Thomas Whitfield 
Picture this: it’s a Saturday morning, the sand is white, the water is glassy, and I’m parked 200 feet from the surf with a 25-pound cooler, two chairs, an umbrella, a pile of towels, and three hungry kids. Six trips later, my back is shot and half my ice has melted. The next week I … Read more
The Jetboil MightyMo is our pick for the fastest backpacking stove for boiling water — it reaches a rolling boil in about three minutes, weighs only 3.36 ounces, and uses roughly half the fuel of a traditional setup. If you want auto-ignition plus a 2-minute boil, the Jetboil Flash is the premium all-in-one choice, and … Read more
After thousands of trail miles and a stack of chairs that survived everything from alpine granite to soft river sand, I can tell you the best ultralight portable camping chairs for are not the ones with the loudest marketing. They are the ones that disappear in your pack, snap together in under a minute, and … Read more
When the lights flicker off mid-cooking session or the trailhead fades into dusk, a good lantern turns panic into calm. I have spent the last several months testing the best lanterns for power outages and camping, running them through backyard blackouts, three-night family camping trips, and one memorable ice storm that knocked out our street … Read more
It’s 2 a.m. You’re parked on a forest road in Utah, twenty miles from the nearest gas station, and your bladder has decided this is the perfect moment to revolt. We’ve been there. After nine years of full-time vanlife between our team, we’ve also learned the hard way that the best portable toilets for van … Read more
After spending three months testing seven of the most popular ceramic coating sprays for cars on my own vehicles, I can tell you this category has quietly become the easiest way to get professional-looking paint protection without paying for a professional install. The best ceramic coating sprays for cars now deliver months of hydrophobic water … Read more
If you have ever squeezed a tire by hand and called it “good enough,” you already know why a bike pump with a pressure gauge belongs in every cyclist’s garage. Under-inflated tires feel sluggish and puncture easily, while over-inflated tires lose traction and ride like wooden wagon wheels. I have been riding and wrenching on … Read more
I spent six months testing bivy sacks on the trail, in alpine basins, and during rainy shoulder-season trips across the Pacific Northwest. The short version: the best bivy sacks for ultralight backpacking in are not all created equal, and the right pick depends on whether you cowboy camp under the stars, race on a bikepacking … Read more
Our dog rides everywhere with us, and after one too many muddy hikes ended in shampooing the back seat, I went looking for the best dog seat covers for cars. I bought, borrowed, and tested ten popular covers with two dogs (a 65-pound Shepherd mix and a 90-pound Lab) over six weeks, plus cross-checked what … Read more
Finding the best sandproof beach blankets used to mean settling for a soggy cotton towel that swallowed half the beach. After spending 30 days testing ten top-rated options at the Jersey Shore, our team landed on a clear winner and a few surprises worth knowing about before you buy. A sandproof beach blanket is an … Read more