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.
Author Profile
Nick Bruckbauer
Showing 1-15 of 114 by Nick Bruckbauer

Best Running Gear of 2023
With our collection of knowledge on all things running, we have put together a list of our favorite products to keep...
Best Bike Saddle of 2023
After spending countless hours grinding away the miles in the top road bike saddles on the market, we identified the...
Best Hydration Pack of 2023
Are you ready for a new hydration pack? Whether you're replacing an older model or looking to try one for the first...
Best Inflatable SUP Board of 2023
We bought some of the best inflatable SUPs and paddled them in a variety of conditions to find out which offer the...
10 Best Bike Helmets
We're always looking for the best bike helmets to fuel our rides. We tested hundreds of models this year and these are...
Best Sandals for Men
In our opinion, every season is sandal season be it indoor or outdoor. We curated the industry's best selection of...
10 Best Backpacks
We're always looking for the best backpacks to fuel our adventures. We tested hundreds of models this year and these...
Best Duffel Bags
A dependable duffel bag will take you and all your gear on the best adventures and will also make everyday travel a...
Best Road Bike Helmet
After testing the top bike helmets on the market, we evaluated comfort, weight, ventilation, durability, all-around...
Best Running Jacket
To find out which running jacket is the best, we selected the highest-rated offerings in the market and put them to...
Editors' Choice
Bluefin Cruise Carbon Review
A high-performing board regardless of the conditions, thanks to its heavy-duty construction and high-end features and...
Best Bike Panniers
We bought and tested 14 of the best bike panniers on today's market to help you determine which model is right for...
Editors' Choice
ECCO Yucatan Review
High-end materials and a comfort-oriented design combine to make these kicks some of the most comfortable sandals that...
Editors' Choice
Bedrock Cairn Adventure Review
Securing our highest award once again, this sandal provides our favorite blend of lightweight performance. Sturdy...
Best Buy
Teva Katavi 2 Review
Surprisingly high-end comfort and performance at such an affordable price earn this sandal our Best Bang for the Buck...
Next >
Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by Testing.
GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. No cherry-picked units sent by manufacturers. No sponsored content. No ads. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing and comparison.
Learn More