John Ellings
Title: Editor-in-Chief (Former)
Location: Wenatchee, WA
I wouldn't say it was my plan all along, but the work connects a lot of things I love: creating and building something great, geeking out on outdoor gear, and adventuring in my Pacific Northwest backyard and around the world.
I met Switchback founder, David Wilkinson, while I was working at REI and part way through my MBA program in 2014. The opportunity to rethink outdoor gear testing, photography, and long-form content was too good to pass up!
Last Updated: April 15, 2025
Spacious, user-friendly, and feature-rich camping tents are made to facilitate a relatively luxurious experience in the outdoors. Many of these behemoths offer enough room to set up cots or even chairs and a table for card games on a rainy day. For car...
Last Updated: May 15, 2023
Patagonia’s Houdini jacket is a standard bearer and in many ways defines the ultralight windbreaker category. We tested this long-time favorite in high winds while backpacking and hiking in Patagonia and during late winter/early spring hikes and...
Last Updated: March 11, 2025
When the seasons change and the snow starts to fall, it's time to grab a serious jacket. Below you'll find our picks for the best men's winter jackets and parkas for 2025, which include super warm down puffies and expertly insulated synthetic and...
Last Updated: March 21, 2025
If you're searching for that elusive one-ski quiver, this is the category to find it. The definition of “all-mountain” varies by manufacturer and retailer but typically includes skis from 80 to 105 millimeters underfoot that can both carve on hardpack...
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