Switchback Travel | Outdoor Gear, Photography & Adventure

Hiking Gear Guides

A complete look at the best hiking gear of 2019, from light and packable tents and sleeping bags to proven backcountry footwear and clothing

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In the Shadow of Manaslu

A climber's reflections on culture, failure, and the fragility of life during an attempt of Nepal’s Panbari Himal

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The Best Running Shoes

From comfortable daily trainers and budget options to serious racing flats, we break down the year’s top shoes for running

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Hoka One One Clifton 6

We test the updated version of Hoka's light and comfortable road runner

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Look Up, Stand Still, Breathe

An interview with Quinn Brett on the risk of climbing, fear, and the long road to recovery

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The Best Backpacking Packs

For minimalist overnights to extended treks, we test and review the best backpacking packs on the market

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Review: Oboz Sawtooth II

We bring Oboz’s popular waterproof hiking boot on a backpacking adventure in the Grand Canyon

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Free Range Equipment

A young backpack designer from Bend, Oregon uses his small business to support artists, host pop-up events, and create community

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The Best Camping Stoves

Calling all camp chefs: your portable cooktop is ready

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Bikepacking in Mongolia

A stormy two-wheeled adventure through the remote Khangai Mountains

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Beams of light shine through the musty windows at the Seven Sisters Tea House in Tilje, Nepal, illuminating tendrils of smoke wafting about the room. The glowing dust and particulates move like an indoor aurora borealis. I momentarily...

Trekking Mongolia's Altai Mountains

Don’t undo your bootlaces until you have seen the river. As we sit in dusty, windswept Ulgii, one of Mongolia’s westernmost cities, and await our delayed flight back to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar...

On Location: El Chaltén

We wake at 6am to the faint jingle of Lorna’s watch muffled by her sleeping bag. My body creaks as I pull my sore arms from my sides, grab my headlamp, and light the JetBoil that I had carefully placed outside our tent the night before...

New Zealand's Ball Pass Crossing

I wake at the crack of dawn. Only the faint outline of Aoraki/Mount Cook is visible from my bunk, but its sheer volume is enough to pull me from my sleeping bag. I eagerly nudge Brian awake and we tiptoe outside...

Bikepacking Mongolia’s Khangai Mountains

“Do you think that rain is coming our way?” We pedal under the bright sun, constantly glancing nervously over our shoulders as if being chased by a predator...

The West Coast Trail: Vancouver Island's Iconic Hike

I can’t think of a better way to experience a unique coastal landscape of crashing waves, tide pools, rock formations, old growth forest, birds, and wildlife...

10 Great Day Hikes from Seattle

From the peaks of the Cascades, across the coastal rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula, to towering volcanoes like Mt. Rainier, hiking Washington’s diverse landscapes...

Fall Backpacking in Salt Creek Canyon

Tracing canyon bottoms and following passageways carved by water and time, Utah’s trails meander across the state, connecting one dramatic landscape to the next...

Lofoten Islands, Norway

Norway’s Lofoten Islands are referred to as the Lofoten Wall because, quite literally, they are vertical rows of granite shooting out of the Arctic Sea. A number of colorful fishing villages hug the shoreline and a majority...