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.
Travel Advisor
Gear, technique and logistics: what the specs mean, what the standards require, and what to buy once.
13 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.
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.