Don’t leave your darling pooch off your shopping list! Ideal for pets of hikers, backpackers, and other outdoorsy types, the Ruff Wear Palisades II Dog Pack features a three-strap system to disperse the load evenly so as not to trouble your doggie’s back. The pack also comes complete with two collapsible water bladders, a grab handle on the back, and a reflective trim to keep your puppy visible in the dark.

Of course, this one’s a gift that very much gives back to the giver, as evidenced by ThisNexter Kristine’s shopcast: “Poor fortune for my dogs I live by the rule ‘There’s no such thing as a free ride,’” she says. “These backpacks work very well for carrying groceries.”

BTW, has anyone ever actually named his/her dog Fido in all of world history? I’m guessing not.

Here’s a bright idea for campers who want to conserve space in their backpack: Paddling.net’s Firefly Lantern lets you turn your water bottle into a lantern - just by screwing on a lid that contains an integrated LED light. “Now you can use your Nalgene as a flashlight,” says ThisNexter rugenius. “How awesome would that be for camping?” GirlOutside has already tested the Firefly on several camping excursions, finding that the product’s worked with her Nalgene, GSI and Cyclone wide-mouth bottles (“Different colored bottles determine how bright it is,” she notes). “Seriously, at night it will illuminate a dark bathroom and your path to it,” says GirlOutside. “Great to find your bottle of water at night in the tent…and kids love it too.” The Firely’s also a hit with runbike’s kids: “We have a couple of the lanterns that we set up on the picnic table when we are camping and then they make great lights in the tent,” he says. “They look really cool with our red bottles.”

What’s the best way to get comfy sleep while camping? Several of our shopcasters vote for Therm-A-Rest’s trail comfort mattress pad, a self-inflating, superthick bed that Adam Gershon Meron dubs a “a Serta for the outdoors. But lighter.” Will R. says the “light, compact, and comfortable” Therm-A-Rest pads are “much better than older style foam or bulky inflatable mats,” while “traveling yogini” Inayat S. considers the product essential for his constant wanderings ‘round the globe. And, as a testament to Therma-A-Rest’s durability, Eric notes that he’s still got the same pad he used backpacking on the Appalachian Trail a couple decades ago. “The light weight and tiny space it takes up after rolling are also important when every ounce and cubic inch count,” Eric adds. And even though his Therm-A-Rest only supports from hips to shoulders, Eric points out that “when you’re weary that’s all you really need for comfortable sleeping in a tent.”

Once a little-known secret among, as one Pittsburgh Post Gazette article tells it, “mountain bikers and counterculture types” (e.g., Burning Man partiers and “granola-eating fitness buffs”), CamelBak has now become the hydration pack of choice for everyone from hikers and hunters to Navy SEALs and police officers. The CamelBak-loving outdoorsmen and women of ThisNext most likely lean more toward the granola-eating fitness buff side of things (in a really good way), with each shopcasting his or her pack style of choice and favored use.

Travel and adventure writer Shanti Sosienski, for instance, takes her CamelBak Women’s Isis 100 oz. Hydration Pack along in her many excursions around the globe, noting that the small pack is “great for traveling because you can go with or without the water bladder and it makes a good day pack.”

Deb Schiff also recommends her CamelBak 2006 Day Star 70oz. Women’s Hike Hydration Pack for travel – along with long hikes – since the pack “holds extra socks, sandals, snacks, first aid kit, 70 oz of water, and more.” Deb dubs the Day Star perfect for “hiker chicks,” which may have to do with its women-specific design (including a harness that “curves with your body for a comfortable fit,” according to Outdoor Equipment blog).

...continued: How to drink like a camel

We all have our dreams. Some are just more unique than others. Take Paul at (At Least) One Cool Thing, for instance: “I’ve often said that if I am ever obscenely wealthy,” he writes in a recent post, “one of my eccentricities will be to never wear the same pair of socks twice. There is something about the new sock feel that puts an extra spring in your step.” Paul’s dream sock of choice is Thorlo athletic socks, which “retain that new sock feel even after dozen of washings.” Our own Gordon is a Thorlo fan as well, as evidenced by his Running Crew Socks shopcast (“A run without my Thorlos is always a bit sketchy, often ends in blisters,” Gordon points out).

...continued: ThisNext will knock your socks off

“Having a bad day at work?” asks NorCal hiking blogger Calipidder. “Google Evolution Basin, or LeConte canyon, or Muir Pass, of the Golden Staircase, or Rae Lakes, and pretend you’re there.” Or you could just check out Calipidder’s picture posts of her excursions around places like the Cottonwood Lakes, Tahoe National Forest, and the John Muir Trail. The inspiration’s mighty valuable, as are Calipidder’s occasional product picks - including, most recently, her “bright shiny new long handled titanium spoon from Backpackinglight.com.” Created to fulfill all your “meal-in-a-bag” backpacking needs, the spoon features ergonomic design and 8.375-inch-long handle.

What’s the best way to wash your down sleeping bag? Cutter’s Blog recommends nixing the old toss-some-tennis-balls-in-the-dryer trick and combining Nikwax Down Wash with this drying technique:

“[T]ake your bag out of the dryer every few minutes and fluff it up, breaking up the clumps by hand. This way, you don’t run the risk of damaging the baffles and stitching.”

The result? A perfectly clean sleeping bag that, according to long-distance-hiker Cutter, feels “as fluffy as a cloud.”

Calling all hikers, backpackers, and other nature-lovers who live for exploring the outdoors on foot: Andy Howell at Must Be This Way has just set up WikiTrek, a “public domain Wiki that deals with all things hiking/backpacking, etc.” Created to cover walks and treks throughout the globe, WikiTrek needs lots of you-generated content about favorite excursions, gear, cafes, and so on. Click your way to the main page and get going on building what Andy hopes to be a “great resource for walkers and trekkers everywhere.”

What to chow down on during a six-day backpacking adventure? So as not to have to deal with lugging a jar of marinara on the trails, Jason at Ahoyhoy.org is experimenting with dehydrated sauce for his famous Fish & Spaghetti (check his post for recipe details). Another option, as Jason notes, is Mountain House’s backpacking foods. Pre-packaged and freeze-dried, the product line includes entrees like Oriental-Style Spicy Chicken, Beef Teriyaki, Turkey Tetrazzini, and Pasta Primavera.

Just because your backpack weighs less than a feather doesn’t mean your wallet has to be similarly stripped of all its heavy metal: Hikerdeals.com offers great deals to consumers seeking online gear bargains.

Some discounts are universal to a Web site and some are bargains on specific pieces of gear.