GSI Outdoors Celebrates 35 Years of Business

SPOKANE, WA — GSI Outdoors, the family-owned maker of innovative outdoor cooking and dining gear, is celebrating 35 years in business this month. For co-owners and siblings Don, Ian, and Kathy Scott, the anniversary marks years of commitment to thoughtful design, responsible manufacturing, and stewardship of the environment.

“We’re incredibly proud of the business we’ve grown together over the last 35 years,” said Don Scott. “We started GSI Outdoors when we were practically kids, and in the decades since, we’ve been able to support our customers in all kinds of adventures and make some really exciting innovations in gear. We feel very lucky to be able to do the work we do, and to do it together.”

Don and Ian founded the business in San Diego, CA in 1985, after the siblings journeyed there from their native British Columbia; the two brothers later teamed up with sister Kathy as the business grew. Then and now, the Scotts envisioned GSI Outdoors as a way to combine their passions for food and the outdoors, and to make cooking simple, fun, and accessible for their customers. After starting out selling blue enamel tableware, GSI Outdoors grew over the years to include technical and innovative outdoor cookware and gear for eating and drinking.

Today, GSI Outdoors is proudly headquartered in Spokane, Washington. The brand is well known for its beloved Infinity Backpacker mug and space-saving nesting cooksets, and is most recently earning kudos for the forthcoming, thinnest-on-the-market Pinnacle Pro camp stove. The Scotts and their growing team developed long, close relationships with buyers and retail partners, as well as their core customer network. Over the years, the brand has also forged strong relationships with nonprofits and environmental causes, giving back to organizations including The Conservation Alliance, Leave No Trace, The Sam Project, and Outdoors Empowered.

GSI Outdoors was also early to adopt sustainability measures, and continues to investigate ways to make the business’s environmental footprint as light as possible. These efforts include designing products to last, building sustainable supply chains and decreasing product packaging. In keeping with the brand’s reputation for customer service, GSI Outdoors routinely sends spare or replacement parts to customers, believing it’s always better to repair a product than replace outright.

This month’s anniversary comes as GSI Outdoors, like all of the outdoor industry, is grappling with the dramatic and unprecedented changes sparked by the spread of Covid-19. The company last month announced a lifetime discount for first responders and healthcare workers (learn more here), and retained its full staff during mandated “stay home” orders that only briefly shuttered shipping and distribution in March and April.

“The challenges brought by Covid-19 have, in many ways, only sharpened our certainty about what’s important,” said Don Scott. “We’re committed to supporting our staff, and to providing our customers with safe and joyful experiences with their families and loved ones — even if we’re camping and cooking in our backyards this spring instead of setting out on more ambitious adventures.”

About GSI Outdoors
Always a small, family-owned company, GSI Outdoors makes hydration, cookware and dining products that bring the comfort of home cooking practices to the great outdoors. Since 1985, GSI Outdoors has produced innovative dining gear for use at the campsite, bivy, on the trail, and everywhere in between. Learn more at www.gsioutdoors.com and on Instagram at @gsioutdoors.