How To: Backpack the Ozark Trail

Therefore, try only to analyze weight and packed size between bags with similar warmth. Don’t be afraid to spend a little more for a lighter or more compressible sleeping bag if you plan to venture deep into the backcountry. After all, your knees and back are more valuable than even the priciest sleeping ozark trail outdoor equipment bag. Our top choice for the ounce counters out there is the Feathered Friends Flicker 40 UL. This innovative model incorporates a truly full-length zipper that allows it to function as a hoodless mummy bag or an open quilt. When opened as a quilt, it offered plenty of ventilation for a warm summer night.

This versatile, light, easy-to-use wagon totes everything across different types of terrain and folds up to a compact, easy-to-carry size. With access to the Ozark Trail available year-round, hikers will need to prepare differently for each season. Ozark springs see a lot of rain and varied temperatures; Ozark summers tend to be hot, muggy, and wet; Ozark winters can drop below freezing. Wet weather is common to the Ozark climate, especially in late spring through summer, and fosters a breeding ground for bugs, mosquitos, and ticks. Consider bringing waterproof shoes and treating your clothes ahead of time with permethrin to repel insects. In the colder seasons insulating layers are a must, and a good rain shell for you and rain fly for your tent are necessary year-round.

If down feathers get wet, they clump together and lose nearly all of their loft and insulative power. Synthetic fibers, in contrast, do not clump, so they can continue to provide considerable insulation when wet. In this review, we highlight our favorite sleeping bags from a range of sleeping bag categories. In total, GearLab has now purchased and tested more than 300 different bags in conditions ranging from convenient backyard slumber parties to miserable frigid nights on remote Alaskan glaciers. We sent bags on trips to Nepal, Bolivia, Argentina, and Tajikistan, as well as plenty of less exotic locales closer to home.

She spent the majority of her professional career in Human Resources before starting her blogging journey in 2012. Whether you’re ozark trail outdoor equipment planning an epic thru-hike or an out-and-back weekend excursion, this guide will help you get started on your Missouri adventure.

Just be prepared to face changing weather conditions out in the wilderness. The Ozark Trail (OT) is one of America’s premier distance hiking trails. Mostly ozark trail outdoor equipment divided into linked sections, the trail winds through 390 miles of rolling hills, stone bluffs and cool streams in central and southern Missouri.

But synthetic sleeping bags continue to be popular due to their lower cost. Broadly speaking, we recommend beginners and occasional backpackers choose a synthetic sleeping bag, while more devoted outdoor people splurge for a down model. You can find a more thorough discussion of our favorite down models in our best backpacking sleeping bag review.