How to Pack For A Hike: The Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist

Alay Region Marketing and Product Development Strategy

What hiking essentials do I need for a multi-day hike? What gear and hiking backpack should I take on a day hike? What gear would be too much? And what hiking gear is essential so that you are prepared for all types of weather and other scenarios? How am I going to carry it all so it's not too heavy? This Ultimate Hiking Essentials Checklist aims to answer all of those questions — and much more — to prepare you for your next day hike, multi-day trek or outdoor adventure.

Continue Reading

Best Gifts for Travelers (or Anyone, Really): 2020 Edition

Sustainable Travel Tips to Protect the Environment

What are the best travel gifts in 2020 that can be enjoyed on trips half-way around the world, as well as on adventures closer to home? What about holiday presents for the traveler in your life who wants to travel more sustainably and reduce their environmental footprint? And finally, what about unique holiday gifts that support local communities, artisans and small businesses? These are not only beautiful, but they have a unique story to tell as well. This 2020 Ultimate Traveler Gift Guide has all this and more.

Continue Reading

How To Pack for the Camino de Santiago: Camino Essentials and Packing Lists

Clothing for the Camino

How to pack for the Camino de Santiago so that you are prepared with all the essentials for the Camino, but you still pack light and don't carry a heavy backpack? That is one of the big challenges when preparing and planning for the Camino de Santiago, one where you can waste lots of time and money if you're not careful. Fortunately, our Ultimate Camino Essentials Packing List for women and men helps you figure this all out with a list of essential clothing and gear to bring with you.

Our Camino Essentials Packing List is all based on our own experience of walking almost 1,000 km / 600 miles along the Camino de Santiago. We share specific recommendations on Camino essentials like backpacks, clothing, shoes, foot care, and more. The goal: carry what you need to be comfortable and protect against changing weather, but don't feel like you need to take everything with you on the Camino de Santiago.

Continue Reading

Our Low Tech Travel Gear of the Year

These days, gadgets and flashy digital toys steal the limelight. And I'd be lying to you if I said we didn’t enjoy ours. But sometimes it’s the low-tech items that literally save the day.

From the dollar store to the health food store, we go old school for a moment and highlight some simple, non-gadgety stuff in our backpacks that we’ve come to know, rely on, and in some cases — love.

Continue Reading

Our Office-less Office

Why are you carrying a dead body with you around the world?

— A fellow traveler attempting to carry one of our backpacks.

If you've run into us on this trip, you may have noticed something of a contradiction: we appear heavily laden even though we exhibit a knack for wearing the same clothes almost every day.

“What's with that?” you might ask.

If our bags aren’t stuffed with spiffy duds for nights out on the back beach, then what on earth are we carrying?

Continue Reading