An organization that has been very good to me this last year,  and has provided me with a number of opportunities to get my hands on and  evaluate some interesting gear is looking for more testers.  Check Out www.backpackgeartest.org to find out how you can become a gear tester yourself.

I was pretty suspicious of how the organization worked when I first began.  I sort of figured it was a ruse to get a bunch of people to submit reviews of the gear they already owned to fill up the site,  and only a few individuals on “the inside” actually got gear from the manufacturers.  My experience over the last year has proven this unfounded. If you are willing to write,  be critical of your writing, and fix the the mistakes and learn from them, you will get gear to test.

The process to become a tester is not a short one, nor is it very easy, but if you are like me and your desire to use quality gear is bigger than your ability to pay for it, this is a good way to get your hands on that equipment.  If you are like me (and many others), you will see how neat the organization really is,  and will begin to volunteer to help out for the sake if Backpackgeartest itself.

So all of you gear testers out there,  check it out with an open mind,  and if you have the desire, and are willing to put in the time,  become a backpackgeartester