UpNorthica

The buzz began last week, when a spokesperson for a relief organization in Haiti made this desperate plea in a New York Times article: “Tents, tents, tents [...] That’s the word we want to get out. We need tents.”
Some 100,00 tents, in fact, will be needed to shelter an estimated half million refugees.
It didn’t take [...]

Duluth Pack has been making their Moose Hide Choppers since infinity ago. For so long, in fact, I’d heard a rumor that they actually hold a patent on the moose itself.
As with their canoe packs, Duluth Pack’s choppers have maintained a certain loyalty among outdoorsy types. While most outerwear brands have chased after ever-newer materials [...]

Of *course* you’re skeptical. But just be thankful this isn’t the 9,438th post out there on how to fit survival gear into an Altoids tin.
Can an iPhone be significantly useful in the wild? Without a signal? We just read about a blogger who’s sufficiently optimized his iPhone, to argue a good case for it.
For quick [...]

If you’ve ever known the love of a Langford Canoe, you’ve likely felt it either while visiting Canada, or in having to travel there yourself to buy one. So sad, like a bittersweet camp romance.
Take heart, unrequited paddlers — this one’s got a happy ending. Canada’s oldest operating canoe company is now importing to the [...]

A toasty, warm balaclava will ward off the cold. It’ll also repel most females. That’s a darn shame, ‘cause the ladies need to stay warm too, right? So what’s a girl to wear, without looking as creepy as you do?
Luckily, we found a decent selection of handmade women’s balaclavas on Etsy. Here’s the clincher: They’re [...]

With snow falling already, (sheesh!) holiday shopping can’t be far behind. So why not throw in your bid for this vintage portage pack from 1882? The “buy it now” price is a mere $100,00 American dollars.
While packs like this have never been cheap, this one’s value rests upon more than just how well-preserved it is. [...]

In a day and age when people kayak down ski hills and surf in Lake Superior during winter, I’ve decided there’s no such thing as an ‘end-of-season’ anymore. For any outdoor activity in Minnesota. We just crazy that way.
That said, you’d be really crazy (in the literal sense this time) if you didn’t check out [...]

I like to tell my non-outdoorsy friends that the BWCA is *always* like this commercial for Timberland’s Mountain Athletics shoes. Little do they know, you only get chased like this when you don’t seal up your beef jerky well enough. Suckas. Via The Adventure Blog.

A headlamp that’s made to go on your chest? Nope, I sure hadn’t tried that one before.
But when I first saw GoMotion’s Sternum 3-Watt Luxeon LED Kit, I was curious about the concept. Could it actually better a night-time wilderness experience? Would it avoid the drawbacks of traditional headlamps? And would this huge searchlight on [...]

Craftzine is definitely not on our regular rotation of manly, testosterone-inducing sites  (I hear that snickering,) but right now it has an interesting post on camping cook kits.
While the author prefers a kit that would take up most of a pack, she does advocate for bringing along as little packaging as possible. More importantly, it’s [...]

This what they mean by, ‘mateable sleeping bags?’
Sexy Hotness is a sleeping bag meant to optimize the act of doin’ the wild thing, out in the wild. Boutique gearmakers Alite Design previewed (not demo’ed) the thing at OR. Judging from all the buzz, I guess a lot of people out there like to watch.
The [...]

Recently, Salt Lake City hosted Outdoor Retailer, the show-and-tell convention of gear manufacturers everywhere. The bi-annual expo allows a sneak peek at next spring’s crop of outdoor apparel and equipment.
With the event itself sounding a bit like a circus, many of the previewed products we’ve read about seem fittingly like eye candy and novelty. So [...]

How to salvage an epic adventure turned epic fail? Reward your buddies with Demerit Patches for surviving it all.
For everyone who may have has had a less-than-perfect camping experience, Demeritwear takes a little of the hurt off, with their selection of tees and individual patches. Tent get flooded out? Critters enjoy the food pack more [...]

Ely outfitter Jason Zabokrtsky conducts this little experiment in his million-acre northwoods lab.
Testing the bouyancy of not one, but two fully loaded packs, his findings might surprise you. Will factors like duck canvas, plastic pack inserts and semi-air-filled items (air mattresses & aerosol cans) keep the water out and the weight afloat? Place those bets [...]

This looks curious: Chemfire Capsules are a new product that, when paired with a few drops of solution, start your fire chemically.
Potential as a UL alternative to a box of waterproof matches? Hmm, maybe. But unscrewing a glycerin capsule, setting half to the side, then reassembling the thing, all in the rain? At least [...]