Austin Palmer found his love for tech early in life when he was given his first Nintendo (NES) console. Many hours were spent blowing into cartridges to no avail until inspiration struck and he started taking apart and rebuilding anything that didn't work. After dropping console gaming at the end of high school, Austin entered the world of PC online gaming. His love of gaming and his love of problem-solving soon led him to building his own computers.
Being a man of many interests, Austin's career path has been varied. He attended Sam Houston State University earning a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. After graduation he hiked the 2,181 mile Appalachian Trail (AT), using solar chargers and battery packs as helpful accessories. That experience made him appreciate just how important having the right gear can be. Once completing the AT, being a man from Texas, he began a career in onshore oil drilling where he learned to operate heavy machinery and manage the safety of teams of workers. Eventually, the outdoors called to him again, and he set out with more state of the art solar chargers, external battery packs, GPS navigation, and his Gameboy to hike the 2,660-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
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Austin Palmer and Veronica Long wearing water-proof, wind-resistant layers, a beanie, and a Buff on a windy mountain ridge.
Credit: Veronica Long