It’s March, and we’re officially calling it: Hiking and backpacking season is here. And we’ve got the new gear drops to prove it. Ultralight diehards have plenty to explore, with new daypacks from Gossamer Gear and Sea to Summit sleeping pads that balance comfort with weight savings. Spring means the return of the bane of every outdoor person’s existence — ticks and chiggers — but a new insect repellent sock promises to keep these pests far away. And for the fashion-minded hikers, there’s even a new line of apparel to keep you both stylish and functional as the pleasant weather…

A lawsuit filed a little over a year ago challenges New Jersey’s strict laws regulating “hollow nose” ammunition. A summary judgment in Bergmann-Schoch v. Platkin was requested on Mar. 12. There’s been a long-standing law in the Garden State that regulates the place and manner in which people may possess hollow nose ammunition — widely known as hollow-point ammunition/bullets. New Jersey statute 2C:39-3(f)(1) makes the possession of hollow nose ammunition outside of certain exceptions “a crime of the fourth degree.” Attorneys in Bergmann-Schoch filed for a summary judgment in the case.Organizational plaintiffs in the lawsuit…

We should all be expecting the price of oil to continue to rise, as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Global oil supplies are being hindered, and if the cost-of-living crisis wasn’t bad enough, it looks like it’s about to get much worse. Crude oil, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, natural gas, petrochemicals, power, and fertilizer prices have all risen sharply since the conflict began. The narrow shipping lane, known as the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, remains closed. This lane is the one through which around a fifth of the world’s daily oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply passes.  The…

This year has not been kind to skiers and snowboarders around the world. Unless you live in British Columbia, Canada, or on the East Coast, chances are, your ski season was low tide — and your days were spent ripping groomers, avoiding rocks, chopping broccoli, and checking the bottoms of your boards for core shots. The Freeride World Tour was forced to cancel stops in Georgia and Austria due to the scant conditions. But that ain’t stopping Candide Thovex. Where other skiers might cringe at the conditions of Les Tufs, in Tignes, France, Thovex simply sends it. He hops over…

When it comes to the battle over resource extraction on public lands, Alaska is on the front lines. For years, federal land there has been the source of legal disputes over expanding mining, development, oil and gas drilling, and logging. A recent legal case pitted the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) against logging companies over the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. On March 11, the court ruled in the federal government’s favor, putting a stop to efforts to expand logging in a major win for environmentalists. What Is the Tongass National Forest? Located in the Alaska Panhandle, the 17-million–acre Tongass…

The Minnesota Senate Judiciary and Public Safety committee is meeting today, and multiple gun control bills are on its agenda. But while gun control groups will be able to lend their vocal support to legislation banning many semi-automatic firearms and ammunition magazines, establishing more “gun-free zones,” and other infringements on our right to keep and bear arms, pro-Second Amendment groups are being denied an opportunity to speak.  Our partners at @NSSF and @NRA are also not being allowed to testify against the gun ban bills.There are no gun rights groups testifying against the gun bans because…