Look Mom, I wrote an Article!

A big perk of being a rep in the outdoor industry is using the gear that we sell. It is encouraged, almost mandatory to test out the products that we are pushing on others. If we don’t know how the goods we sell work, what sets them apart and differentiates them from the competition, we won’t be able to truly understand each unique piece of gear. Many times, I have been skeptical about a product that I’m selling to others, until I try it out. That is when the lightbulb moment takes place. Oh, so that’s what they mean when they said waterproof socks can help you stay on the trail longer! Now I understand why this jacket with infrared technology that transfers heat back to your body works. This shoe with the footshape toe box, that actually feels really good!

It is fun to come into our office on a Monday and hear from co-workers about their weekends. Most stories involve some amount of “gear testing”. Someone went trail running with the new Lone Peaks, another took the Paragon pack for a spin in the mountains or biked in the Elite socks. Each one of us has our own pursuits in the outdoors, but we all get after it.

My passion is rock climbing. And for that, I am grateful that we represent climbing brands. This allows me to do some serious gear testing in vertical terrain. One of the biggest tests of this gear was the time I went to Yosemite to climb Big Walls. For the full magazine article check out this link (page 22):

https://issuu.com/dougc/docs/mtrvol114no4_fall20_issuu/1?ff

See you out there, we will be testing (mostly having fun with) gear with the rest of you all.