It all starts with our company culture. Marketers, product designers, customer service and gear specialists all are experienced outdoorspeople at ”171 Outdoor”. 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 ideas develop on solving problems, filling needs, and improving outdoor experiences. We hold weekly team meetings, and often this is where we decide which ideas to put into practice next.