How We Research

I'm Erik Lundgren — GIS analyst, Duluth, Minnesota, overlanding since 2014. My rig is a 2019 4Runner TRD with a Sherpa rack, iKamper Skycamp 2.0, ARB bumper, and 33" BFGoodrich KO2s. I run about 30 nights a year in the Boundary Waters and the Upper Peninsula. That's the context behind everything evaluated on this site.

Gear I've personally run on the 4Runner and in the field gets assessed from real use — how a rooftop tent performs in a BWCAW October, whether a recovery board actually works in loose sand, how a power station holds up through a Minnesota winter in a truck bed. For gear I evaluate through research — which covers a wide range of this site, because overlanding equipment is expensive and no one owns everything — I draw on owner consensus from r/overlanding, Expedition Portal, and ih8mud, published specifications and manufacturer documentation, and comparison against gear I do have direct experience with. Where a recommendation is based on sourced research rather than personal field use, I say so.

I'm also straightforward about cost. A lot of overlanding content glosses over price because the gear is expensive and acknowledging that feels uncomfortable. I'd rather note when a product is a significant investment and be clear about whether the premium is justified by the use case — and for whom.

I don't accept free products in exchange for coverage. When gear gets superseded, when owner consensus shifts, or when I discover I've been wrong about something, I update the article.

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