Why we exist
Wilderness Experts was created to help you get into the backcountry and come home safe — with clear, field-tested guidance and honest reviews of the gear that goes with you.
We write the way a seasoned guide briefs you at the trailhead: calm, direct, and respectful of your judgement. We state risks plainly and we never use fear to grab your attention. When something can hurt you, we say so; when a task is simple, we keep it simple.
Where our guidance comes from
Our survival and safety content draws on our expert’s decades long experience, trusted field sources — including the U.S. Army Survival Field Manual and the SAS Survival Guide — combined with modern civilian best practice and Leave No Trace ethics. We focus on the skills that keep everyday hikers, campers, and paddlers safe: water, fire, shelter, first aid, navigation, proper tool use and planning.
How we review gear
We recommend gear we would carry ourselves. Our reviews weigh real-world performance, durability, value, and the honest limits of each product — because knowing what a piece of gear cannot do keeps you safer than hype ever will. Knowing that different levels of challenge require different equipment, we provide three levels for most of our gear: Casual, Enthusiast, and Expert… and an Everyone category for gear that truly meets the needs of all. We don’t waste your time providing reviews of gear that doesn’t meet our standards. You can rest assured that the gear featured on this site is genuinely solid, and fit for purpose, while also identifying weaknesses and other options to consider.
Wilderness Experts is reader-supported. Some links on our site are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. That support keeps the guidance free — and it never changes what we recommend or what we say about it.
A note on safety
Our articles are a starting point, not a substitute for hands-on training, local knowledge, and good judgement. Conditions change, and you are the final authority on your own safety in the field.
About our Founder
Ray Richards has been an avid hiker, camper, and paddler — both whitewater kayaking and canoeing — for most of his life. First attending St. John’s School of Ontario in 1979, an institution focused both on education and meeting significant challenges in the outdoors, Ray developed his love and respect for the bush. Participating in demanding wilderness activities, including snowshoe races that started before dawn and ended after dusk, and arduous month-long canoe trips, Ray built the foundation for the skills he needed to succeed in the harsh Canadian climate.
The school was subject to tragedy the year before, when on Lake Temiskaming a canoeing accident left 12 students and one teacher dead — primarily from hypothermia — as their canoes capsized on the unpredictable waters of this notorious lake. Despite the horrific accident, Reader’s Digest published a glowing article about the school, its approach to education, and how this tragedy could have happened to any group in those conditions. The school bought hundreds of copies of the issue and used the article as a recruiting tool for students and teachers alike — which is how it reached Ray’s mother, who read it and agreed Ray would attend the following year, knowing it was the perfect place for him.
After this incident, the school radically reformed its approach to safety, insisting all the students were well prepared for any eventuality in the bush or on the water. Much of that training lives on this site, and is why there is such a focus on preparedness, knowing what you are getting into, and how to get back home safely. Now living in beautiful British Columbia on Vancouver Island, Ray is fortunate to experience this jewel of Canadian wilderness all year ’round.
We hope you gain some valuable insights at Wilderness Experts, in order that you are able to fully and safely enjoy all the wonders of the outdoors… and if just one person’s life is spared as a result of the information we have provided, we will have achieved our mission.