I refrain from giving any gear too much praise, but I have to applaud Black Diamond for coming up with one of the best headlamps available on the market. The Black Diamond Spot Headlamp comes equipped with more features than your standard headlamp, yet its price rivals those without them. Before we get started with […]
Camping Gear
The Hennessy Hammock Survivor | Lightweight Comfortable Camping
I’ve lived in a lot of different shelters throughout my time as a survival instructor. Pup tents, tents, snow caves, hammocks, rock over hangs, tree wells, lean-to shelters, lean-aways, shelters made from parachute and most other shelters. Throughout this I’ve defaulted to something simple most of the time, a tarp of some type with a […]
Princeton Tec Quad Tactical Headlamp
I was shivering uncontrollably. My thin warm weather rip-stop Crye multicams did little to ward off the December chill in Northeastern Washington. It was 2030 hours, well past civil twilight this far north and it had been dark for four hours by this point. We’d been evading by moon and starlight and had settled into […]
The new Napier Backroadz SUV Tent, Model 19100
I recently received the Napier Backroadz SUV tent for review. I was very excited about this project as I had donated my last tent to a local organization and have been looking at tents or campers that I could use I conjunction with my vehicle (Honda CRV, 2009). When the tent arrived I unpacked it […]
Sh!t Kit field toilet kit: Don’t get caught with your pants down
When I originally saw this product I had to laugh. Out of all the products we’ve reviewed on the Loadout Room, how was I going to make this fit into our demographic? My initial gut reaction was that this was one of those gimmicky products that had no real practicality. After I had received a few […]
Nemo Cloudview Hammock: Quick Look
*Photos courtesy of Logan Winters The Cloudview Hammock is by far the best lounging hammock for your backyard or family car camping trip. Setup is much easier and quicker than those cumbersome hammocks with wooden or metal frames. Once you have the spreader bars installed on each side and get the hammock hung between two trees, the […]
Photo of the Day: Yeti’s new Rambler 24oz. Mug
Not a day goes by without using one of my Yeti Ramblers. Wether it’s keeping a cup of coffee hot in the morning, or a beverage cold later in the day. They simply out perform anything else I’ve used. One of my favorites around the house is a Rambler 14 ounce Mug. That coffee mug sees […]
Sherpa Blanket from Rumpl: Polar Vortex approved
Living in the Midwest this winter has been more challenging than years past. A polar vortex created an almost uninhabitable environment across much of the region. Temperatures dropped to -34F in Northern Michigan and the Governor declared a state of emergency. Between January 25th and Feb 5th, my son has gone to school just one […]
Enlightened Equipment on backpacking quilts vs. sleeping bags
If you’re an avid hiker or backpacker, you probably know a thing or two about the ultralight community. The ultralight concept is simple; the basic idea is to keep everything lightweight, use multifunctional gear, and limit what you don’t need. In other words, you keep your gear as absolutely minimal as possible without endangering yourself. […]
UCO Mess Kit: Compact, reusable and worth every penny
The UCO company started off by making a candle lantern in 1971. With a company based on living life outdoors, they have now emerged into the Mess Kit category with their new line that is fairly new to the market. Now, I’ll be honest, a mess kit is a mess kit. First off, let’s get […]