WE WRITE ABOUT THE OUTDOORS BECAUSE WE LOVE BEING OUTDOORS. AND WE LOVE SHARING THE GEAR AND APPAREL THAT CAN HELP YOU (and your kids) DO THE SAME.
What else will you find here? Talks with some pretty amazing people, helpful how-tos, reviews of outdoor-oriented books, a few thoughts from the field, and a whole lot more.
DAD GEAR REVIEW IS WHERE YOU GO FOR AN HONEST ASSESSMENT FROM YOUR BUDDY, BUT YOUR BUDDY DOESN’T TEST MUCH GEAR. WE DO, SO LET’S BE BUDDIES.
The motivation for starting Dad Gear Review came not from one moment of inspiration, but from countless moments of frustration. It came from a this tent that failed during a rain storm in the jungle, that pack that squeaked like crazy mile after mile of a Grand Canyon hike, and those hiking boots that rubbed feet raw and bleeding.
And then the frustration continued when the search for better gear proved a challenge all of its own. Not because there aren’t a thousand and one great gear review sites out there, but because there wasn't a single site we could find that met us where we are.
Who are we? We’re parents without much free time who want to make the most of the time we have, spending it out there in the woods, on the water, in the hills, or on the road.
Dad Gear Review was started by Steven and Kristin John, a husband and wife who spent much of their pre-kid lives outdoors and on the go. Adding kids to the mix made things a bit more complicated, but with lots of planning and lots of new gear, the adventures have continued. As it happened, their passion for the outdoors aligned with Steven’s work, much of which has involved more than a decade of testing gear and apparel in the field.
DGR is growing into a go-to destination for gear reviews you can trust, interviews with experts from the outdoor, travel, and parenting arenas, and with a few articles here and there we hope you’ll think are simply fun to read.
And we hope you’ll find DGR motivating, too. Because while frustration with a lack of actionable reviews of family camping gear or parent-oriented travel apparel and such helped motivate us to start this thing, it’s been nothing but fun to work on connecting you with the products and people that will make your own adventures all the more fun. And less frustrating.
A few words
about DGR
founder
steven john
BEFORE I WAS A DAD, I CLIMBED MOUNTAINS, SLEPT ON GLACIERS, AND RAMBLED AROUND THE WESTERN STATES. NOW I CLIMB SMALLER MOUNTAINS, MORE SLOWLY, WITH KIDS, AND SLEEP POORLY IN GENERAL.
Being a father is an amazing part of my life and it will surely remain as such forever. “Dad” is a title only two people in the world can use to address me and is the highest honorific I could ask for. It’s also tiring, time-consuming, and on some days, it feels pretty limiting. But on most days, it’s the opposite. Sure, I can’t call up a buddy and head for a summit with a day’s notice. Sure, my wife and I have to plan for days if we want to get in a day hike or a paddling session sans kids. Sure, it’s a lot of work, and that’s true well beyond planning for a family adventure (it’s true just planning for a school day or a dinner, often enough), but with the right planning, and of course with the right gear, a family outing is every bit as much fun and as much of a reward as bagging a 14er, whether that trip involves hiking to a glacier in the alps or biking around a nature preserve down the street. Because it’s all part of the journey.
If you make a purchase using a link on DGR, it may generate a small commission. This in no way affects the content of any review, and all opinions expressed here are done so by DGR writers without input from any brands or third parties.