Nick Bruckbauer

As a cross country and track runner in high school, college, and beyond, Nick started training year-round in a brutal Wisconsin climate at the age of 15. After starting his running career in cotton sweatshirts and sauna-like warmup suits, Nick appreciates how utilizing the proper clothing and shoes can affect an athletes comfort, performance, and enjoyment of a sport, which helps him relate to the high school runners he coaches today.

After moving to California in 2008, Nick was able to deeply connect with his love of the outdoors, and transitioned from an avid runner to a devoted and obsessed outdoorsman. His repertoire currently includes trail and road running, road cycling, golfing, paddling, hiking, camping, backpacking, mountaineering, climbing, and skiing. Among his favorite experiences in the last two years are trekking in Nepal, completing a 3-week ski mountaineering leadership and guide course in Alaska, summiting and skiing Mt. Rainier and two other 14ers, solo climbing Mt. Whitney’s Mountaineers Route in snowy conditions, and introducing his fiancé to Yosemite backpacking and Colorado skiing.

Bitten by the online shopping bug around Christmas 2007, Nick has scoured the ends of the internet to find the best-looking and fitting, best constructed, and most cost-effective pieces of clothing and equipment. As a civil engineer in his day job, Nick appreciates the objective, methodical approach we take to our gear testing and review process here at OutdoorGearLab.