TACTICAL GEAR. BUILT WITH PURPOSE. ACCESSIBLE TO ALL ADVENTURERS.
Aconcagua, Argentina
January 2020 – William Todd Fairbairn, Founder & CEO of OTTE Gear
Climbing is a sport where no matter how hard you train and prepare there are always elements that are out of your control, not least of which are the weather and your DNA. These was front and center as I attempted to climb Aconcagua last month, Argentina’s and South America’s tallest mountain. The mountain reaches 23,000 feet. The air gets thin and hard to breath the higher you climb. It is not considered tall enough to require bottled oxygen and while there are drugs you can take to help mask the physical pain of the high altitude, only your DNA will predict how you perform up high. Needless to say, my DNA did not help me. I woke up gasping for air and moved extremely slowly above 14,000’.
OTTE Gear Multicam Gaiters (shown in photo)
10K Instragram Followers Winner announced on Instagram!
One lucky person will win over $4000 in prizes from OTTE Gear and our sponsors. All you have to do is start following on Instagram.
1). Follow OTTE Gear
2). Follow as many of our other sponsors that you want
( the more you follow, the more chances you are entered to win! )
Volume 1: An Origin Story
December 2019 – William Todd Fairbairn, Founder & CEO of OTTE Gear
It has been 15 years since I entered this industry with the 2004 SHOT Show debut of my brand, OTTE Gear and I think it’s about time I let folks know a little about me and the brand. The whole idea for the brand was born after hearing from our friends that were deployed to Afghanistan. They told us that the clothing they were using did not work well in the Himalayan environment nor did it hold up to their use and abuse. Many opted to use their civilian clothing in the most subdued colors available and black out the logos with a Sharpie marker. They knew that my partners and I had worked for The North Face so they reached out and asked for help designing better clothing systems.
Grab a beer 2019
Belly up to the Bar with Joe Fasanella
- What is your happy place? Anywhere with my kids.
- What do you avoid at all costs? Toxic people.
- What is the trait you most dislike in yourself? Workaholic. I am never off and need to learn to enjoy the little breaks and make time for myself.
- What is the trait you most dislike in others? No self-awareness.
- Which living person do you most admire? “SJ”, he’s a friend who conducted a long-term UC operation infiltrating a known FTO (Foreign Terrorist Organization). His account is so harrowing and his balls are larger than the Bull’s down on Wall Street in NYC. An amazing human.
FEATURED in Recoil magazine
Thanks to its long-standing team up with Andrew Bawidimann, we think of Otte Gear as the original purveyor of tactical artwork. Its Poppies of War print is an almost subtle mash-up of toes-in-the-warm-sand comfort and Taliban-era sentiment. At first glance, it’s a broad, vaguely organic pattern; but a focused gaze reveals a smattering of weapons that are familiar to anyone who’s spent some time in Afghanistan.