Travel Advisor
What Is Backpacking Travel? The Word Means Two Different Things
One word, two activities that share almost nothing but a bag. Which one you mean changes the gear, the cost, the risk and the skills, so it is worth settling first.
Outdoor and watersports editor
Josh Whitaker
Josh covers watersports gear and public-land access. He reads the permit rules, the fee schedules and the safety standards so the numbers in a piece match the ones the managing agency publishes.
14 guides
Travel Advisor
Best Wakeboards for Beginners: Size by Weight, Then Pick a Rocker
Two decisions cover almost everything: get the length right for your weight, and choose a continuous rocker. Everything else is preference and price.
Travel Advisor
Removing Mildew From Beach and Camping Chairs Without Bleach
Bleach is the reflex and it is the wrong tool on chair fabric. It removes the stain, leaves the growth, and wrecks the colour. Here is the method that works.
Travel Advisor
Full Face Snorkel Masks: What the Safety Data Says Before You Buy One
These masks are genuinely more comfortable and there is a body of drowning research pointing at them. Both things are true, and a buying guide that ignores the second is not worth reading.
Travel Advisor
Beach Chairs With Canopies: Shade Blocks Less UV Than You Think
A canopy stops the sun coming down. It does nothing about the UV bouncing up off the sand, which is most of what burns people who thought they were in the shade.
Destinations
Weir Creek Hot Springs: The Night Closure Most Guides Leave Out
Free, unimproved and half a mile off Highway 12, with a Forest Service order that closes it every night at 8pm. Here is the access, the trail and the rule that catches people out.
Destinations
Boat Box Hot Springs: A Metal Tub You Have to Plumb Yourself
One metal tub on the bank of the Salmon River, fed by a 136F spring through a length of pipe. Getting a soakable temperature is a job you do yourself, with a bucket.
Travel Advisor
Wakesurfing: Why It Suits Most People, and the One Boat Rule
No rope, low speed, soft landings. Wakesurfing is the most accessible tow sport there is, provided you never do it behind the wrong kind of boat.
Travel Advisor
Wakeboard Life Jackets: The Labels Changed, and Most Guides Have Not
From January 2025 the label on a life jacket stopped saying Type III and started saying a performance level. If you are buying a vest, this is the thing to understand first.
Travel Advisor
How to Wakeboard: The Getting-Up Sequence, and the Speeds That Make It Work
Almost every failed first wakeboard session comes down to two things: the boat is too slow, and the rider is trying to stand up rather than letting the boat do it.
Travel Advisor
Water Shoes for Snorkelling: What You Actually Need on Your Feet
Two different problems get sold as one product. Entry footwear needs a sole; swimming needs a fin. Solving both with one item is where most purchases go wrong.
Travel Advisor
How a Snorkel Works, and the Failure Mode That Drowns People
The physics are simple and the risk is not. A 2021 study of snorkel drownings found the mechanism is usually not inhaled water at all, and that the tube itself is part of the problem.
Travel Advisor
Renting a Kayak: The Eight Questions to Ask Before You Pay
Most bad kayak rental days are decided at the counter, not on the water. Eight questions, asked before you hand over a card, cover almost all of it.
Travel Advisor
Long-Haul Flights: What the Evidence Says Actually Helps
Two measurable things happen to your body on a long flight: your blood pools and the air dries you out. Almost everything worth doing on board addresses one of those.