#family-gear

#family-gear

Special needs summer camps are specialized programs designed for children and young adults with a range of disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD, Down syndrome, and other developmental or physical challenges.

The kit was developed over several years with input from mountain guides, doctors, and paramedics, and it is meant to cover the kinds of real-world issues backcountry skiers actually run into.

The camping category has gone through a genuine design evolution. Products are emerging from studios that understand outdoor life not as a survival exercise but as an experience worth designing for.

It's got a 20,000-mAh battery -- yes, twenty thousand milliamp hours -- with an included USB-C port for charging other devices. It also powers a large audio speaker and LED lamp on the back, the latter of which can get so bright that a pop-up dialog warns you not to look directly at it to avoid eye damage.

The best hiking pants earn their place in our packing list the hard way-through scree scrambles, sweaty switchbacks, and the kind of bushwhacking that tests each and every seam. We've worn them on short hikes and multi-day backpacking trips, in hot and cold weather, through light rain and high-alpine winds.

Many glamping places are right off the highway. With Backland, we wanted an immersive nature experience-total comfort, with unobstructed views. The camp sits on an immense and grassy meadow ringed by an unnamed forest. Ten nature suites looked more like futuristic Quonset huts than white tents.

Using Voronoi polygon modelling, the design team mapped how pressure from a sleeping head distributes across the pillow's surface, then engineered protrusions and recesses to respond to that data. The front face features raised cellular structures that increase the contact area between pillow and skin, improving comfort while simultaneously channelling airflow to keep things cool. The back face offers four distinct tactile zones depending on orientation, giving users a degree of customisation that is rare in camping gear. Also, a little warning but: trypophobia alert.

On day five of an eight-day, 500-mile mountain bike race in Africa, Piers Constable found himself sprawled in the dirt for the second time. First he'd crashed on his left side, then on his right, until he was, in his own words, "muddied and bloodied," staring at a bike that was very much broken. He remembered a feed station a couple miles away and realized he had two choices: quit or run. He picked up the bike and ran.

While best known for its minimalist camping gear - the brand's instantly recognizable titanium mug is a mainstay in Pacific Northwest campsites and cramped Brooklyn apartments alike - Snow Peak's lineup of insulated, down-filled and fire-resistant styles is criminally underrated. With perfected silhouettes, low-key Japanese detailing and sparse styling, it's slightly different than you're used to, but all in service of a better (dressed) outdoor experience.

When my neighbor Tom celebrated his 65th birthday last month, his kids threw him what they thought was the perfect party: comfortable chair, cozy slippers, and a stack of crossword puzzles. Meanwhile, three doors down, 68-year-old Margaret was booking her first skydiving lesson. The contrast struck me-why do we assume retirement means slowing down when some people are just getting started on their biggest adventures?

We are all familiar with the idea of a library. You go, check out a book, read said book, and return the book when you are done. Yes, there is a bit more mixed in there, such as attaining a library card, due dates, and late fees, but I'm sure you get the general idea. We all know how libraries work.

There's something oddly satisfying about watching outdoor gear shed its bulk. We've seen tents collapse into impossibly small pouches and sleeping bags compress into cylinders the size of water bottles. Now, Camprit is applying that same minimalist philosophy to camp stoves with their TiStove, and the results are kind of brilliant. The concept is deceptively simple. Take five titanium pieces (two foldable legs and three cooking panels), make them pack completely flat, and keep the whole setup under 1.5 pounds.

From a safety point of view, it is a lot easier to organize and take stock of the quality of your items on a calm, relaxed afternoon, versus the night before a big hike when you are frantically packing. It's also safer to learn that a rain jacket has a hole when indoors versus discovering the problem while you are miles in on an off-the-grid hike.

The beginning of a new year can oftentimes bring about a frenzy of activity: setting resolutions, getting settled into your routines, and even planning trips for the months ahead. But as January comes to a close, now is the time to hold yourself to a stricter budget to make up for the chaos of the holidaysand we found a rare trove of items under $50 at REI that will satisfy your desire to buy.

I trekked it in December 2023 with plans and a permit to camp at Bright Angel Campground, a scenic cottonwood-shaded hideaway just near the famed Phantom Ranch (the only lodging on the world wonder's floor). Then, two days before my trip, a miracle happened: One last-minute reservation became available for Phantom Ranch. The ranch digs typically book out over a year in advance, but if you're lucky, you can either get in via the lottery or a last-minute opening. This made the grueling but gorgeous hike down and up the steep South Kaibab Trail even more memorable.

AllTrails, a hiking app with trail maps and reviews, dug into insights from their 90 million-plus members and team of trail experts to spotlight lesser-known places where the trail alone is worth planning a trip around. Their guide, Travel-Worthy Trails for 2026, spotlights eight unexpected destinations around the world where the trail is the destination.