It all starts with our company culture. Marketers, product designers, customer service and gear specialists all are experienced outdoorspeople at Outdoor Vitals. Not only that, but Outdoor Vitals sponsors a company backpacking trip at least once a month and the team gets to test out gear! Outdoor Vitals employees have access to company gear for personal trips as well, and are all very familiar with the products we offer.
So what does this do for Research and Development? Well, instead of hiring additional people just to do research and work on gear development, our entire team is involved! We are our own R&D Team. By regularly using our own gear, we are very familiar with it and know what works, and what we want to improve. Our culture of being our own customers allows us to think of new ways to satisfy needs in the outdoors. Everyone has a voice in product development, and there is a constant stream of new ideas and innovation.
With all the new ideas, some seem to jump out. The more time we spend outdoors, the more some ideas develop on how to solve problems, fill needs, and improve outdoor experiences. We hold weekly team meetings, and often this is where we decide which ideas to put into practice next.