Our Mission
Trekax exists for one reason: to make it easier for trekkers to choose the right gear for their trip. Not the most expensive gear, not the best-looking gear — the gear that will actually perform when it counts.
The outdoor gear market is enormous, the marketing budgets are substantial, and there is a lot of content out there that looks like an independent review but is written around whichever products have the best affiliate commission rates. We noticed this problem, and we set out to do it differently.
Every piece of gear featured on Trekax has been physically tested in field conditions. Our rankings and recommendations are based entirely on how gear performs on actual trails, not on which brand has the most generous affiliate programme.
The Trekax Editorial Team
Trekax is run by a small team of trekkers with combined experience across six continents. Between us, we've completed the EBC and Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, various Alpine routes (Tour du Mont Blanc, Haute Route, Walker's Haute Route), the Camino Francés and Camino del Norte, major routes in Patagonia, sections of the Pacific Crest Trail, and numerous shorter treks in Southeast Asia, East Africa and the British Isles.
We're not sponsored athletes. We're not influencers. We're people with day jobs who spend their holidays on trails, and who started writing down what we learned so that others could benefit from our mistakes.
We don't publish photos of ourselves or use our names on the site — not out of mystery, but because we think that's the right call. Gear reviews should be about the gear, not about personalities.
How We Evaluate Gear
Field Testing First
No gear gets reviewed without field testing. Minimum 60km for footwear; minimum 5 consecutive days for packs; at least one full-day outing in wet conditions for waterproof gear.
Long-Term Observation
We try to include durability data wherever possible — ideally gear that has been used over 18+ months. First impressions can be misleading; how gear holds up over time is more useful information.
Multiple Conditions
We test in real conditions, which means rain, cold, heat, mud, and altitude. Lab testing and controlled environments don't tell you how a boot performs when it's wet, cold and you've been wearing it for 8 hours.
Across All Budgets
Most trekkers aren't spending £400 on a jacket. We always try to identify the best option at each price point, not just the best overall. Budget picks are tested with the same rigour as premium picks.
How Affiliate Relationships Work
Trekax uses affiliate links — primarily Amazon Associates and the REI affiliate programme. When you click a link to a product on our site and make a purchase, we receive a small commission (typically 3–8% depending on the product category). This costs you nothing extra.
This affiliate income is what funds the site — it pays for hosting, testing gear, and the time we put into writing and maintaining content. Without it, Trekax wouldn't exist.
Here is how we ensure affiliate relationships don't compromise editorial integrity:
- Products are ranked by testing performance, not by affiliate commission rate. A product with a higher commission rate doesn't get a higher ranking.
- We include products for which there are no affiliate links if they're genuinely the best recommendation.
- We include budget picks even though premium products typically generate higher absolute commissions.
- We publish negative assessments of products we find unsatisfactory, even when better reviews would drive more clicks.
You can read our full affiliate and editorial policy on our methodology page.
Corrections and Updates
Gear changes. Companies discontinue products, release new versions, and sometimes quietly change specifications without updating product pages. We review and update our content on a rolling basis, with major guides reviewed at minimum annually. Each page shows a "Last reviewed" date so you know how current the information is.
If you spot an error, an outdated recommendation, or a product that's been discontinued, we'd genuinely like to know. Use the contact details below.
Contact
We don't have a public contact form, but you can reach the editorial team at the contact page. We read everything but can't guarantee responses to every message. For gear questions, reader reviews and corrections are the most likely to get a response.