’s worth it.

And now the bad: Our biggest gripe was that the handles don’t seem to be attached tightly enough. They flop and flap around quite a bit.

It got irritating when the handles constantly banged against the side of the cup. Sometimes they crossed over each other and got stuck.

Also the Ti-Double 450 Mug’s coating scratches off easily. The mug started to show wear significantly sooner than the other titanium mugs we tested.

Neither of these issues affect the mug’s functionality, but for such an expensive mug we’re a little disappointed.

Still, the mug itself is well-made and solid, insulates very well, and is 0.5 oz lighter than the TOAKS double-wall cup.

It’s not a bad mug by any means. If you’re counting every ounce, then weight alone might tip the scales toward this one for you. We just didn’t think it quite lived up to all the hype.

TOAKS Titanium 450ml Cup

Even though the TOAKS Titanium 450ml Cup didn’t win any of our awards, it’s a solid single-wall mug and a great value option.

It’s well-designed and the uncoated titanium looks super sleek. We also like that TOAKS included measuring lines on the side of the cup.

At the end of the day, though, we preferred the Snow Peak Ti-Single 450 Mug to this one because it performed slightly better in our heat tests and is slightly lighter.

Is that slight difference enough to justify the higher price? That’s up to you.

We liked this mug a lot and would be happy to add it to our lightweight backpacking kit.

Sea to Summit X-Mug

The Sea to Summit X-Mug was the most packable mug we tested and nearly the lightest.

It weighs 2.7 oz and collapses down to a flat disc. If packing space is your biggest concern, then it might be the right option for you.

The space savings is nice, but since we generally either clip our mugs to the outside of our packs, nestle them into our other backpacking cookware, or stuff them full of dry goods (like a zip-lock of instant coffee), they don’t take up too much extra space anyway.

The X-Mug is made of silicone which didn’t insulate very well. The mug kept water hot for only 27 minutes without a lid. We also found it awkward to hold and drink out of when full of hot water.

If a simple, collapsible mug/bowl is what you’re looking for, this does the trick. As a dedicated coffee mug, we found it lacking. With the other great options out there we don’t see much of a place in our packs for this one.

Summary

Here are the best backpacking mugs:

• TOAKS Titanium 450ml Double Wall Cup
• GSI Outdoors Infinity Backpacker Mug
• Snow Peak Ti-Double 450 Mug
• Snow Peak Ti-Single 450 Mug
• TOAKS Titanium 450ml Cup
• Sea to Summit X-Mug

How to Choose the Best Backpacking Mug for Your Needs

Types of Backpacking Mugs

Single Wall: These backpacking mugs are about as simple and versatile as you can get. They sacrifice a lot in performance, though. The single layer of insulation doesn’t do a whole lot to maintain your drink’s temperature. Still, they are the top choice for backpackers prioritizing weight savings and versatility above all else since they can double as cook pots.

Double Wall: With two layers of material as insulation, these mugs do one thing, and they do it well: insulate. They’re generally twice as heavy and twice as expensive as single-wall mugs. Placing them on or near a heat source will damage them, so you’ll also have to bring another form of cookware. The extra few ounces are well worth it for backpackers who often camp in cold weather or are just really serious about their morning coffee.

Collapsible: Typically made of silicone, these mugs compress down to a disc that easily slides anywhere in your pack. Weight and space savings are the real benefit to these mugs. They don’t do much for insulation, and don’t hold a candle to a real mug when it comes to usability.

Material

Titanium is durable and extremely light, making it perfect for backpackers who count every ounce. It comes with a premium price tag, though.

Stainless steel is probably the most common material for backpacking mugs and cookware, especially for backpackers on a budget. Stainless steel can last decades if cared for properly, but can be twice the weight (or more!) compared to the equivalent titanium product.

Aluminum is lightweight and supremely affordable. However it’s not very durable and not great at insulating. It also has high heat conductivity which makes it difficult to handle aluminum mugs and cups with hot liquids in them.

Plastic is cheap and light and can insulate well. It’s not as durable as metal cups, but for the price it holds its own. For budget-conscious backpackers, high-quality plastic mugs can be a great buy.

Silicone is relatively new to the game. It’s light, flexible, and inexpensive, which can make it a good option for some, though it’s not as durable or versatile as metal. It also doesn’t insulate well. Many collapsible backpacking mugs are made of food-grade silicone.

Is Titanium Worth the Price?

Titanium is a popular material for backpacking mugs and cookware. It’s lightweight and incredibly strong, yet it will cost you a lot.

We know plenty of backpackers who have gotten along just fine for years without titanium, so is it really worth the price tag?

We’re big fans of investing in gear that’s durable and will last for decades. For mugs, that means either stainless steel or titanium.

With steel, you pay for that durability in weight. With titanium, you pay for it in cash. But the weight savings are substantial — titanium is nearly 45% lighter than steel.

For backpackers who put a lot of miles on their gear, we do think titanium is a worthwhile investment. It’s certainly not a necessity, but 30 miles past the trailhead you’ll probably be thinking a lot more about those few extra ounces on your back than the amount of money you saved.

How We Tested

Heat Retention Test

We used a food thermometer to time how long water in each mug took to cool from boiling (204°F at 4000′) to 120°F.

Note: TOAKS and Snow Peak sell lids separately for their mugs. We did not have the specific lids from those manufacturers, but used a lid that fit closely, so these tests are an approximation. Since the Sea to Summit X-Mug does not have a compatible lid, we omitted it from the “with lid” test.

Heat Conduction Test

In this test, we wanted to know how much heat you could feel through the walls of the mug. We filled each mug with boiling water, held it for 30 seconds (if we could!) and ranked them from 1 (almost no heat) to 10 (too hot to hold).

Field Testing

We brought these mugs camping in the southwest desert and backpacking in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains to test them out in various conditions and with our backpacking coffee makers. We also used them as much as we could in our daily lives over the course of four weeks.

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