A passion for human powered adventure
inspired the birth of Outdoor Research, an outdoor gear company based in
Seattle, Washington. And 27 years later, this passion remains as strong
as ever. But their goals have expanded to embrace a greater mission: their
customers’ experiences of human powered adventure. Over the years, they’ve
learned it’s not simply about what they think. It’s about listening to their customers and building their ideas into our products.
Outdoor Research's focus is on creating functional solutions for human powered
adventure and how they do it is the fun part! Through their Lab Rat program,
any user of OR gear can report back to them on how their product worked
during their adventures. Lab Rat feedback is sent directly to their
product development team and has affected individual products as well as
entire product lines, from hats and gloves to bivy sacks and apparel.
Truly useful gear is the result of a process that begins by
paying careful attention to the needs of outdoor adventurers. By
listening to these people, Outdoor Research achieves a clear purpose for the
functionality of each product. From this, they deliver what is the
hallmark of OR products: functional gear that works and lasts. As a
result of placing quality and function first they offer the finest guarantee in the industry – OR’s Infinite Guarantee®.
For them, Outdoor Research products are Designed By Adventure®
and every day they work to make their gear reflect the adventures for which
they are designed. To keep their focus true, they look to the following
sports for inspiration:
- Alpinism
- Backcountry skiing / riding
- Hiking
- Backpacking
- Ice climbing
- Rock climbing
- Trail running
- Paddling
Of course, their gear can be used effectively for many activities, but they start with these core sports when they look to solve the problems
faced by outdoor enthusiasts.
As outdoor enthusiasts, they know people are designed by their
adventures, changing as they pursue their sports. We also know, because their customers have told them so, that the gear they use should also be Designed By Adventure®.
With this inspiration and their passion for adventure, they continue to
develop gear that helps their customers reach the top, find a new edge,
discover new adventures and environments and uncover new parts of
themselves along the way.