Our Mission
The mission at KnowNothingNomads.com is simple: our goal is to share our exceptional knowledge and provide the highest quality content possible that will help you thrive in all your outdoor endeavors while living a healthy, fulfilling lifestyle. We have ambitious goals to become the best resource on the internet for all things hiking, camping, climbing, and outdoor adventure, and we hope to inspire you to get outside and explore.
Why Know Nothing Nomads?
After noticing that a lot of the information that you find on the internet is just straight up wrong, we wanted to change things. We set out on a journey to share our experiences and expertise in the outdoors and to create a resource where people could come to learn from real people that have made the mistakes before.
But what would we call ourselves? We decided on Know Nothing Nomads as a symbol and a representation of our past and where we’ve come from. We started by not knowing much (everyone has to start somewhere!), but after years of spending time outdoors, we’ve learned a lot, made a lot of mistakes, and learned the hard way.
All of those adventures and past mistakes have evolved into two extremely knowledgeable adventurers that have a passion for educating the masses in the things that bring us so much joy in hopes that our readers will be inspired to go outside and try something new for themselves.
Between Derek and Ashley, Know Nothing Nomads has years and years of experience in multiple different categories of outdoor adventure and travel, including:
Our Team
Derek Vitiello
Co-Founder, DesignerI spent my entire young life traveling in an RV with my family and I even learned how to walk on my Grandpa’s sailboat that he lived in full time. My family spent a lot of time camping, fishing, hunting, and of course, traveling. As a teenager, I created my first website and now I maintain the behind-the-scenes part of KNN. When I’m not working, I’m an avid fly fisher, hiker, camper, and rock climber who loves spending my days outside with my wife.
Ashley Vitiello
Co-Founder, Editor-in-ChiefGrowing up in Texas, I spent a lot of time traveling in the United States and abroad with my family to places like Canada, the Caribbean, the U.K., and the Netherlands. We loved our vacations, and were the kind of people who needed a vacation from our vacation because we would squeeze in as much as possible. Now as an adult, I have a never ending to-do list of both local and far away adventures, and I’m super passionate about nature and the outdoors. When I’m not writing for KNN, you can find me in the Appalachian mountains hiking, camping, rock climbing, birding, and exploring.
Our Story Together
We met way back in high school in our Texas hometown in 2010. At the young age of 17, we spent all our free time together – it was the beginning of something special. In 2015, we took a family summer vacation to Crested Butte, Colorado, and were immediately in love with the mountains. After days of hiking, wildflowers, and sunshine, we realized there was more to life than city living.
In 2017, we got engaged at the top of Copper Mountain on a spring skiing vacation. There was a beautiful view, lots of snow, and a ring! In 2019, we finally moved to the mountains after years of procrastinating. We arrived on May 1st, and in our first month we got forty inches of late season snow. Colorado said “Welcome to the mountains!” Later that year, we got married at the famous Maroon Bells in Colorado and it was the most perfect day. After years of living in the Colorado mountains and thoroughly exploring the area, we now live in a different kind of mountain area in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
What We Write About
The heart of KNN is the unbiased, informational articles you see in these categories above. We write A LOT of content, so here’s an idea of what you can find on KnowNothingNomads.com
We go hiking and then write about our adventure, creating step by step trail guides so you can know what to expect on that hike. One of our favorite trails we’ve ever done is Ice Lake & Island Lake in Colorado!
We backpack to some of the most beautiful places in the world (like the Four Pass Loop) and share our experience so you can plan your own trip.
We travel to fun places and share our favorite activities so you can add them to your to-do list for your next vacation – The Best Things to Do in Breckenridge Summer and the Ultimate Guide to Hiking in the Colorado Mountains.
We write how-to’s, guides, and informational content like the complete car camping checklist, how to clean hiking boots, and indoor rock climbing for beginners.
We test and review gear for entire sub-categories like best tent stakes for sand and best 4 person tents.
We research and write in-depth reviews on individual pieces of gear we use and love like the Slumberjack Daybreak 4 and Osprey Daylite.
We hope that by reading our content, you can see our love for the outdoors and that you’ll use the information to get outside and enjoy all that nature has to offer.
Our Testing and Review Process
We love outdoor gear, and we love recommending gear that adds value to our outdoor adventure. We know and understand the importance of having gear that’s worth every penny, so we thoroughly research and test every product we recommend. No matter how we procure an item, we strive to remain as unbiased as possible at all times.
How do we find our products? We spend countless hours scouring the internet for the best products in their category. We read about them, watch YouTube videos, research the brand, and draw on personal experience and the experience of those who review the item. We then put it to the test against a wide variety of factors, compare it to its competitors, and dive into the best and worst features. We then narrow it down to a few top choices that we think our audience will love and write an article about our findings.
We understand that each adventurer is different, and our favorite piece of gear may not be yours. That’s why we rate and review a wide variety of products currently available, so you can see a breakdown of all the features and pick what’s best for you and your situation. We don’t recommend anything we wouldn’t personally use, so whether you’re looking for highest quality, an affordable price, superior weather resistance, a certain brand, or any other desirable feature, there’s sure to be something on our list that’s perfect for you.
At the most basic level, we are the best research team you could possibly have on your side. We spend hours doing this so you don’t have to – and then we showcase all our hard work in an easy-to-read, informational article.
How We Make Money
Know Nothing Nomads is reader-supported, but this doesn’t require any extra cost from the reader. If you click on one of our links and buy a product through that link, we may receive a small commission from the seller. If you see an ad, we may receive a small commission from that company. Both of these methods keep our content free to read while making sure that we can continue to provide value online for years to come.
But doesn’t getting paid from companies make us biased? We can see how someone may think that, but we believe in only recommending products that we would personally use, regardless of what money it makes us. We spend countless hours researching the best of the best, then put everything to the test to make sure it meets our expectations. See “Our Testing and Review Process” above for more information about how we pick products.”
Here are some things we DON’T do to make money: we don’t accept paid guest posts, we don’t run sponsored articles, and we don’t do anything shady.
What’s Next?
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Want to get in touch? Use our Contact page or email us at hello@knownothingnomads.com.
Thanks for being a part of our adventure!
The KNN Team