Years in This Expertise: 8 yrs in outdoor media, 4 years as GearJunkie’s Hunt Fish Editor (2018-2022)
Number Of Products & Number Of Hours Expert Has Tested: 500+ products, 8,300+ hours testing
Education & Certifications
Education: Bachelor’s of Sociology, Colorado State University
Years of Writing: 14+
Club or Association Memberships: Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Board Director of Orion the Hunters Institute
Previous Publications: USA Today, MeatEater, Modern Huntsman, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Backcountry Journal, Mens Journal, Outside Bozeman, TripThirty
A Word from Nicole
When I started writing for GearJunkie in 2018, it opened up a whole new universe of curiosities. A thrifty minimalist, gear was a means to an end rather than an obsession. To be frank, I was more of a gear skeptic than a gear junkie.
But as the site’s Hunt Fish Editor, testing brand after brand and item after item forced me to pare down to the gear that made the cut. And that’s really what I love to write about. When it comes to a review, a suggestion, a collection of gear, or simply the experience of using gear to get the job done, it better be damned useful and worth its weight in financial commitment.
I value gear differently than I did when I first began writing about it. Us gearheads get so wrapped in the idea of stuff, but it can also weigh us down.
Ultimately, I’m still a thrifty minimalist, but the gear I write about and the brands I talk about have a place in my gear closet because of that these days, rather than in spite of it. And I hope you hear that theme echo across this collection of many years of writing.
A peek at emerging products from the sometimes cutting-edge, sometimes quirky world of gear design. Check out a 3-pound packraft, cutting edge bike computer, searchable…
A peek at emerging products from the sometimes cutting-edge, sometimes quirky world of gear design. Check out some wild new products from YETI, Shimano, OtterBox,…
Great outdoor gear at an amazing price: That’s our goal each Monday. Check out these bargains from Pendleton, Hyperlite Mountain Gear, and Patagonia to save…
Public lands continue to face serious hurdles. Especially when it comes to its federal leadership, the necessity for public input, and protecting certain landscapes from…
The ‘Finding Common Ground’ series brings people together on public lands to learn about the other’s experience. In this short film, an ORV wheeler meets…
Outdoorsman Sloane Brown shares his story of recovery in this beautiful and moving piece made in collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, YETI Coolers,…
The second installment of Outdoor Research’s ‘Where the Wild Things Play’ jumps into a celebratory montage of women outdoors. And this time, it’s noticeably different.
A new report from the Recreation Boating and Fishing Foundation’s 2019 Special Report on Fishing finds that diversity continues to climb within the ranks of…
I spent two days scouting the floor at ICAST, North America’s largest fishing convention, and it was jam-packed with exciting new products for the angler.
A peek at emerging products from the sometimes cutting-edge, sometimes quirky world of gear design. Explore the grid below or click through for a slideshow.
