Engearment got to attend the first Verde Ventures Media Trip in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, alongside a stacked crew of fellow journalists and content creators. It was a blast! We tested gear from Gregory, Astrol Designs, Thermarest, MSR, Royal Robbins, and Packtowel.

We met the following awesome media folks:

Engearment got to attend the first Verde Ventures Media Trip in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, alongside a stacked crew of fellow journalists and content creators. It was a blast!

We tested gear from Gregory, Astrol Designs, Thermarest, MSR, Royal Robbins, and Packtowel.

We met the following awesome media folks:

Paige Triola / Freelance Writer (Bicycling, The Guardian, RUN: by Outside, MSN) @adventures_of_paigetriola

Meg Carney / Freelance Writer (SFGate, Seattle PI) & Podcast Host of Outdoor Minimalist @megacarnage

Billy Brown / Freelance Writer (WIRED & GearJunkie) @the_billybrown

Sean Sewell / Owner & Director of Engearment @sean_sewell_mountain_man, @engearment

Sal Vaglica / Freelance Writer (Men’s Journal, The Strategist, The Guardian) @salvaglica

Melissa McGibbon / Freelance Writer (Business Insider, Matador Network, POWDER, Yardbarker, SnowBrains) @missmliss

Lennie Nelson / Creator @the_happihippi

Jeanine Romo / Creator @lewildexplorer

Alexandria Gallizioli / Creator @she.roams.wild

Jessica Butterfield / Creator @jessonthewildway

Rob Shearer / Photographer & Filmmaker @robshearerfilm

Matthew Connors / Director of Product Creation at Gregory Packs

Ashley Korenblat / Founder, Western Spirit, Public Land Solutions ashley@westernspirit.com

Mark Sevenoff / Founder, Western Spirit, Outerbike @therealsevy mark@westernspirit.com.

Hosted by Verde PR: Kristin Carpenter / Founder and CEO, Verde Brand Communications

Jenna Nabors / Account Manager, Verde Brand Communications

Becca Katz / Director, Verde Brand Communications

Alexa McRoberts / Director, Verde Brand Communications

We also cover gear reviews on new Arc'teryx Kopec 2 GTX shoes, Salomon Genesis Mid GTX, Travoca Rigel+ ECooler, and dozens more. Plus, we are days away from a new Engearment.com website (it is going to blow your mind!)

Some big news here at Engearment. Our most prolific writer, Erin Trail is branching off to create her own gear review company called Trail Dispatch. We are stoked for her and her next steps!

We had 46 meetings last week at OMA to learn about gear for Spring 2027 (hard to even think that far ahead LOL!) We met with all the companies you love. We have a few videos up on the Engearment YouTube channel from Kuat, EXPED, Smartwool, Merrell, Fjallraven, Peak Design, RTIC, Kelty, BOA, Teva, and more.

New gear from Nocs Provision (Zero Tube) Gregory (Terros 25 and Alpaca gear storage). Thermarest quilt, KUHL Escape tote.

I am going on a media trip to Idaho in a few weeks with a small group of other media folks to test gear from Gregory, MSR, Thermarest, and several other awesome outdoor gear companies. I am stoked!

The Engearment Team has been up to a lot this year, and I want to shine a light on new additions, fun coverage, reviews, and upcoming events!

Devan welcomes her son Luke to the world!

Nikita Bagg joins the team from Canada!

Ryan Humphries goes to Zion with Teva.

Erin Trail tackles the Ragnar race.

Andrew Piotrowski does the Boston Marathon!

Upcoming Outside Music Festival.

Secret Patagonia and KUHL projects.

Helly Hansen 3.5 layer WPB?!?

Benchmade new chef's knife.

EXPED Ultra Line

Description: Erin Trail talks with Ron Donchez, President or Thacker about blurring lines across fashion, sustainability, and outerwear.

https://thackernyc.com/

Clothing for hot weather adventures, made from hemp. Brand is launching in mid-April with a line of tops and bottoms. Erin Trail (Engearment) talks to Doug Waters (Terlingua Threads Co-Founder and CEO) about their brand and their mission.

Podcast Show Notes: Link to website: https://www.terlinguathreads.com/ Link to IG: https://www.instagram.com/terlinguathreads/

Welcome to another Engearment podcast where we cover what the team has been up too, what gear they are reviewing and what gear we WILL be reviewing.

This month we tested new shoes from Altra and Salomon, new goggles from Vallon and Smith, a new helmet from Sweet Protection, updated TREW TREWth bibs and Cosmic Primo jackets, YETI backpacks, PAKA 1/4 zip pullover, HOKA Stinson shoes, Fjallraven touring backpack, HydroSnooze sleep system, and KETL Mountain Apparel gear. Among dozens more written reviews.

We are gearing up for the OMA Winter show and will have lots of video coverage for you to enjoy. Then we are off to Ski Sante Fe to host the Beacon Bash and raise money for Taos Mountain Rescue Dogs as well as an avalanche education course.

We will have reviews on some cool gear from Outdoor Vitals, Arcteryx, Victorinox, Smartwool, Alta, Hyperice, Yeti, Mammut, Fenix and Petzl coming up as well.

Stay tuned!

2025 was a jam-packed year for the Engearment Team! We celebrated 11 years of providing honest outdoor gear reviews. The Team has grown to 50 writers, and they are able to provide excellent points of view for gear and how to use it.

It has been an honor to be of help to the 2.2 million viewers out there! Some other fun stats - 90K hours of videos watched and 358 videos uploaded (in 2025 alone!)

2026 will have even more fun and helpful content coming (once winter actually hits! LOL)

Thanks for the decade-plus of support and interaction! We do it for YOU!

This is a quick recap podcast covering the written and video reviews the Engearment Team has been up to the last month.

The 8th Annual Beacon Bash was a huge success! As was the Beacons and Brew event we helped out with for Friends of Berthoud Pass. We will have a Beacon Bash at Ski Sante Fe next year as well.

BeaconBash.org

The Engearment Holiday Gift Guide is live! This is a curated selection of gear that the Engearment Team has tested and reviewed. Each item would be a top pick for gifting this season.

https://engearment.com/holiday-gift-guide-2025/