Gear advice that tells you how it knows
Outpost is an independent guide to outdoor gear: reviews, buying guides, and deals, written by a small team that writes from its own gear where it can, and says plainly when it can't.
Most gear advice is a spec sheet with a byline
Search for almost any jacket, pack, or pocket knife and you'll find the same page twenty times: the manufacturer's bullet points, reordered, with a buy button at the bottom. It tells you what the product claims to do. It rarely tells you what it's like on the third wet morning, or which part you'll be cursing by spring.
Outpost starts from the other end. Where one of us owns the gear, we write from what we've actually done with it: weekend trips and long days on trail, but also commutes, dog walks, and the ordinary days most gear spends most of its life on. Where our own experience runs out, we say so and lean on people who have owned the thing for years, not minutes. And where nobody has lived with it long enough yet, we compare it on the spec sheet and design, and tell you that's all it is.
How a story gets made
Four rules. Every article on the site follows all of them.
We tell you how we know
Every pick is judged one of three ways, and we label which. Where one of us owns it, you get our first-hand take. Where we don't, we draw on distinctive owner reviews, forums and long-term videos we trust. Where neither exists yet, we compare it on the spec sheet and design, and say so.
Every product has a con
Nothing is perfect, and a review that pretends otherwise isn't worth your time. Every pick names its trade-off plainly, whether it bugged us, bugged long-term owners, or shows on the spec sheet.
One voice per story
Each article is written by one person, in their own voice. When several of us own the same gear, the byline goes to whoever knows it best, and everyone else who weighed in is credited by name in the piece.
Sources you can check
Whenever we lean on owner reviews, forums, long-term videos or published testing, we link to them. If you can't see where a claim came from, it doesn't make the page.
How we keep the lights on
Outpost is free to read. When you buy something through a link on the site, the retailer may pay us a small commission, at no extra cost to you. That's how we're funded, and it's why we're strict about what that money can't do.
Read our review guidelinesBrands can't pay to appear
No brand buys a place in a guide, a better verdict, or an early look at a story.
Commissions don't pick winners
We choose the gear first and look for the links after. If the best option pays nothing, it's still the best option.
Ratings are rare on purpose
We only score gear someone on the team has spent real time with. Most of what we publish carries no rating, and that's deliberate.
The people behind the bylines
A small team that spends a lot of time outside, in very different ways. You'll hear the difference in how each of us writes.
Outpost Editors
Editorial Staff
Reviews, buying guides, deals and news from the Outpost editorial team.
38 stories
Mark Della Vedova
Running & Value Gear Writer · Minneapolis, MN
Mark runs, walks and rucks around Minneapolis, from the West End along the Cedar Lake Trail into Uptown, and around Minnesota.
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Henrique Chiuchi
EDC Writer · São Paulo, Brazil
Henrique is based in São Paulo, where he jogs in Ibirapuera Park, trains at the gym most days, walks his dog and grills. A weekday desk worker, he gets outside on weekends.
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Grace
Running & Apparel Writer · New York, NY
Grace walks, bikes and runs around New York City and its parks, snowboards in winter and gets outdoors whenever she travels.
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Audrey
Apparel & Footwear Writer · Chicago, IL
Audrey walks Chicago in all weather and works out at the gym every day. Summers mean lake picnics, beach days, outdoor concerts and festivals; year-round she walks her dog and travels.
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Jessica Hill
Family Outdoors Writer · Florida
Jessica is a mom of three boys who spends her outdoor time on Florida's beaches, springs and parks with her kids. She also cycles, packs picnics and travels.
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Jay
Outdoor Living & Camping Writer · Peachtree Corners, GA
Jay has spent more than 10 years outdoors. A husband and dad to twins and a hobbyist wildlife and landscape photographer, he camps in the North Georgia mountains, fishes around Atlanta with his son and hosts backyard grilling and bonfires in Peachtree Corners. He also travels to see Pearl Jam.
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Daniel Demicco
Camping & Hiking Writer · Colorado
Daniel has spent more than 10 years outdoors. Based in Colorado, he spends most of his time across the western states camping in the mountains, climbing, backpacking, trail running, skiing, paddling, fishing and overlanding.
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Charles Moodispaw
Hiking & EDC Writer · Columbus, OH
Charles has spent more than 10 years outdoors and cares about conservation. Based in Columbus, he runs and trail-runs across Ohio, camps in the state, takes ski trips to West Virginia and New York, visits national parks and travels in Europe.
1 story
Sam Moscinski
Winter & Apparel Writer · Chicago, IL
Sam has spent more than 10 years outdoors, six of them as a snowboard instructor with 300+ lessons taught. He has skateboarded since age 6, grew up in rural Illinois, went to school at Northern Michigan University and spent a decade in Scouting. He follows Leave No Trace and now lives in the city.
1 story
Philip Hill
Outdoor Living Writer · St. Petersburg, FL
Philip has spent more than 10 years outdoors and knows the industry from the brand side: he was CMO of Rugged Road (coolers) and Outryd (off-road) and has worked with brands from fire pits and grills to camping, hunting and fishing. He lives near the bay in St. Petersburg, where he boats, paddleboards and kayaks year-round. He skis Colorado, Utah and Montana, car camps and backpacks (often on horseback), and grills and smokes meat.
1 story
Spot something we got wrong?
Gear changes, and so do we. If a product has been updated, a price has moved, or you've owned something longer than we have and see it differently, tell us. We read every message and correct mistakes in the open.