About Better Trail Kits

Oct 24, 2025

At Better Trail, we love helping people find the right outdoor gear, but we also know that researching it can be overwhelming. Between the deep dives of our gear guides, the nitty-gritty of individual product reviews, and the educational explainers that break it all down, it can take a lot of tabs (and time) to put a full kit together. That’s why we built Better Trail Kits: curated, activity-based collections that make gearing up easier, faster, and—dare we say—more fun. Each kit blends our field-tested expertise with thoughtful curation, whether you’re new to backpacking or fine-tuning your ski setup. What follows is a look behind the scenes at how these kits came to life, how they fit into our broader gear coverage, and where they’re headed next.

The Backstory

At Better Trail, we’ve got range. At the top level, our outdoor gear coverage is anchored by full-length gear guides, which take a deep dive into a single product category (the Best Ski Jackets, for example). These guides are long (our ski jacket guide tops 15,000 words) and packed with tester insights and category-level context. Thankfully, we’ve also built in tools that let you choose your preferred reading depth and sort products by what matters most to you: overall rating, price, weight, sustainability, and more.

At the other end of the spectrum are our in-depth product reviews, which offer detailed write-ups and original photography for one specific product—say, the Merrell Moab Speed 2 hiking shoes (read the Moab Speed 2 review). These reviews are ideal when you’ve narrowed down your search to a shortlist of models and want to dig deeper before making a final decision. In the same spirit, we also publish comprehensive brand overviews that cover entire lineups—like Smith ski helmets, Helly Hansen ski jackets, or Big Agnes backpacking tents.

If you’re gearing up for an activity like skiing and starting from scratch, it takes time (and a lot of open tabs) to assemble your kit across our site. That’s where our kits come in. Curated by our core staff, each kit pulls together everything you need—from big-picture guidance to fine-grain gear details—into a single, easy-to-navigate page.

Then there are our educational articles, designed to give you the foundational knowledge you need to make confident choices on your own. Everyone’s needs differ, and not all readers will share our testers’ opinions. But by explaining concepts like 2-layer vs. 3-layer waterproofing or merino vs. synthetic base layers, we hope to give you the tools to make informed, independent gear decisions.

Even with all that range, we noticed one thing was missing. If you’re gearing up for an activity like skiing and starting from scratch, it takes time (and a lot of open tabs) to assemble your kit across our site. That’s where our kits come in. Curated by our core staff, each kit pulls together everything you need—from big-picture guidance to fine-grain gear details—into a single, easy-to-navigate page. And since no two adventurers are alike, we’ve built them for everyone. Yes, that includes you

Making dinner near the Hyperlite Mountain Gear CrossPeak 2 backpacking tent

About Our Kits

At Better Trail, a core part of our ethos is staying forward-thinking—especially when it comes to how readers want to research gear. To complete our range of offerings, we launched Better Trail Kits in late 2025. These curated collections allow you to start with your activity (rather than a category of gear), explore the style of activity that describes you best, and research gear from there. Think of it as a curated shopping experience meets personality test meets dating app for outdoor lovers.

For instance, in backpacking, we offer a range of options: a Beginner / Budget Kit for those just getting started, The Mid-Ranger for weekenders looking for a quality step up without spending a fortune, and an Ultralight Backpacking Kit for those who count ounces like currency. We even have an Ultralight Curious Kit for the in-betweeners—those who want to dabble without sawing off the end of their toothbrush. And don’t miss our Editors’ Picks Backpacking Kit, which showcases the gear we fight over and rely on for our own mountain missions after countless hours in the field.

Brands can assemble kits using only their own products, and retailers can create kits limited to what they sell. But at Better Trail, we have the freedom to curate from the full outdoor landscape.

Collectively, our kits offer a lighthearted, approachable way to research outdoor gear and discover new styles of adventure. They’re built to be easy to scroll through (on mobile, it’s a simple horizontal swipe of your thumb), and each collection includes a “How We Built Our Kit” section, with additional analysis specific to the genre of activity.

We see these kits as a natural complement to our other forms of outdoor gear coverage and truly one of a kind on the internet. Brands can assemble kits using only their own products, and retailers can create kits limited to what they sell. But at Better Trail, we have the freedom to curate from the full outdoor landscape. Our only constraints? What fits the kit—and what serves our readers best.

How Will the Kits Evolve?

First and foremost, our kits will continue to grow, both in number and in scope. The winter lineup will expand rapidly, with new kits planned for snowboarding, winter camping, mountaineering, ice climbing, and beyond. We’ll also branch into other activities not yet covered in our gear guides or reviews. Each new addition will be built with the same level of expertise and care that defines Better Trail—usually a blend of staff insights and contributor experience. (So far, assembling these kits has been a true team effort, complete with spirited debates about what deserves a spot.) And yes, we have some fun, unconventional kit themes in the works too.

Finally, we’re already dreaming up Kits 2.0—with new features and functionality on the horizon. We’ll give you one hint: you’ll be part of it. Thanks for being here and for being a part of Better Trail. We’re just getting started.

powder to the people