Be A Gear Tester: Winners!

Introducing this year's crop of BACKPACKER reader Official Gear Testers

Here at BACKPACKER, we’re all about sharing the love, so this month, we’re not the only winners. In April’s Gear Guide, we put a call out to join our official roster of gear reviewers, and readers responded in force. 

After viewing over 11 hours of YouTube footage and reading close to 200 sample reviews, we're happy to report that you nailed it! Without further adieu, here are the winners:

Matthew Grey from Perkasie, PA
Matt Heselton from Boswell, PA
Joe Flowers from Raleigh, NC
Nelson Radmall from Draper, UT
Geoff Ward from Portsmouth NH
Bobby Trotter from Powell, TN
Joel Nyquist from South Riding, VA
Will Rochfort from San Diego, CA
Ryan Dax from Placerville, CA

Our first-ever Reader Tester team has been notified, and is already getting prepped for a summer of hard work. We were floored by the quality and creativity every contestant put into their reviews; they truly went above and beyond (I’m talking to you, Guy-Who-Took-His-Clothes-Off).

Our Gear Editor Kristin Hostetter had this to say: “I want to sincerely thank all of you who took the time to create your amazing videos. Your gear knowledge, passion, and creativity blew us away.”

In honor of all their outstanding work, we're officially making this Reader Tester Appreciation week! Or, rather, week and a half: For the next 10 days we¹re going to share a submission video from one winner right here on the Daily Dirt.Today’s comes from Matthew Grey of Perkasie, PA. Check it:



Check back tomorrow for another video from an official Gear Tester.

—Ted Alvarez