A camping site for people who have never bought camping gear

Who this is for

Trail & Tarp is for a beginner outfitting a household for camping: someone with a car, possibly with children, who wants to spend a few weekends a year outdoors and has been made to feel stupid by gear jargon.

That reader is badly served. The publications that rank for “best camping tent” are written by and for people who already know what a hydrostatic head rating is, and the shops that sell the gear are structured around product categories rather than around the question you actually have, which is “what do we need for a weekend in October with two kids?”

So this site is organized two ways at once: by trip type, because that is how people plan, and by gear category, because that is how you eventually shop. And every technical term is defined the first time it appears, with a link to the glossary.

Who writes it

Sawyer V. writes Trail & Tarp. An enthusiast who is genuinely into this: I read the manuals, compile the published specifications, cite the standards behind the numbers, and do the math. No lab coat, no gear closet full of free samples.

What I do not do, and will not pretend to: test the gear, own most of it, accept free products, or take payment for placement. I have no certifications relevant to camping and I am not going to invent any. There is no expert panel here, and no team of testers.

That is a genuine limitation and it is also the site's whole position. The full argument, including what the method can and cannot tell you, is at how we research.

What is on the site

34 guides and roundups covering 46 products, each with its published specifications and a link to the source those specs came from. Tents, sleep systems, camp kitchen, camp furniture, lighting and power, organized both by category and by the trip you are taking. Plus three printable checklists and a glossary of the jargon everyone else assumes you know.

What this site will not do

• Claim to have tested anything. We have not, and we say so on every roundup.
• Invent credentials, awards or tenure. No “years of experience”, no certifications, no expert panel.
• Publish a fabricated review or testimonial. There are none anywhere on this site.
• Hardcode a price. Prices render from a live feed with a date on them, or the page shows no number at all.
• Recommend something because it pays more. Where a cheaper retailer is better for you, we link the cheaper one.
• Use urgency. Nothing here is running out, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.

How it is paid for

Affiliate commission. When you buy something through a link here we may earn a commission from the retailer, at no extra cost to you. That is the entire business model, it is disclosed above the first link on every commercial page, and it is set out in full at how this site is funded.

Trail & Tarp is published by Fathom & Foundry, at fathomandfoundry.com.

Getting in touch

Corrections are welcome and wanted. If a number here is wrong, tell us which page and which figure and we will fix it and date the change. Email info@trailandtarp.com, or use the contact page.