Keith ski touring in the High Arctic

Keith Morton is an outdoor-equipment writer and gear connoisseur. He has sampled hundreds of outdoor products during his fifteen years as a product tester and writer, most recently as equipment and new-products editor for Canada's Explore magazine, and during his stint as GORP's Gear Expert.

If it's designed for the outdoors, then chances are this avid canoer, backpacker, and backcountry skier has used it and has solid opinions about its design and function.

Keith has undertaken extended expeditions by foot and paddle into the remotest regions of North America — including ski trips across Canada's Ellesmere Island and canoeing/backpacking trips on the Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories — have forged an abiding sense of how quality gear (and an ability to fix inevitable breakdowns) plays a big role in a trip's success.

Keith is the author of Planning a Wilderness Trip in Canada and Alaska, a practical handbook to travel in wild places. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife, Mary, a backyard full of kayaks and canoes, and a basement brimming with gear.