Video: Testing Outdoor Gear Isn’t as Easy as it Looks

If you think testing outdoor gear sounds fun and easy, think again.

In this video, we join a professional gear tester for Patagonia as he heads out to put some products through their paces. Of course, doing that in warm and comfortable conditions sounds nice, but that’s not how you figure out whether or not a product will actually perform the way you expect it to. If you want to figure out what is the best camping knife, you have to put them all through some grueling, real life tests.

Instead, you have to push it, and yourself, to extremes to be sure it can protect customers when it ultimately falls into their hands. Hit the play button in this clip to get a sense of what goes into making this happen.

Kraig Becker