Bettertrail.com Provides Outdoor Gear Choices For Every Budget

As a novice outdoor enthusiast, it's a little intimidating to find gear that would make sense for my next adventure in the Enchantments, the Wonderland Trail, or my next camping trip at Lake Chelan State Park. What gear, shoes, jacket, tents, or anything? Is any of it in my price range? Regardless of how much money you have to spend on your outdoor gear, check out Bettertrail.com

A quick look at Bettertrail.com

BetterTrail.com is an independent media website that provides expert, ad-free reviews, guides, and curated kits for outdoor gear. It sets itself apart by incorporating a detailed sustainability rating system ("Better Trail Certified") into its content, helping enthusiasts like me make more informed, environmentally conscious purchasing decisions. I reached out to Jenny Abegg, a local Leavenworth resident and one of the website's founders. She is an accomplished outdoor athlete in several disciplines.

Jenny Abegg via Bettertrail.com

She first appeared on my radar screen when she and her friend did something incredible.

Jenny Abegg and Kaylyn Gerbin did the unthinkable in the North Cascades

The only recorded completion of the North Cascades High Traverse took 28 days. Motivated by the challenge of rugged mixed-alpine terrain, trail runners Kaytlyn Gerbin and Jenny Abegg set out to complete the epic linkup in just 6.

Here is our chat with Jenny Abegg about Bettertrail.com, a website that brings the outdoors to life for you and your outdoor friends.

Connor: What inspired you to launch BetterTrail.com, and how did your own outdoor experiences shape and inspire you to focus on sustainability and public lands advocacy?

Jenny Abegg: The three founders of Better Trail—David Wilkinson, John Ellings, and I—all worked for years together at a gear review website called Switchback Travel. As sustainability became a more important topic in the outdoor industry (and in the world as a whole), we began to feel a need for more clarity. Brands were getting away with turning small sustainability efforts into big marketing campaigns; information was disjointed and incomplete. If you wanted to shop sustainably, it was hard to know where to start. We felt the same way about public lands—despite every outdoor gear enthusiast recreating on protected lands, there was no consolidated hub to learn about them. Thus, Better Trail started as a bit of a passion project. We wanted to take the expertise we had gained from years of working in the industry and tack on two of the most essential topics for outdoor recreationalists—sustainability and public lands.

Vulnerable public land via Bettertrail.com

Can you walk me through the development of the "Better Trail Certified" standard—how do you measure and verify gear sustainability metrics? (Any challenges have you faced in scaling it?)

For time's sake, I'll point you to our explainer page: https://bettertrail.com/sustainability/better-trail-certified.

If you have any questions, let me know!

How does the "Kits" feature work behind the scenes? What data or user feedback informs the curation of gear recommendations for specific activities and budgets?

The Kits are unabashedly the opinions of Better Trail's staff team. We've spent a lot of time in this space and have fairly exhaustive understandings of most categories. From this point of view, putting the kits together is a fun and spirited process amongst the team. Of course, not all the picks are dead ringers; if that's the case, we'll often mention alternatives in the informational section below.

In your view, what's the most significant barrier outdoor enthusiasts face when trying to make sustainable outdoor gear purchases? How does the BetterTrail team address it through your reviews and educational content?

I'd say the most significant barrier is a lack of clarity in information. Sustainability information and marketing campaigns are often inextricable, and it's easy for brands to hide information or tell only part of the truth. Our sustainability team has the daunting task of reviewing annual impact reports, communicating with third-party certifiers like Bluesign and Fair Trade Certified, and emailing back and forth with brands.

Ski gear via Bettertrail.com

How do you collaborate with experienced outdoor enthusiasts to create authentic gear guides and articles, and what role does community input play in keeping your content fresh?

Every single piece of gear on the gear side (as opposed to the sustainability site) of our site has been tested by one or more of our testers. These folks are getting out all the time and putting gear through its paces. Not only that, but the Better Trail community has its ears to the ground—we're all constantly having conversations with people on the trail, on the ski slope, at the crag, learning about what they like to use and why. We don't really have a formula for how we test gear; it's often more ad hoc. Do we know anyone going on a big expedition we can kit out with the items we need information on? Bingo. Do we have a friend who's used a pair of hiking shoes for years and wants to test the updated version? Awesome. Sometimes we'll organize groups of people to batch-test items like winter jackets (comparisons are surprisingly helpful in the testing process); sometimes it'll be one-offs. Most importantly, we're well-connected to our outdoor communities and always talking about gear.

Bettertrail.com

Looking ahead, what are your teams' biggest goals for BetterTrail? Perhaps expanding the "Kits" functionality or influencing policy on public lands, and how can the outdoor community get more involved?

The most straightforward answer here is: we don't know! A year ago, Kits and the Sustainability Hub weren't even a thought, and now they're live on the site.

Rain jacket reviews via Bettertrail.com

Look through Bettertrail.com

As Jenny mentioned, Bettertrail will provide extensive information on outdoor gear, skiwear, footwear, and a broad scope of outdoor equipment - regardless of your budget. It will help you decide what to wear, learn the skills to navigate the backcountry, and be a better steward of the natural gifts in our backyard.

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