by Steven John

When Your Work, Your Family, and Your Passions and Hobbies Can Intersect, You Make Sure They Do Intersect. Because No One Is Going to Do That for You

My name is Steven John. Or dad, if you’re one of my kids. My goal with this site is to help people much like me, dads and moms or anyone with a love for the outdoors and very little free time, find the best outdoor gear and apparel to help them enjoy their adventures. And along the way, I’ll introduce you to some of the most interesting and influential people from the outdoor and fitness circles, share some hacks and knowledge picked up over the years, and – hopefully – I’ll generally add a bit of color and context to the way you think about and engage with the world outdoors.

But first, let’s take it back a step. 

I grew up playing in the woods. 

Sure, it was just a few dozen acres behind my family’s house, a little swath of forest called Tester Conservation Reserve that’s entirely encircled by suburban streets, but to me, my brother, and our friends, the woodlands felt endless. At least until the leaves fell in autumn and you could clearly see across the ravine into neighboring yards. 

As I grew older, naturally my interests changed, or at least new ones were added in. I won’t pretend I hiked around the woods as much once I got a car, for example, but a love of the outdoors persisted. This took the form of occasional cycling, some day hikes now and then, a few canoe and kayak trips over the years, and a few summers largely spent trekking across Europe.

But I didn’t climb my first serious mountain until I was 28 years old.

It was Mt. Whitney, tallest peak in the lower 48, but to be honest, it’s not that hard of a climb – sure, the first time I summitted Whitney, it had been an exceptionally cold season so we were on snow with crampons and axes for the last few thousand vertical feet, but it’s still really just a walk-up. A very long walk-up, as I can confirm having now walked up said mountain four times.

And that’s kind of an important point, by the way: sure, some people grow up climbing or mountain biking or surfing or whatnot, but most don’t. And that’s OK, you can start your outdoor adventures at 28. Or 38. Or 48 or 58, why not?

But I digress.

That climb, my first serious mountaineering experience, absolutely hooked me despite the fact that my gear was rot – I was using my dad’s old hiking boots, heavy Vietnam War-era surplus trousers, a hiking pack from high school, a $30 tent, and so on . The next year I bagged Mt. Rainier with the same climbing team and with some better gear (Asolo boots, e.g.), and the year after that we bagged the Grand Teton. And there were multiple summits of the 10k and 11k peaks dotting Southern California in between.

Then I had my first kid and my outdoor rambles slowed down. And then my wife, son, and I moved across the country, leaving LA and settling near NYC. Then we had a second kid. Thus, I found myself far from mountains and with less time than ever before. (At least there are a few decent hikes around, albeit sans much elevation, and there’s lots of water for paddling.)

Ironically, in this new less-free-time, less elevation new phase of my life, I also found myself testing out more and more outdoor gear and apparel.

My writing, which I did for various publications, began to trend heavily toward gear reviews, as that’s where I had built up some expertise and that’s where my mind was even if my body was usually behind a desk.

Look, let’s be crystal clear: I’m not a professional adventurer. There are a lot of people out there who have bagged a hundred times the summits I have, who have logged a hundred times the miles over water, who have ranged farther afield and done so in extremes I’ve not seen. (I mean I’ve crossed a crevasse or 10, hiked through South American jungles, and rappelled down hundred-plus foot cliffs, don’t get me wrong.) And there are people whose entire job is working with technical gear and apparel who have a more encyclopedic knowledge of various product categories than I.

But I really don’t know of anyone else with the exact same points of intersection I have, those being plenty of experience mountaineering, hiking, paddling, camping, biking, and running, along with years of experience testing everything from trail running shoes to tents to camp stoves to headlamps, and with hours upon hours spent chatting with experts and doing research in between. Oh, and then there’s the whole working dad thing, too.

So why did I start Dad Gear Review? Because if you don’t have much time to research the best tent for family camping, the best hiking boots for kids, the best puffer jackets for the whole family, and on it goes, then no need to worry: I already did that research. And testing.

There is not and never will be a product posted on Dad Gear Review that I have not personally tested myself. (And enjoyed and found to be of good quality, too, of course!) A DGR seal of approval is like your buddy saying: “Yeah, get that one.” See, just like your buddy has your back, so do I.

When you’re not looking to learn about a great hiking pack, lantern, sleeping bag, and so forth, you can head over to The Dispatch and meet some truly amazing folks I’ve been fortunate enough to interview, read about some books, movies, and shows worth your time, and generally have a chance for a bit of vicarious outdoor adventuring. And no, I’m not saying that to rub it in – I spend a lot of my life living vicariously through the interviews and gear research too. But it’s OK, folks, because when that free afternoon or even rarer free weekend does pop up, the troops and I hit the trail with some of the best gear a gang can get – take it from me, and you can too. 

Make the most of the time you have here, and if you ask me, the best way to do that is to get out there. And bring the kids.