Pack Hacker’s team use their expertise and real-world experience to provide practical resources and honest opinions, guiding you towards smarter travel. It is all about real people giving real opinions on gear. Think of they as your friend that knows everything there is to know about travel gear. They’ll get you sorted.

All start in May 2015, when Tom Wahlin decided to leave his 9-5 job in the tech industry and take his design skills on the road. With plans to travel the world and work remotely for years at a time, he sold nearly all of his belongings and packed up his New York City apartment into a single 40-liter backpack. His plans became a reality, but the process was arduous.

Deciding what to buy, what to ditch, and how to pack it all up became more intensive than the travel plans themselves. At the time, figuring out how to perpetually travel the world out of a single carry-on wasn’t something you could just find on YouTube. As a result, Tom dove in headfirst and became obsessed with figuring out the nitty-gritty details behind products and how he could optimize everything in his backpack to be best-equipped for any adventure in his path.

As the years progressed, Tom gathered a team of experts to help him review the latest gear in the travel space and create impactful content. Pack Hacker is now headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, where Tom spends most of his time—along with some core Pack Hacker team—as a “seasonal nomad,” traveling the world regularly while still enjoying the comforts (and studio lighting) of home. All the gear they have ever tested are stored there.

Their process consist of a small team of travel experts who test and review a variety of premium and economical gear in their element for a minimum of two weeks. In Pack Hacker pay special attention in their standard that guarantee that each item should be durable and able to last through time, usage, and natural elements; It should serve multiple use-cases and apply to more than one situation; and a design that should feel thoughtful with a considerate style beyond average travel gear.

While they strive for variety, they do believe in paying more for something that will last. Pack Hacker prefers brands with a good, ethical production process at a price point that makes sense for its lifeline.