Editorial Policy

Our editorial principles

KnowOutdoor exists to help you plan a trip, pack the right kit, and come home safe. Everything we publish serves that goal.

These six principles govern how we write, review, and correct our work. We hold ourselves to them on every page, from a beginner day-hike guide to a route report deep in the backcountry.

Editorial independence

Our recommendations are not for sale. A brand cannot pay to appear in a guide, to win a higher rating, or to remove a competitor from a comparison.

We buy or independently source the gear we test whenever we can. We tell you when a sample came from a manufacturer.

The people who sell advertising on KnowOutdoor have no say over what our editors write. The people who write our guides have no stake in which advertiser signs a deal.

We keep those two jobs in separate hands on purpose.

• Advertisers and affiliate partners never see a review before it publishes.
• No partner can request edits, softer language, or a better score.
• We remove a product from a list only for editorial reasons, such as a recall or a failed retest, never because a partnership ended.
• If a commercial relationship could look like a conflict, we disclose it on the page.

You can read how we build a verdict from scratch on our methodology page.

Sourcing standards

Every claim we make should trace back to something you can check. Our guides and place pages cite credible sources, and we lean on official agencies for any regulated fact.

When a rule can change your trip or your safety, we point you to the body that sets it.

• Permit rules, fire bans, quotas, and closures come from the managing agency, such as the land management office or park authority that governs the area.
• Weather and avalanche context comes from official forecasting services, not from memory or a single trip report.
• Gear specifications come from the manufacturer, then we verify them against our own hands-on testing.
• Medical and first-aid guidance follows recognised wilderness medicine standards, not folklore.

When a fact could have changed since we wrote it, we say so. We tell you to confirm current conditions before you go.

Our full methodology explains how we gather, weigh, and test evidence for each type of page.

Expert review

Not every page needs a specialist, but safety-sensitive pages always get one. Any content that could affect whether you get hurt, lost, or stranded is reviewed by a qualified expert before it publishes.

That includes first aid, navigation, water crossings, avalanche terrain, heat and cold injury, and load-bearing gear.

Dana Whitfield, a Wilderness First Responder, reviews our safety content for accuracy and for real-world judgment. Marcus Lee, our backcountry editor, owns the standards for route reports and field testing.

You can meet the people behind our work on the experts page.

Facts versus recommendations

We separate what is verifiable from what is our judgment, and we tell you which is which.

A fact is something you could confirm yourself, such as a pack's measured weight or a trail's official distance. A recommendation is our opinion, formed from testing and field experience.

You will see this split on the page. We state the measured numbers and the agency rules as plain facts.

Then we tell you what we think you should do with them, and we explain why we reached that view. When two reasonable hikers might choose differently, we say that too.

• Facts are stated flatly and sourced.
• Opinions are labelled as our verdict, our pick, or our take.
• We name the trade-offs behind a recommendation instead of pretending one choice fits everyone.

Affiliate disclosure

KnowOutdoor earns some of its income through affiliate links. This income keeps our testing and reviews free to read.

It never changes what we recommend.

If we ever recommend something we earn nothing from, we still recommend it, because the recommendation is about you and not about the commission.

Use of AI assistance

We will be honest about how we work. We may use AI tools to help draft an outline, check spelling and structure, or flag a claim that needs a second look.

A tool can speed up the boring parts. It does not get the final word.

A human editor is responsible for every published page. That editor checks the facts, owns the judgment, and puts their name behind the work.

Safety content is reviewed by a human expert, as described above, and never signed off by a tool alone.

• We do not publish unedited AI output.
• We do not let a tool invent facts, sources, or quotes, and we verify anything a tool suggests.
• We do not use AI to write safety guidance that a qualified human has not reviewed.
• A named human is accountable for the accuracy of each page.

Corrections policy

We get things wrong sometimes, and when we do we want to fix it fast. If you spot an error, tell us.

Safety errors jump the queue and get fixed first, because a wrong warning can hurt someone.

To report a mistake, email [email protected] or use our contact form.

Tell us the page, the claim you think is wrong, and, if you can, the source that shows the correct fact.

How to report

Email [email protected] or use the contact form.

What we fix first

Safety errors, then factual errors, then everything else.

How we mark it

We date every correction and note what changed at the foot of the page.

Serious errors

If a mistake could have affected your safety, we say so clearly, not quietly.

Small typo fixes do not need a note. A change to a fact, a number, a rule, or a recommendation does, and we date it so you can see when it happened.

Advertising and sponsorship

We keep advertising and sponsorship completely separate from our editorial work. Ads pay for the site.

They do not buy coverage, and they do not shape a verdict.

If a piece of content is sponsored or paid for in any way, we label it clearly so you always know what you are reading.

You will never have to guess whether a recommendation came from our editors or from a sponsor.

• Sponsored content is marked as sponsored, in plain words, at the top of the page.
• A sponsor cannot appear inside an independent review, ranking, or comparison.
• Our editorial team does not negotiate ad deals, and our ad team does not touch reviews.
• You can read how our recommendations are formed on the gear and methodology pages.

Updates to this policy

We review this policy regularly and update it as our work changes. When we make a meaningful change, we revise this page and note the date of the update here.

Older versions no longer apply once a new one is posted.