93. How to Identify Your Gear Needs with Alisha McDarris

In episode 93 of the Outdoor Minimalist podcast, we are returning to some of the foundational topics of the show: outdoor gear and equipment. If you’ve read the book, you’ll know that a big chunk of the text revolves around product materials, gear picks, gear repair, and gear needs. So, for this episode, we’re covering a topic I’ve wanted to discuss since the start of this podcast: how to identify your gear needs.  To give us some insights into how we can all make better gear choices, I sat down to chat with Alisha McDarris.  Alisha is the founder of Terradrift.com and the site’s accompanying YouTube channel, where she and her husband Josh share gear reviews, outdoorsy how-to’s, guides, and more, including a full backpacking course for beginners. She is also a freelance journalist and photographer specializing in writing about sustainable travel and outdoor adventure for publications like Popular Science, Backpacker, Outside, Roadtrippers, and more. INSTAGRAM: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/outdoor.minimalist.book/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ WEBSITE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theoutdoorminimalist.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ YOUTUBE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theoutdoorminimalist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ORDER THE BOOK: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.theoutdoorminimalist.com/book⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ VENMO: @OutdoorMinimalist --------------- Alisha McDarris Website: https://alishamcdarris.com/ Terradrift: https://terradrift.com/ Backpacking 101 Course: https://terradrift.com/how-to-backpack/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/terradrift Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terradrift Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terradrift/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@terradrift --------------- Related Episodes #3 How to Identify Sustainable Product Materials #7 Renting vs. Owning Gear #11 Greenwashing in the Outdoor Industry #24 Identifying Your Needs: Adventure, Gear, and Safety #35 Tips for Making More Ethical Gear Purchases #69 What is Greenwashing? (and How to Identify It)