Trail Builder Magazine

The best trail tool might be the one you’ll actually carry.

After two years of use, the Trailtool Pocket proves its value on ride-in maintenance days and remote projects where hauling a full tool kit isn’t realistic.

Read our latest review from Willard Bruce: https://bit.ly/4xeuAJk

What if your shovel, saw, rake, and root-cutting tool could fit inside your backpack?

The French-made Trailtool Pocket uses a collapsible shaft and interchangeable heads designed for trail builders working in remote or hard-to-reach locations.

But packability only matters if the tool can handle real trail work.

Professional trail builder Willard Bruce spent two years testing the Trailtool across flow trails, jump lines, bike parks, and local maintenance projects in Austria and Spain.

His verdict?

Trailtool Review: Two-Year Report on the French-Made Tool — Trail Builder Magazine A professional trail builder reviews the Trailtool Pocket after two years of use, testing its collapsible shaft, shovel, saw, and McLeod-style head.

What are you looking for in a hand tool?

Durability matters. So does comfort, balance, weight, versatility, and the ability to survive season after season of trail work.

But every trail builder has different priorities.

So, what makes a hand tool earn a permanent place in your trail-building kit?

What should we put to the test next?

Our Trail Builder Magazine review page is growing, with field-tested reviews of trail tools, equipment, workwear, packs, protective gear, and other products built for life on (and off) the trail.

But we want to hear from you.

What tools, gear, equipment, or technology would you like to see us review?
Is there a product you’re curious about?
Something you already use and think more builders should know about?
Or a category we haven’t covered enough?

Explore our latest reviews, then drop your suggestions in the comments: https://bit.ly/41Zl5Re

Trail Builder Magazine subscribers now have access to exclusive discounts from 24 brand partners, and that list continues to grow.

These partnerships have developed through years of conversations, collaborations, giveaways, product reviews, and genuine relationships with brands across the trail building and mountain bike industries.

The goal is simple: create more value for everyone involved.

Our partners get a meaningful way to connect with the trail building community. Subscribers receive discounts and perks from trusted brands they already know, use, and support.

Membership also includes exclusive subscriber content, but these industry discounts can quickly help offset the cost of a subscription.

Twenty-four partners and counting.

Subscribe and explore all the benefits available to Trail Builder Magazine members: https://bit.ly/44fVkOt

In light of the interview we posted yesterday, we've spent all week exploring different topics surrounding unsanctioned trails.

This is an important public conversation to have since so many of you work for trail stewardship nonprofits, trail construction companies, government agencies, and more.

Unsanctioned trails can emerge from creativity, frustration, unmet demand, or a belief that the official process is moving too slowly.

What do you see as the greatest downside of unsanctioned trail building?

And how should trail communities respond when those trails already exist?

“If the system worked, I would work with the system.”

In southern New Mexico, one trail builder estimates that unsanctioned trails outnumber sanctioned trails by roughly ten to one.

The region has legal trails. What it lacks, he argues, are mountain bike-specific trails that offer the technical terrain and progression experienced riders are looking for.

Our latest interview explores the tension beneath unsanctioned trail building:

Why do riders continue building without permission?
What responsibility do rogue builders have to public land?
And could a better trail approval process make unsanctioned trails less necessary?

If the System Worked, Would Unsanctioned Trail Building Stop? — Trail Builder Magazine Why do riders build unsanctioned mountain bike trails? This interview from southern New Mexico explores legal barriers, advanced trail access, land management, and rogue trail building.

Great conversation from yesterday’s social media post.

Now, let’s hear some trail-sanctioning success stories.

Was there a trail in your community that once seemed impossible to “make official?”

We spend plenty of time talking about the obstacles to trail development.

Today, we want to hear what worked.

What helped move the project forward? A relationship? A patient advocate? Better data? A change in leadership? A strong proposal? Community support?

Share your story. Someone else may be facing the same challenge and looking for a path forward.

How hard is it to get a trail officially sanctioned where you live?

For some trail organizations and locations, the process is relatively straightforward.

For others, it can take years of meetings, environmental reviews, fundraising, relationship-building, planning, and revisions before a shovel ever touches the ground ... or a bootleg trail is adopted.

And sometimes, despite all that effort, the answer is still no.

We want to hear from trail builders and advocates around the world.

What is the biggest obstacle to getting new trails approved in your community?

Is it access to land? Funding? Regulations? Environmental concerns? Community opposition? Agency capacity? Something else?

Tell us what the sanctioning process looks like where you live.

We’re continuing to add more perks and discounts for our print and digital magazine subscribers.

We just added another brand to our industry discounts. Welcome Ride Cased.

As a member, you’ll receive every new issue upon release, gain access to exclusive members-only articles and content published throughout the year, and unlock industry discounts from our partner brands.

Learn more and sign up: https://bit.ly/44fVkOt