The Indiahikes Gear Circle Project

Over the past few years, our inbox has been flooded with a familiar question:

"Does this product look good? Can I buy it?"

Trekkers frequently send us links to shoes, jackets, and backpacks, seeking advice before making a purchase.

While we can assess certain aspects based on features and specifications, we hesitate to give a concrete answer without personally testing the product. On our website, we’ve always prided ourselves on publishing in-depth reviews—based only on gear we’ve used extensively in the field.

But the trekking gear market has exploded in recent years. And trekkers own a wide range of gear. Dozens of new brands, both global and local, are launching products every month. Testing every single one has become impossible.

That’s why we’re launching this project, The Gear Circle: Gear reviews written by trekkers who’ve actually used them.

How to go about reviewing your gear?

If you’ve used any trekking gear—shoes, backpacks, jackets, etc— tell us your honest opinion. Your review will help thousands of trekkers make better choices. 

1. All you have to do is use any gear of your own on a trek and fill out a simple form (you’ll find the link below).
2. The form will guide you with questions like — what did you like about the product, what didn’t work for you, which treks you’ve used it on, five clear pros and cons, and your final verdict.
3. Feel free to bring your trek stories into it. For instance, if your shoes gave up on you two days into the Hampta Pass trek, tell us about it. Or if your rain jacket kept you dry through relentless rain and snow on the Pin Bhaba Pass trek — that’s something future trekkers would want to know.

Why write a review?

If your review meets our editorial standards, it will be published on our website along with your profile picture and a short bio.

It will be read by lakhs of trekkers who visit our website every month, helping them make better gear decisions.

If you write more than one published review, you’ll also get your own author page where all your reviews will be featured together.

Along with that, you’ll also receive one of our iconic Trekker for Life mugs.