I’ve always been a gear nerd. While, within our pages, we’re much more focused on telling exciting adventure stories, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that talking about gear is plain fun. But I don’t think most of us have been super happy with the way gear is covered in a lot of other places: sensationalist, consumerist, designed solely to get you to click on links and buy. Instead, how can we make gear writing more like the conversations we have with our hiking buddies? Figuring that out has been a goal since our very first issue.
In 2025, we introduced out annual Trails Magazine Editors’ Lists.
Rather than simply focusing on "the best gear of 2027," our lists are an attempt to reintroduce context to gear reviews.Every year, we focus on one specific genre of backpacking trip to recommend the gear (not necessarily just the new stuff, either) that we think is best for that specific type of trip. We’re lending more weight to the lowly packing list, reintroducing critical context to editors' picks, and working hard to earn the trust of skeptical readers.
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Used, not tested. If we included an item on one of our lists, it’s not because it scored well in some laboratory-style test. It’s because it passed the only test that really matters: actual trail miles.
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Nothing to sell. There are no links, no promotional catchphrases, no discounts, and we’re not afraid to highlight failure points or call out problems. Nobody paid to be included in our coverage and we don’t make anything from affiliate programs.
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No more meaningless “bests.” No product is ever the best for every person and every situation. We’re reintroducing context to gear reviews so you can make better informed decisions about what to pack for your specific trip.
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Gear should last more than one year. We’re not interested in talking only about the stuff hitting shelves this year. If the greatest isn’t actually the latest, that's what you’re going to read about.
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Earning your trust. Gear reviews have a trust problem. We’re hoping these reviews earn some of that back. We weren’t paid to say anything. We have no obligations to specific brands. And all our reviews were written by real backpackers with countless nights in the dirt.
Having written countless gear reviews for other publications, the editors and I understand their flaws. Since we began on Kickstarter, we’ve had hundreds of individual conversations with subscribers, readers, industry veterans, other journalists, and beyond to try and understand what we all want to get out of gear coverage. And we’ve been iterating on this and other ideas, trying to develop something truly revolutionary. This Editors’ List project has been a long time coming. The result is a product that we’re incredibly proud of and excited by. We’re confident that you’ll notice a difference and hopeful that this jumpstarts an entire gear reviewing industry that’s become stagnated by mediocrity.
