Hiking Boots
Merrell Moab 3 Mid Review: Miles of Real Trail Use
A retired science teacher puts the Merrell Moab 3 Mid through a full Montana hiking season and tells you what held up, what didn't, and who should buy them.
A retired science teacher's honest account of one full season and roughly 300 trail miles in the Merrell Moab 3 Mid Waterproof, from the first short walks to the creek crossings.
A retired science teacher puts the Merrell Moab 3 Mid through a full Montana hiking season and tells you what held up, what didn't, and who should buy them.
I put about 300 miles on the Merrell Moab 3 Mid this season and tried the Keen Targhee on in stores. Here is the honest comparison.
Nell Brandvold put the Merrell Moab 3 Mid through a full season of Montana trails. Here are ten reasons it earned a place as her only hiking boot.
A retired science teacher's honest account of one full season and roughly 300 trail miles in the Merrell Moab 3 Mid Waterproof, from the first short walks to the creek crossings.
A step-by-step method for breaking in the Merrell Moab 3 Mid Waterproof, tested over two weeks of short walks and a full season of trail miles.
A full season, about 300 trail miles, one pair of Merrell Moab 3 Mid Waterproof boots. Here is what held up, what did not, and what I would tell a friend before she buys.
Four overnight trips, one full season, and an honest report from a hiker who does not trust a pack until it has carried a real load.
Nell Brandvold carried the Osprey Renn 50 through a full season and tried the Osprey Kyte 48 in the store. Here is the honest difference between these two women's backpacking packs.
Ten reasons the Osprey Renn 50 earns its place in a weekend backpacker's gear closet, from a retired teacher who tested it all season.
Nell Brandvold on the pack that carried her through a full season of Montana trails, and what she would tell you before you buy one.
Nell Brandvold walks through the packing order she uses for the Osprey Renn 50: set the suspension, build the load from the bottom up, and test it at the car.
Nell Brandvold spent a full season with the Osprey Renn 50. Here is what it does well, what it does not, and what she wishes someone had told her before the first trip.
A full-season, first-person review of the Black Diamond Trail Trekking Poles from a retired teacher who hikes most weeks.
After a full season of hiking with the Black Diamond Trail poles and a short trial of a friend's Leki Makalu, here is the honest comparison.
After a full season of hiking the ridgelines and switchbacks around Missoula, these are the ten reasons my Black Diamond Trail poles earned a permanent spot in my hands on every long descent.
A retired teacher, a tired left knee, and the pair of Black Diamond Trail poles that quietly changed how she hikes.
A step-by-step method for taking the sting out of steep downhills, tested over a full season of Montana trails.
One full season on Montana trails with the aluminum pair I bought myself in April. The locks, the grip, the folded size, and the parts of the hype that do not hold up.
Nell Brandvold wore three pairs of Darn Tough Vermont Hiker Micro Crew socks for about 300 trail miles through one full season. Here is what held up, what did not, and who should buy them.
A full season on the Darn Tough Vermont Hiker Micro Crew, compared honestly against the Smartwool Hike, from a hiker who owns one and tried on the other.
Ten reasons merino hiking socks beat cotton on the trail, from a hiker who switched after thirty years of cotton and has not had a blister since.
A step-by-step routine for preventing hiking blisters, from a hiker who switched to Darn Tough Vermont Hiker Micro Crew socks and went a full season without one.
Seven months, 300 miles, three pairs, zero blisters. Nell Brandvold gives the honest accounting of Darn Tough Vermont Hiker Micro Crew socks, including the parts the ads skip.
A retired teacher puts the Sawyer Mini through a full Montana hiking season. Here is what seven months and many refills taught her.
Both will get you clean water on the trail. The right one depends on how you hike, how much you carry, and how much fiddling you can stand.
Ten reasons the Sawyer Mini has earned a permanent spot in Nell Brandvold's pack after a full season of trail use, plus the honest downsides.
Nell Brandvold on how a two-ounce filter earned a permanent spot in her pack over one full season of Montana trails.
A plainspoken step-by-step from a retired science teacher who has carried the Sawyer Mini all season.
Nell Brandvold carried the Sawyer Mini for a full season in Montana. Here is the honest case for it, the honest case against it, and who should buy something else.
A retired science teacher puts the Merrell Moab 3 Mid through a full Montana hiking season and tells you what held up, what didn't, and who should buy them.
A full season, about 300 trail miles, one pair of Merrell Moab 3 Mid Waterproof boots. Here is what held up, what did not, and what I would tell a friend before she buys.
Four overnight trips, one full season, and an honest report from a hiker who does not trust a pack until it has carried a real load.
Nell Brandvold spent a full season with the Osprey Renn 50. Here is what it does well, what it does not, and what she wishes someone had told her before the first trip.
A full-season, first-person review of the Black Diamond Trail Trekking Poles from a retired teacher who hikes most weeks.
One full season on Montana trails with the aluminum pair I bought myself in April. The locks, the grip, the folded size, and the parts of the hype that do not hold up.
Nell Brandvold wore three pairs of Darn Tough Vermont Hiker Micro Crew socks for about 300 trail miles through one full season. Here is what held up, what did not, and who should buy them.
Seven months, 300 miles, three pairs, zero blisters. Nell Brandvold gives the honest accounting of Darn Tough Vermont Hiker Micro Crew socks, including the parts the ads skip.
A retired teacher puts the Sawyer Mini through a full Montana hiking season. Here is what seven months and many refills taught her.
Nell Brandvold carried the Sawyer Mini for a full season in Montana. Here is the honest case for it, the honest case against it, and who should buy something else.