I have lost count of how many times a reader has emailed me a photo of a snapped graphite shaft sitting on a baggage carousel. The bad news: a single broken driver costs more than most of the best golf travel bags on this list. The good news: after testing 25 models and surveying hundreds … Read more
I still remember the day my skis came back from a flight looking like a corkscrew. Three thousand dollars of carbon, returned with a tail snapped clean off because I had shoved them into a thin nylon sleeve and hoped for the best. That was the day I started taking ski and snowboard travel bags … Read more
Choosing the best waterproof dry bags used to mean picking between a stiff PVC tube and a leaky stuff sack. After spending 90 days on rivers, lakes, and beach runs with 10 of the most popular options, I can tell you the category has grown up. Today you can find roll-top dry sacks with welded … Read more
Your first night on the trail can either spark a lifelong love of backpacking or send you home with sore shoulders and a pack you never want to touch again. We have been there, and the culprit is almost always the bag. When we set out to find the best backpacking backpacks for beginners in … Read more
I still remember the first time a baitcaster ate 80 yards of line in under a second. My thumb left the spool too late, the lure barely cleared the water, and I spent the next 20 minutes untangling a knot the size of a tennis ball. That was my introduction to baitcasting reels, and the … Read more
Choosing the best baitcasting reels for beginners used to feel like picking a parachute based on color. Old-school baitcasters had a reputation for bird’s nests, thumb cuts, and a learning curve that pushed most anglers straight back to spinning gear. After spending 90 days testing 10 of the most popular beginner-friendly baitcasters on the market … Read more
I have burned through three cheap saltwater reels in two seasons before I learned the lesson that this whole guide is built on: salt eats bearings and drags faster than anything else in fishing. After losing a snook at the boat because my drag seized from corrosion, I started tracking every saltwater spinning reel I … Read more
I remember buying my first fishing rod at a gas station counter when I was nine. The line tangled before I even got to the pond, the reel squeaked, and I gave up before lunch. A good beginner fishing rod would have kept me fishing for a lifetime instead of for an hour. The best … Read more
I spent the past three months casting from Cape Cod beaches, Florida jetties, and Southern California surf to separate the real performers from the spec-sheet pretenders in the surf rod category. My garage currently looks like a tackle shop, but the testing hours were worth it: this guide breaks down the best surf fishing rods … Read more
I have spent more winters than I care to count hunched over a hole in the ice, and I can tell you the rod in your hand matters more than anything else in the shack. Our team spent 90 days drilling holes on Minnesota lakes, panfish ponds in Wisconsin, and big walleye factories in North … Read more