Maggie is an avid outdoor adventurer and a dedicated nature enthusiast. She started leading canoeing and hiking expeditions in her teens and never stopped. While following her love of the environment through a Masters degree studying chimpanzees in Senegal and Zambia, Maggie also expanded her passion for guiding outdoors. Over the past fifteen years, she has taught dozens of workshops on snow camping, kayaking, and backpacking. She has led hiking and backpacking trips and expeditions for over 1000 "eager beavers" from Ecuador and South Africa to Arkansas and Texas, teaching skills and helping them find the right gear for their adventures. Ever a lover of water, she spent a year living on a Caribbean island leading kayaking expeditions in the crystal blue waters - a step in a different direction from her past experience as a whitewater guide. Maggie has also spent whole seasons living out of a backpack or her teardrop trailer and is always on the prowl for the next best gear to upgrade her life. When not outdoors, she's dreaming of her next adventure and cuddling with her goofy greyhound-lab mix, Madeline. Maggie also loves to run anywhere and everywhere, cycle long distances, dabble in yoga, ski all winter, and paddleboard in beautiful places!
Showing 1-15 of 299 by Maggie Brandenburg

Best Camping Chairs of 2022
When choosing the best camping chair, we have a lot of demands. It must be portable and last through lots of use and abuse just like our other gear, but also maintain the comfort and...
Editors' Choice
Outdoor Research Aspire - Women's
Stylish and packed full of features, the OR Aspire delivers. We appreciated its high scores across the board and have chosen it as our
Top Pick
REI Co-op Sahara Long-Sleeve - Women's
We like the classy cut of this shirt, along with its comfort and style. We also found that its design is conducive to lots of different activities from paddling to hiking - it can even...
Editors' Choice
ALPS Mountaineering King Kong
This chair is one of the most comfortable, durable, sturdy, and easy to use models tested. Awesome for campsites and ballparks, this...
Best Daypacks for Women of 2022
If you're a woman in the market for a daypack, we can help. We considered 80+ different models and chose 13 of the best to rigorously test, side-by-side, for months....
Best Buy
GCI Outdoor Comfort Pro
This easy-to-use chair has a high, angled back and taller seat height that many of our testers find both comfortable and easy to get in and out of...
Best Buy
REI Co-op Camp X
Performing well across the board, this portable and affordable chair is easy to like, especially at the nice price. Its versatility has us packing it along on many occasions...
Top Pick
Kelty Low Loveseat
What it lacks in portability, this loveseat makes up for in comfort and durability. It's sure to be a popular chair with all your friends...
Best Carry On Luggage of 2022
Looking for your next piece of carry-on luggage? We bought and tested a fleet of carry-ons to help you find the right one for your packing habits and your wallet. Soft and hard-sided...
Top Pick
Kijaro Dual Lock Folding Chair
This seat locks into place, eliminating that seat sag so often associated with camping chairs. It also is our recommendation for a Supportive Seat and is well-loved by...
Editors' Choice
Osprey Tempest 20
The Osprey Tempest 20 is a lightweight daypack that's "packed" with lots of great features. From the "Lidlock" bike helmet attachment to the well-designed pockets, there's lots to love...
Editors' Choice
Gregory Jade 28L
The Jade 28 from Gregory is a large daypack that can handle almost anything you might need to bring with you on a day hike or on an overnight adventure. The 28-30 liter capacity is the...
Best Soft Coolers of 2022
Which soft cooler is the best? To find out, we took fourteen of the top-rated and most popular models available and compared them side-by-side. From ice tests to beach days, we left no...
Top Pick
Gregory Juno 24L
This daypack stuffs all the comfort and security of a full backpack fit into the size of a single day pack. Its back ventilation system is one of our favorites...
Top Pick
Outdoor Research Echo Hoodie - Women's
Impressively, this hoody is light and breathable enough to wear under a hot sun without feeling like you're melting. It has useful features and a level of comfort and style that our...
Next >
Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by Testing.
GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. No cherry-picked units sent by manufacturers. No sponsored content. No ads. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing and comparison.
Learn More