Well, it all started a very long time ago with some crazy, French Canadian trappers and a considerable amount of homemade alcohol. To make a long story short, in the morning, there were only a few glowing embers leftover from the campfire, a muddy, coffee soaked patch of ground, a couple tattered bedrolls and a very, very uncomfortable moose who smelled strongly of bourbon. Soon after, more and more people were leaving their otherwise comfortable homes in the old world and along the eastern seaboard and setting out to experience the wilderness. Over the next two hundred years, the legacy of those crazy trappers has been festooned all over the maps of the west, but it is the enduring legacy of the simple joys of an outdoor lifestyle which affects us most profoundly today.
Fast forward to 1985 and in the pioneering spirit which first drew those early trappers west, a small cadre of siblings from British Columbia made their way down the west coast to San Diego where they founded GSI Outdoors. Beginning with a few pieces of blue enamelware and a smattering of campfire accessories, GSI Outdoors continued to grow and expand into the design, manufacturing, sales and marketing of an ever growing and ever more innovative line of outdoor cookware, tableware and accessories. As the company grew, Don, Ian and Kathy Scott made the decision to relocate to Spokane, WA where they have been ever since. Today GSI Outdoors products are distributed worldwide as the company continues to expand their array of products known for superior quality, technical performance, innovative design and most of all, their fun-loving attitude towards the outdoor experience.
At GSI Outdoors, we define innovation not through the use of some new ‘unobtanium’ material, nor through the monumental elevation of a never-imagined widget. No, we define innovation through the creation of unique, imaginative and fun products which reassert the values which we hold so dear. We take great pride in our ability to create new and exciting items from products which others believed could not be improved or which they believed were not worth the effort. We know that this kind of authentic innovation can only come from one place- our customers.
GSI Outdoors is a small, privately-held, family company. We have no obligation to an anonymous group of shareholders, a corporate board or anyone but our customers, our reps and each other. It is this freedom which so epitomizes the outdoors and grants us the flexibility to be more responsive to the needs of our customers who love the backcountry as much as we do.
