About the Author

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. 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. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife, Mary, a backyard full of kayaks and canoes, and a basement brimming with gear.