Hi, I’m Taylor (she/her).

I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest for a decade, but I grew up in the South and lived in NYC after that. I’m sober and being outdoors is a big part of my life. I love the mountains and the desert the most and live to travel (Japan and Iceland I’m coming back… just you wait). At my day job, I’m a reporter at TechCrunch and I’ve been writing about the tech industry for more than a decade now.

I balance my strange, frantic and possibly doomed online life as a journalist by getting outside to backpack, hike, glamp, paddle, fall down in the snow or walk slowly and painfully up a mountainside as often as possible. And I want to help other people in the queer community do that too!

I didn’t grow up hiking, camping, skiing or anything like that and only found my way to the outdoor activities I love years later. The biggest obstacle for me was the knowledge barrier that people of color, women, queer people and anybody else who isn’t a white chisel-jawed bro on the cover of a climbing magazine often have to break through to enjoy the outdoor activities that now make my life feel full and awesome.

What kind of gear will Outgear review?

Outdoor gear. Anything you’d use hiking, backpacking, camping or glamping.

Travel gear. The stuff that makes traveling to cool places feel efficient and good. Because we all want to be that person in the airport in the nice joggers with the oat milk latte who looks like they have their shit together. 

Photography gear. I’m an outdoor photographer who spends a lot of time planning hikes for places I want to shoot, so I know how much thought can go into getting the perfect shot.

If you’re a company that would like to see your gear featured or reviewed here, get in touch: outgearhq [at]gmail.com.

If you’d like to donate additional gear to the queer community alongside review units, let me know. Sounds like a great idea!

Why queer gear reviews and guides?

Well, first: why not!

Before I got into the outdoors, it felt like everybody else just had all of this insider info and I didn’t even know where to start. Now that I have picked up enough skill and know-how to explore outdoors, I want to share that with other LGBTQ people who feel the same way.

I’ve reviewed a lot of stuff over the years to see what works and what doesn’t, from smartphones and apps to mirrorless cameras and even ridiculous full-body sleeping bag onesies. I love to share that research with people in my community who are reasonably less enthused about reading gear reviews or who don’t know where to start. If you’ve ever got a question, just ask.

More about me:

I love all kinds of camping, from glamping with elaborate cheese plates to backpacking solo in a bivvy on the side of a mountain while hoping a mountain lion doesn’t eat my face off. I’m learning to snowboard and paddleboard and I’m a big fan of the idea that being outdoors doesn’t have to be extreme to “count.” I do a lot of stuff solo too so if that’s something you’re interested in but you’re nervous or you have some questions, I’ve got answers!

Get in touch at outgearhq@gmail.com.

All photos all rights reserved.