About

The world is amazing, so go explore it!

headshot of bryan hunter, a senior writer at the outdoor authority.

Bryan Hunter

Founder, An Outdoor Authority


Our Mission

image of the bright angel trailhead at grand canyon national park

Our mission with The Outdoor Authority is to provide the information and resources you need to make the most of your time outdoors.

Our goal is the be the most authoritative resource on camping, hiking, fishing, and outdoor adventure.

We do that by writing tutorials, in-depth camping guides, gear reviews, and DIY instructions for outdoor enthusiasts.

Our team of writers, editors, and contributors have spent lots of time in the wilderness and outdoors including first experience with:


Our Testing and Review Process


We are outdoor gear nerds and proud to admit it! And if you’re reading this, we suspect you might be too.

Because we respect you (and ourselves) we only recommend gear that we have spent hours analyzing, comparing, and testing.

Our opinions are un-biased, thoroughly researched, and fair.

Whenever possible, we test products in real life situations. Nothing compares to first hand experience with gear in the natural elements that mother nature intended.

In the situations we can’t personally use a product, we reach out to those who have.

We recommend the same gear to you that we would to our closest friends.

Testing backpacking stoves on a trip into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Our Team

Editor-in-Chief

Thomas Coleman

Thomas is a lifelong camping and outdoor enthusiast! He is proud to be an Eagle Scout and treasures every moment he gets to spend with mother nature.

He has been camping in 14 states, 3 countries, and 2 continents.

When not blogging about camping and the outdoors, he enjoys photography, playing guitar, and traveling with his wife.

As our Editor-in-Chief he oversees all product & gear research, content production, and brand partnerships.

headshot of bryan hunter, a senior writer at the outdoor authority.

Founder

Bryan Hunter

Bryan founded The Outdoor Authority to share what he’s learned about camping, hiking, fishing, and other outdoor activities he traveled the world and explored as a wide-eyed 30-something.

He has backpacked through South America, hiked in the Galapagos, and spent countless nights camping all across the United States.

He still contributes to the site with posts from his travels and recommendations on his favorite gear.