Jack Fletcher: Founder and Outdoor Editor at CampingKnow

I created CampingKnow around one simple idea: know before you go.

Camping should not require owning the most expensive equipment or knowing everything about the outdoors. But understanding your gear before you leave home can save you a cold night, an aching back, a soaked sleeping bag, or several hours spent wondering why your new tent does not look anything like it did in the product photos. That is the kind of thing I like figuring out.

How I got into camping

I was not born knowing how to pitch a tent or pack for a weekend outside. Like most campers, I learned by doing things wrong.

I have brought too much gear, forgotten things I actually needed, underestimated cold nights, bought equipment that looked better online than it performed outdoors, and spent enough uncomfortable nights sleeping close to the ground to become unusually interested in sleeping pads, cots and campsite comfort.

Eventually I became as interested in the equipment as I was in the trip itself. Why does one four-person tent feel spacious while another with similar dimensions feels cramped? Why does a camping chair feel comfortable for ten minutes but terrible after an evening around the fire? When does shaving a few pounds off your setup actually matter? Which specifications are useful and which are mostly marketing?

Those questions became the foundation of CampingKnow.

Hiking a dry pine trail with a loaded daypack

What I write about

Most of my work covers practical recreational camping and the equipment that goes with it: tents and shelters, camping chairs and campsite furniture, cots and sleep systems, campsite lighting, cold-weather camping, gear selection, setup and packing, and practical tips for beginners.

I am particularly interested in comfort. There is sometimes an assumption that being uncomfortable is simply part of camping. I do not agree. You can sleep outdoors without waking up freezing. You can sit around a campfire without destroying your back. And you do not need to bring half your house with you to make a campsite comfortable. Usually you just need to understand what matters.

My approach to camping gear

I do not believe there is one best piece of camping gear for everyone. A 20-pound tent might be completely impractical for someone backpacking into camp and perfectly reasonable for a family driving directly to a campsite. That is why CampingKnow looks beyond overall ratings.

Dimensions and capacity

Manufacturer capacity ratings do not always tell you how comfortable a product will actually be. Usable sleeping space, seat dimensions, headroom, weight limits and overall geometry often matter more.

Weight and packed size

Critical for some campers and almost irrelevant for others. A recommendation should reflect the intended use, not a single number.

Setup

Camping gear should not require solving a puzzle every time you arrive at camp. I look at setup complexity, the number of components and how practical a product is to handle.

Comfort

A spec sheet cannot fully describe comfort, but dimensions, materials, insulation, support, ergonomics and construction tell us a lot.

Durability

Outdoor equipment gets dragged through dirt, rain, rocks, vehicles and storage bins. Materials and construction matter.

Value

The most expensive product is not automatically the best recommendation. What matters is what you actually get for your money.

And finally, trade-offs. Every product has them. I would rather explain why something might not work for you than pretend every recommended product is perfect.

Camping gear laid out on a groundsheet before packing

Laying everything out before a trip is still the fastest way to catch what is missing, which is why I keep coming back to organising gear and working from a checklist rather than memory.

Why I started CampingKnow

There is more camping information online than anyone could read in a lifetime. The problem is not finding information. It is figuring out which information actually matters.

Instead of repeating every specification on a manufacturer's website, my goal is to answer the questions campers actually have before leaving home. Will I fit? Will I be warm enough? Is it comfortable? How difficult is it to set up? Will it fit in my car? Is the more expensive version actually better? What am I giving up by choosing the lighter option? And most importantly: is this the right choice for the way I camp?

If a CampingKnow article helps you answer one of those before your next trip, the site has done its job.

Walking back to camp at sunrise with a packed backpack

A few things about me

My ideal camping morning starts early, preferably somewhere quiet, with coffee before anything else. I prefer practical gear to flashy gear. I would rather carry a slightly heavier sleeping setup and wake up rested than save a few pounds and spend eight hours regretting it. I check the weather too often. I always bring an extra light source. And no matter how carefully I pack, there is usually something back home that would have been useful.

That is camping. You learn something every trip.