Editorial Policy

Every article on our site goes through a rigorous editorial process. The writers on our team have extensive travel experience, and we are committed to providing factual and valuable information, product reviews, and recommendations.

When doing research, we only depend on reliable primary sources (e.g. manufacturers' websites, official websites like academia or government databases, or first hand accounts) for our articles. We will tell you where we source our information—both to give credit where credit is due and to provide transparency.

Fact-Checking

We periodically review, fact-check, and edit every article on our site to ensure the information we are providing is accurate, relevant, and up-to-date. There’s a lot to keep up on, so if you stumble across something you feel needs a refresh (inaccurate information, broken links, etc.), please drop us a line and we’ll remedy it!

How We Make Money

TravelFreak links out to third party affiliate partners when making product recommendations. If you make a purchase through the links on our website, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

To be clear: our recommendations are not swayed by financial incentive. We earn a commission no matter what, so it doesn’t actually matter to us which product(s) you choose to buy.

We only recommend gear that we actually love. There have been countless times we reviewed something and didn’t list it on our website simply because we don’t think it’s a good product or value. If we wouldn’t recommend it to a family member or friend, it doesn’t make the cut.

Of course, just like anything else, we have personal preferences when it comes to travel gear, and we always disclose those alongside our objective reviews.

Our Affiliate Partners

For the sake of transparency, the following is a comprehensive list of our affiliate partners as of June 26, 2025, in alphabetical order. We remain an independent publishing entity, free from influence by partners we work with.

• Able Carry
• Ably Apparel
• Adorama
• AER
• Aesop
• Agoda
• AIG Travel Guard
• Allbirds
• Alltrails
• Altra Running
• Amazon
• Amberjack
• American Tourister
• Antler Luggage
• Arc’Teryx
• Arcade Belts
• Atlas Coffee Club
• Athletico
• Aventon
• Away Luggage

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• AXA Travel Insurance
• B & H Photo
• Backblaze
• Backcountry
• battleface
• Bellroy
• Béis
• Berghaus
• BioLite
• Black Diamond
• Blueground
• Bluffworks
• Booking.com
• Boundary Supply
• Briggs & Riley
• Bose
• Buff
• Bunch Bikes
• Burton
• Cabeau
• CALPAK
• Camelbak
• Canada Goose
• Carl Friedrik
• Chrome Industries
• Coalatree
• Columbia
• Cotopaxi
• Cushion Lab
• Cuyana
• Danner
• Darn Tough
• Deckers x Lab
• Delsey
• DiscoverCars
• DJI
• Dollar Flight Club
• Dometic
• Duckworth
• Eagle Creek
• Eddie Bauer
• Electric Bike Co.
• Escape Campervans
• EVERGOODS
• Everlane
• Expedia
• Faye
• Feathered Friends
• Fenix
• Flipkey
• Forsake
• G Adventures
• GCI Outdoor
• GetYourGuide
• Globelink
• Goal Zero
• Going (Scott’s Cheap Flights)
• GoPro
• GORUCK
• GRAYL
• Gregory
• Harber London
• Helinox
• Hello Landing
• Helly Hansen
• Heymondo
• HOKA
• Homestay
• Hopper
• Horizn Studios
• Hostelworld
• Hotels.com
• HotelsCombined
• Hydro Flask
• Hyperlite Mountain Gear
• Ibex
• Icebreaker
• Intrepid Travels
• Juiced Bikes
• July Luggage
• Kammok
• Kari Traa
• KAYAK
• KEEN Footwear
• KEH Camera
• Kelty
• Kiehl’s
• Kiwi
• Kizik
• Klean Kanteen
• Kodiak Leather
• KÜHL
• LARQ
• La Sportiva
• Lectric eBikes
• LEVEL8
• Life360 (Tile)
• LifeStraw
• LIVSN
• Lo & Sons
• Luna Sandals
• Luno
• MAHI Leather
• Mammut
• Matador
• Mejuri
• Merrell
• Minus33
• Mission Workshop
• Moment
• Momondo
• Monos
• Mountain Hardwear
• Mystery Ranch
• Nalgene
• Native Campervans
• NEMO Equipment
• Nitecore
• Nomad Goods
• Nomadik
• NOMATIC
• Orbitz
• Osprey
• Outdoorsy
• Outdoor Research
• Pacsafe
• Pakt
• Patagonia
• Peak Design
• Plum Guide
• Postcard Cabins
• prAna
• Priceline
• Quip
• Rad Power Bikes
• Rains
• REI Co-op
• Rentalcars.com
• Ride1Up
• RIMOWA
• Roam Luggage
• Roamly
• Roku
• Roofnest
• Rumpl
• RVezy
• RVShare
• Safety Wing
• Salomon
• Samsonite
• SAXX Underwear
• Sea to Summit
• Sherpani
• Shimoda Designs
• Simms Fishing
• Skiplagged
• Skyscanner
• Sonder
• Speakeasy
• Squaremouth
• Swiftwick
• Smartwool
• State Bicycle Co.
• TEFL Academy
• Teva
• The North Face
• Therm-a-Rest
• Timbuk2
• Tinggly
• Top Villas
• Topo Designs
• Tortuga
• Travelex Insurance
• Travelocity
• Travelpro
• TripAdvisor
• Triple F.A.T. Goose
• Tropicfeel
• TUMI
• Unbound Merino
• Uncommon Goods
• VESSI
• VSSL Gear
• Victorinox
• Vrbo
• WANDRD
• Western Rise
• Wise
• Wool & Prince
• YETI
• ZAGG

How We Receive Products to Test

We buy many of the products we test with our own money. However, there are an exorbitant number of travel products that exist, so we also receive free product samples from manufacturers and companies to review.

After we’re done testing, we either donate the item or send it back to the manufacturer. We’re not about getting free handouts.

How We Gather Research

We are currently reviewing gear with what we believe is the world’s most comprehensive and detailed rating system. We use dozens of specific, objective metrics to evaluate every product we recommend on the site.

Internally, we have a database of hundreds of products that we’ve personally tested. In fact, we have compiled more than 10,000 data points across our products, and we regularly run analyses on this database to objectively inform our recommendations. And we’re constantly adding new products into the mix. If there’s a product you love that you don’t see we’ve reviewed, we want to hear it!

Our aim is to build the gold standard for what a brand and its products should strive to be. By setting the bar high, we hope to raise the travel industry to new levels.

How We Test Products

We test products just as you would use them—in real world settings. We want to see how luggage performs going through airports, baggage claim, on the cobblestone streets of Europe, or how that daypack holds up after hiking through the mountains of Colorado. Does it make our trips easier? How much wear and tear is there?

Depending on the product, our testing windows occur on a rolling basis. We’ll note our initial observations in the first few weeks of use, and then update our articles after we continue to use them through the product’s lifecycle – just as you’d use the product (you’d wouldn’t use it for a few weeks, then forget about, right?).

How do we do this? In addition to testing products ourselves, we also have a sizable freelance network who owns the majority of our products and can provide real-time feedback. This allows us to expand our product testing footprint and share with you how it's been put through the paces.

AI Policy

Simply put, we don’t use AI software such as ChatGPT or any other medium to auto-generate content for us. It’s against our policy. We are humans writing for humans. Sometimes we may use ChatGPT to come up with content ideas or help draft an article template, but it stops there. We believe in authenticity, not just quick robotic answers and it’s important our content reflects that. That’s not something AI can do.

Sponsorships & Paid Placements

Every now and then (and we mean it), we are approached by a company to write a review of a product they make or they will sponsor a post. However, anytime this happens, we clearly mark on the page that it’s advertorial because we want to be transparent with our readers – no smoke and mirrors here.

And we remain objective reviewers/product testers. We don’t let the fact that the review is paid for affect how much we like it. If the product has flaws and drawbacks to mull over, we write them in the article so you have all the facts in one place when making your decision to click “add to cart” or not.