To understand OR, you have to understand a little about its founder, Ron Gregg. In 1979, on an attempt to summit Mt. McKinley via the rarely-traveled Taylor Spur, Ron experienced terrible discomfort because of the poorly-designed gaiters he was wearing. His climbing buddy, also experiencing the effects of poorly-designed equipment, developed frostbite and had to be airlifted off the mountain. When Ron returned home to Seattle, he set about designing a set of gaiters that would work in the most demanding of situations, and the result was the best gaiters ever constructed. In 1981, motivated by a passion for equipment that really worked, Ron quit his job as a physicist and founded Outdoor Research, Inc.
An avid mountaineer, kayaker and skier, Ron was constantly out in the wilds putting gear to the test and discovering problems that begged for innovative solutions. With total disregard for fashion and marketability, Ron simply created equipment that worked better than what anyone else was making, and he grew his company by hiring other outdoor adventure fanatics who shared his obsession with functionality. Though Ron's life was tragically cut short by an avalanche while he was backcountry skiing in 2003, the company remains true to his ethos. OR's tag-line, "Designed By Adventure" says it all.
The folks at OR are all about what they refer to as Human Powered Adventure. You know: climbing, hiking, pedaling, paddling - that sort of thing. They are so into it, in fact, that they won't even include a motorized anything in their posters, ads and catalogs. I mean, not even a chair lift at a ski area! Obviously, these crazies are hardcore about Human Powered Adventure, so we didn't know how they'd respond to Full Throttle Camping and our obsession with Motor Powered Adventure, but as it turns out, they are totally cool with what we're doing and have welcomed us as a dealer.
Check out our selection of OR storage systems under Accessories in the Products Menu. We've got ditty bags, backcountry organizers, dry sacks and compressions sacks for all sizes of applications. We'll be adding minimalist shelters later in 2008, as well as waterproof and heated gloves and other cold-weather apparel.
