When you're traveling or backpacking, you know every little thing you pack is important. You want the best functioning stuff you can find and you want to be comfortable and look good. And you want to keep that weight down. Everything should be fast drying and wicking, even your underwear. That way you're more comfortable and can hand wash your stuff in a hotel sink or the back country to wear the next day.
Wool underwear has been around a while, but I was never that interested. It just didn't sound very comfortable to me. Well guess what--it's so comfortable it's
luxurious. Of course it is, wool keeps you cool when it's hot and warm when it's cold, I just never equated it to under garments. Now I'm hooked.
Wool has the added benefit of being odor and moisture resistant, so it's perfect for when you can only have a few pieces. Check out this
Siren Cami and matching
Hipkini by Icebreaker. I love the feminine details--I don't care if I'm out in the middle of nowhere, I still like to wear pretty things under my clothes. But this is subtle, it's not overly girlie, it's more elegant and fits in perfectly with a natural setting. I also like I
cebreaker's Siren Tank which can be worn alone or as another great layering piece. The straps are adjustable for a more custom fit.
The tank is gorgeous in black and can easily be worn alone as a top.
Sizing on the Icebreaker can be tricky for me. I wear a size 8 pant and with the underwear, the medium is perfect. On top, I'm a 10, and usually a medium in most things, however with Icebreaker I tend to take a large. With the cami, I could have gone medium. Icebreaker offers free shipping and returns so you don't have to worry about getting the right fit, you can easily exchange if you need something different.
Ibex makes some wonderful undergarments as well. Check out these cute
Balance Briefs which fit and feel great. I love their Ibex goat logo on the front--I am not a logo person. Normally I really don't care for logos much at all and wish they weren't there. Ibex's logo is more like art, I love it and was happy to see it on the underwear.
The
Woolies Camisole is great for layering or wearing alone. The Ibex is especially soft, and a little thicker than the Icebreaker undergarments. I found the underwear to run small, so you might want to order up. I needed a large for the underwear, but for the cami, a medium was fine. I think you could wear this as a tank by itself with a pair of jeans or skirt, it's butter soft and very cute.
Next we have
Smartwool. Of course they make great underwear, their socks are fabulous and so are their clothes. Smartwool also has a cute and unassuming logo by the way, not found on the underwear. I love their camis and the underwear also does not disappoint. It comes in a hipster, thong, and bikini styles and my favorite is the
bikini.
Size-wise, I take a medium in the Smartwool, usually both top and bottom. They're a great weight, and super comfortable. Now is the time to stock up on Smartwool, Ibex and Icebreaker, and I have found some amazing and irresistible deals on all three brands on Amazon and
Departmentofgoods. I found some things I couldn't believe I was getting such a great deal on--I found some hundred dollar tops for $30, so don't let the expense of wool put you off, there are great deals out there. And even if you do pay full price, the wear is so worth the extra cost, this stuff lasts forever and it's so high performance I find it to be worth every penny.
And last but not least,
Ex Officio underwear is legendary for being the perfect underwear for travel and adventure. Have you heard about the person that took one pair of underwear around the world and they were in perfect shape when they finished their trip? That was Ex Officio underwear.
I love the
Give-N-Go Lacey Low Rise Bikini. They are feminine, come in pretty colors and fit great. I took mediums in the Ex Officio underwear and they were very comfortable.
The
Give-N-Go string bikini is cute and fits great. You would never know these two styles are performance underwear at all. There is a texture to the fabric which makes them easier to clean, you can work up a lather with very little eco friendly soap. I don't know how they did it, but this underwear is feminine and also hard core at the same time. I'm new to Ex Officio, but so far I can really see why people love this brand.
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The Give-N-Go string bikini is cute and fits great. You would never know these two styles are performance underwear at all. There is a texture to the fabric which makes them easier to clean, you can work up a lather with very little eco friendly soap. I don't know how they did it, but this underwear is feminine and also hard core at the same time. I'm new to Ex Officio, but so far I can really see why people love this brand. 
Bears will break into cars to get to coolers and food items as small as a stick of gum. They break right through the glass and have been known to tear through the back seats to get into trunks. Their sense of smell is incredible, topping that of dogs by 100 percent. And the shenanigans they will go through to get to your food are legendary, they are very smart and relentlessly determined. 
This can be dangerous for humans and for bears. And thankfully, state parks began instituting precautionary measures back in 1999 which have really helped to curb this problem. Damages and injuries went way down with bear management programs and the key has been to require humans to lock up their food. This way bears have no desire to come in contact with us. They say that bears so quickly discovered the futility of messing around with bear canisters, that many, when they see them, just walk right by them. That's a win-win. Keeps us safe from bears and keeps bears safe from having to be put down because they are too motivated to enter human camps looking for food.
A great solution are BearVaults. They are easy for us to open and close, yet bear proof, certified by the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group for Black Bears and the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee for Grizzly Bears. They are clear blue plastic and you can see the contents from the outside, the wide opening makes it easy to get at food, and they make for a good little chair around camp. They come in a Solo size, weighing 2 lbs 1oz and large enough to contain 4 days worth of food for one person. The larger size weighs 2 lbs 9 oz and will hold enough food for seven days for one person. There are grooves on the vault to help you strap it on the outside of your pack if you desire, and they are rain proof. At night, you put all food, bars, body products like toothpaste and lip balm into the BearVault and place a good one hundred feet away from where you are sleeping. If you can, try to wedge it between rocks or logs and you're good to go.
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Superfeet come in a variety of colors, each designed for a specific activity, like skiing, or hiking, or biking for instance. I heard about Superfeet Greens from a backpacker and that got my attention, an insole that would offer extra support while you carry around a heavy load. I wasn't really sure at first, because I'm used to the more squishy insoles and i had to get used to the stiffness of the Superfeet.
. Two people can literally sets up in less than five minutes, it doesn't get easier than that. And it's huge. Plenty of room for everybody and it even has the option to create two "rooms." It's 10 x 14, 6.5 feet tall and has windows all the way around the tent so you get a 360 degree view.
To make navigation around the campsite easier at night, Coleman has this new innovative lantern that breaks apart into several individual lanterns. Great idea! The Quad Lantern
has a large base that holds 8 D batteries and provides up to 75 hours of light. The lantern uses LED lights and the detachable lights recharge on the base. I have several lanterns in the house for power outages and this one is the best. Both items would make great holiday gifts.
