Outdoor Research Brand Spotlight

For high-altitude ascents, or weekend excursions, Outdoor Research has been producing trusted equipment for over forty years. To celebrate their role in many of our adventures, Outdoor Gear Exchange is proud to present Outdoor Research as October’s Brand Spotlight! Learn about OR’s history, and their commitment to sustainability, and get in on the giveaways! Fill out the form below, and check out our Instagram for entries.

In April of 1980, Ron Gregg had to abandon a summit attempt on Denali due to an equipment failure that required his climbing partner to be airlifted off the Alaskan peak. Disappointed, but resistant to shortening his adventure, Ron descended back down the mountain on his own. Ron was a PhD-recipient and trained nuclear physicist who famously referred to the environments he passionately explored as “The Big Office”. 

With this time in The Big Office, Ron Gregg began theorizing how to apply his research-based approach to improving his mountaineering equipment, putting Denali and other peaks reliably within reach. Back in Seattle, Washington the original X-Gaiters were created, and Outdoor Research had begun

In the first decade of operation, Outdoor Research gained a reputation for creating functional, high-quality outdoor equipment. Gregg believed that function should be the primary goal - leaving style and aesthetics to happenstance. In 1997, Ron explained to the Seattle Times:

“My design goal is ‘no-frills’[...]”The features are there because they do something”[...]”Our basic success is not because we made products people wanted, but because OR makes products perform in ways that people didn’t think they could.”

In 2003, Ron Gregg tragically lost his life in an avalanche while exploring British Columbia's Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. At this point, Outdoor Research searched for new leadership and was absorbed by Nordstrom. At the time, OR’s workforce feared the organization would be saturated by corporate oversight, and lose sight of its founding principles which was so crucial to its success up to that point. 

However, Dan Nordstrom, the Nordstrom CEO at the time, proved himself to be an avid adventurer. Dan shared an epic story of his time traversing the Cascade Mountain Range, along with a photo that “sort of settled everyone down." 

Dan’s mission at Outdoor Research was to preserve the design approach which focused on functionality and durability, while introducing a secondary focus on aesthetics and style.

Outdoor Research has also developed an important reputation as a voice for environmental action in the outdoor equipment industry. In collaboration with the Outdoor Industry Association Climate Action Corps, OR is leading the outdoor industry to be the world’s first climate positive industry by 2030. By teaming up with the OIA Climate Action Corps, bluesign, and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Outdoor Research is committed to preserving The Big Office, while delivering the OR quality we’ve all come to expect.

Enter your information below in order to be entered into the Outdoor Research Brand Spotlight giveaway! We’ll be giving out a Transcendent Down Hoody and Vigor Fleece!

See our Instagram page to learn how to gain additional entries!