Editorial Standards
OutdoorAdept is a hiking guides blog backed by field testing, and this page is the rulebook behind it. How gear earns a verdict is covered on How We Test. Everything else that keeps this site honest, from who pays for the gear to what happens when we get something wrong, is written down here.
- Fully independent
- Errors fixed, not buried
- Never just one retailer
Nobody buys a verdict
OutdoorAdept is fully independent. No brand, retailer, or agency has any say in what we cover, how we rank it, or what we conclude. We buy the gear we test with our own money, we keep using it after the review goes live, and when something falls apart on trail, we say so.
Things that have no price
- Sponsored posts and paid reviews. We do not publish them, at any budget.
- Paid links or “collaboration” placements inside our guides.
- Free products in exchange for coverage. Samples sent anyway do not get reviewed.
- Softened conclusions. Brands can flag factual errors like any reader; verdicts are not negotiable.
Errors get fixed, not buried
Trails reroute, models get discontinued, and sometimes we are simply wrong. When an error is reported and verified, we correct it as soon as possible, and the correction goes to the person who wrote the piece. Where a fix changes the substance of a guide, we say so on the page itself with an editor’s note or an article history entry, and we credit the reader who caught it.
Spotted something off? The fastest route is the corrections option on our Contact page; we try to reply to every email within two business days.
How the site pays for its boots
Product links in our guides are affiliate links, and they are the main way this site funds the gear it buys and tests. Three rules keep them honest:
They never touch the ranking
Commissions differ per retailer; our verdicts do not. Gear is ranked on how it performed in testing, and a product we would not recommend does not get a link at all.
You always get options
Every recommendation lists multiple places to find the product, so you can compare prices and pick the store you trust, not the one that pays us most.
Smart routing, same price
Our links are handled by Geniuslink, which routes you to a retailer that actually serves your country. Buying through them never costs you anything extra.
Where to read more
Contributors are held to these same standards: Write For Us and Join Our Team both explain the bar.
These standards apply to every page on OutdoorAdept. If we ever fall short of them, we want to hear about it.Corrections, factual challenges, and complaints all reach the same inbox.
Tell us what we got wrongGet our new guides first
Field-tested hiking guides and gear reviews, straight to your inbox. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.