Tips to Get Started

  • 6 Tips for Backpacking Beginners

    From planning to debriefing, these tips will help you to put together a successful backpacking trip for beginners.

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  • Tips for Backpacking with Your Dog

    If you’re thinking of taking a backpacking trip with your own dog, we jotted down a few of our tips to help teach how to get started backpacking with your dog.

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  • Tips for Your First Thru-Hike

    to help you prepare for your thru-hike or long-distance trek, we’ve made a list of seven things we wish we’d known before our first day on the trail.

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  • Tips & Tools to Keep Family Camping Fun

    Here are some hard-won pointers on family camping essentials to pack for vehicle-based family adventures great and small.

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Sustainable Camping Tips

10 Tips for Choosing a Sustainable Campsite

Sleeping in the dirt means you have a lot of choices. And you just might be surprised that there are so many different best practices to minimize your footprint and help conserve outdoor spaces for the next generation. So, we’ve put together our tips for choosing a sustainable campsite.

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How to Poop in the Woods

If you are going on adventures in the backcountry, at some point you have to poo. There are right ways to do it and wrong ways. If you’re wondering how to poop in the woods, we’re here for you.

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Tips by Activity

  • Backpacking & Thru-Hiking

    Get tips on everything you need for long hikes as avid thru hikers share their secrets on gear, self-care and keeping your sanity on the trail.

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  • Car Camping & Overlanding

    Car camping is not just for beginners Check out these 14 car camping tips for an epic weekend of the four wheeled variety.

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  • Winter & Snow Camping

    From Antarctica to the Arctic Circle, and Norway to South Africa, these are winter camping tips learned from experiencing a truly global winter.

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All Expert Tips from Therm-a-Rest

Filtered by: backpacking-how-tos x
Tips For Backpacking In The Rain

Tips For Backpacking In The Rain

Patrice La Vigne

At some point in your backpacking life, you will encounter rain. Here are five tips for making backpacking in the rain more than just soggy memories.

Tips For Backpacking In The Rain

Patrice La Vigne

At some point in your backpacking life, you will encounter rain. Here are five tips for making backpacking in the rain more than just soggy memories.

How to Pack Your Backpack

How to Pack Your Backpack

Jim Meyers

The parallels between backpacking and relationships are innumerable, if not completely contrived for the sake of this introduction. For instance, take Paul Simon and me. We’ve never been in a...

How to Pack Your Backpack

Jim Meyers

The parallels between backpacking and relationships are innumerable, if not completely contrived for the sake of this introduction. For instance, take Paul Simon and me. We’ve never been in a...

How to Plan a Backpacking Trip - Tips For Planning Ahead

How to Plan a Backpacking Trip - Tips For Plann...

Trevor Husted

Planning ahead is crucial to, not only the enjoyment but the safety of your next backcountry adventure. Get our tips for better planning that lead to better times in the...

How to Plan a Backpacking Trip - Tips For Plann...

Trevor Husted

Planning ahead is crucial to, not only the enjoyment but the safety of your next backcountry adventure. Get our tips for better planning that lead to better times in the...

Essential Tropical Backpacking Tips

Essential Tropical Backpacking Tips

Therm-a-Rest Team

Imagine waking up backpacking in a tropical paradise surrounded by fresh coconut, the waves of the ocean crashing in the distance, and a climate warm enough that you get to...

Essential Tropical Backpacking Tips

Therm-a-Rest Team

Imagine waking up backpacking in a tropical paradise surrounded by fresh coconut, the waves of the ocean crashing in the distance, and a climate warm enough that you get to...

How To: Backpacking with Toddlers

How To: Backpacking with Toddlers

Becca Skinner

My best friend Heidi and I laid all the gear on the living room floor while August, Heidi’s two-year-old son, danced through the piles asking if he could eat the...

How To: Backpacking with Toddlers

Becca Skinner

My best friend Heidi and I laid all the gear on the living room floor while August, Heidi’s two-year-old son, danced through the piles asking if he could eat the...

9 Tips for Camping & Backpacking in the Desert

9 Tips for Camping & Backpacking in the Desert

Katie Griffith

I barely slept my first night of backpacking in the desert. Howling winds unrelentingly assaulted my tent poles, bending them close to their breaking point. I knelt for hours with...

9 Tips for Camping & Backpacking in the Desert

Katie Griffith

I barely slept my first night of backpacking in the desert. Howling winds unrelentingly assaulted my tent poles, bending them close to their breaking point. I knelt for hours with...