Buying Advice
Sleeping Bag Buying Guide: How to Choose the Right One for Camping
Learn how to choose the best camping sleeping bag by exploring temperature ratings, insulation types, bag shapes, and more features.
Ken Knapp
Latest Articles
Buying Advice
How to Choose Snowshoes
Learn which snowshoes are right for you. Our guide covers snowshoe types, sizing, recommended loads, traction and more.
Buying Advice
How to Choose a Bike Helmet
These tips make choosing the right bike helmet easy. Includes info about types of helmets, construction, features, sizing and adjustment.
Buying Advice
How to Choose Insulated Jackets
Can't decide between down or synthetic insulation? Learn to compare the compressibility, warmth and weight of insulated outerwear options.
Buying Advice
How to Choose Binoculars
Numbers on binoculars can be a little confusing; this article explains basic specs, why prices differ so much and how to choose based on your end use.
Buying Advice
How to Choose a Backpacking Tent
Learn how to shop for backpacking tents: We'll cover tent capacity, seasonality, weight, livability, setup and materials.
Buying Advice
What to Wear Skiing and Snowboarding
Learn what clothing and gear you’ll need to wear skiing or snowboarding. We cover the basics: from underwear to jacket and from head to toe.
Skills
Avalanche Safety for Snowshoers
Snowshoeing is an easy, fun and relatively low-risk winter activity—as long as you follow a few basic guidelines about avoiding avalanches.
Gear Guides
The 9 Best Sleeping Bags for Backpacking of 2025: Staff Picks
Our experts recommend these nine sleeping bags for backpacking, including top picks from REI Co-op, Mountain Hardwear, Big Agnes, Therm-a-Rest and NEMO.
Care and Repair
Rainwear: Durable Water Repellent (DWR) Care
Learn how to test your rainwear’s durable water repellent (DWR) coating and how to revive existing DWR or apply new DWR.