Backpacking 101: Summer Trail Smarts

Learn to tie a basic, but essential knot, staunch a bleeder, and purify water.
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You need how-to manuals that can go where Google–or your five-pound camping encyclopedia–can't. Enter three new BACKPACKER Falcon Guides covering knots, medical emergencies, and backpacking fundamentals. Here's a sampling of an essential skills you can get in a pocket-size, battery-free form ($13,

Tie a Figure-8 Loop

Staunch a Bleeding Wound

Purify Water