What We Do
Nations Trails is run by two editors: Marcus Holloway, our founder and editor-in-chief, and Garrett Vance, our senior outdoor gear and tech editor. The site covers trail, trekking, camping, cycling, and snow gear, and the goal is simple: bring some honesty to a market crowded with sponsored "best of" lists. Each guide takes one category and compares the products on what actually matters for a trip, such as weight, materials, published ratings, fit, and what verified buyers report.
To be upfront: Nations Trails is a research-based publisher. We do not personally use or field-test every product we write about, and no guide here claims otherwise. What we do is remove the two things that make gear shopping hard: listings that bury the important numbers under marketing copy, and "waterproof" or "ultralight" claims with no rating or weight behind them.
From trekking poles and hiking boots to tents, headlamps, bikepacking bags, and ski gear, every guide is reviewed before publication. Where the available information is too thin to judge something, we say so rather than filling the gap with confident-sounding copy.
What We Stand For
Specs over marketing
Every figure we publish comes from the manufacturer's stated specifications, never from a product photo or a slogan.
Same conditions, every product
Weight, packed size, and cost per year of use. Normalizing the numbers is what makes a comparison honest.
Stated, never assumed
A waterproof, temperature, or safety rating appears only when the manufacturer publishes it. Gaps are named as gaps.
Honest about method
This is research, not hands-on testing, and every guide is written that way instead of implying personal use.
The Editors
Who writes and reviews the guides
Marcus Holloway is the founder and editor-in-chief of Nations Trails. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, near the Blue Ridge Mountains, and leads the site's coverage of tents, sleeping bags and pads, camp stoves, water filters, portable power for camping, and backcountry safety gear. His guides focus on the details a product listing tends to bury, such as fabric weight, waterproof ratings, sleeping pad R-values, and battery capacity, and he reviews the site's guides before they are published.
Garrett Vance is the senior outdoor gear and tech editor at Nations Trails. Based in Bellingham, Washington, between the North Cascades and the coast, he covers hiking footwear, backpacks, trekking poles, rain shells and layers, cycling and snow sports gear, and outdoor electronics such as GPS watches and headlamps. He compares products on fit, weight, materials, and battery life so readers can pick gear that suits their own trips.
How We Make Money
Affiliate disclosureNations Trails is reader-funded through affiliate commissions. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, so when you buy through a link on this site we may earn a commission, paid by the retailer rather than by you.
No manufacturer pays for placement, a score, or a mention, and no brand sees a guide before it publishes. We do not accept sponsored reviews, free product in exchange for coverage, or paid inclusion in a comparison table. Commission rates play no part in the NT Score or in which product gets a label.
Read the full affiliate disclosure ›Safety Disclaimer
Everything on this site is educational. It is not route guidance, a fitness or medical assessment, or a substitute for your own judgment, the manufacturer's instructions, local trail conditions, and weather reports.
Hiking, backpacking, cycling, and snow sports carry real risk. Check conditions, tell someone your route, carry appropriate safety and navigation gear, and get advice from a local guide or ranger station rather than from a buying guide, including ours.
Corrections & Contact
Models get discontinued, specs get revised, and prices move daily. If you find a figure that no longer matches the current listing, tell us. We check it against the manufacturer's current spec sheet and fix it in place. For anything else, the contact page has our details.