{"id":201748,"date":"2026-05-20T14:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T21:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=201748"},"modified":"2026-05-20T14:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T21:08:12","slug":"magnusson-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/magnusson-lab","title":{"rendered":"Step into Gear Testing at the REI Co-op Magnusson Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’ve ever wondered how REI Co-op tests gear performance on new and updated product, the answer is: rigorously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the center of that work is the Magnusson Lab, an on-site facility established in 1971 and named for former Boeing engineer Cal Magnusson, who founded the co-op\u2019s quality control department. Inside the \u201cMag Lab,\u201d REI Co-op brand gear and apparel undergo a battery of tests designed to simulate the repetitive stress and environmental conditions that outdoor gear faces in real use. \u201cCal and the lab have developed many firsts for the industry, starting with the ice axe handle tests in the early \u201970s all the way through modern-day developments, like how we consistently measure the capacity of bags,\u201d says REI historian Will Dunn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Magnusson at work in the early lab. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That testing has taken many forms over the years. Early methods included attaching tents to pickup truck beds and driving at\u00a0high speeds\u00a0to assess wind resistance. Another method involved using a hand-built fiberglass \u201chuman\u201d to evaluate sleeping bag temperature ratings. By the 1980s, REI Co-op Members could even request \u201ca free transcript of insulation test results as they apply to specific garments,\u201d simply by sending in a self-addressed, stamped envelope, an early example of the co-op\u2019s commitment to sharing product performance data directly with customers. This\u00a0systematic approach\u00a0to testing replaced decades of anecdotal evidence and secondhand information from outside manufacturers, and it quickly set a\u00a0high standard for evaluating gear performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A snapshot from early tent testing. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Today, the Mag Lab continues to support product development through controlled, repeatable testing, though the tents don\u2019t hit the highway like they used to. Instead, Mag Lab technicians may repeatedly expose poles to salt water for weeks to assess durability against stress and corrosion. A backpacking chair endures fatigue testing by repeatedly dropping a weighted bag onto the seat<\/a>; this helps technicians understand how use over time affects things like assembly and fabric durability, as well as when and how the product may fail.\u00a0There\u2019s also a thermal testing manikin, called \u201cMani,\u201d who trials down jackets and sleeping bags like those in the Magma<\/a> collection in a climate-controlled chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More recent tent testing: An REI Co-op Half Dome tent subjected to 13.11 mph wind. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rather than simply being a last step before products hit REI shelves, the Mag Lab and product design teams are\u00a0trusted collaborators.\u00a0\u201cEspecially if it’s a new idea, new design that we’re trying, we actually work really closely with [REI Co-op brand designers], to validate the performance,\u201d says Diana Wyman, a senior test engineer. \u201cIf it’s something that’s supposed to be warmer, cooler, bigger, better than the last one, we’ll do comparisons. So, we do work closely with both materials design and product design for new products.\u201d

In a recent vertical wicking analysis of the Swiftland<\/a> collection, for example,\u00a0technicians place one end of a long strip of fabric in water, and track how far the moisture has traveled in the course of 10 minutes. \u201cWe want to see the water move as far as possible because that\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen with perspiration in use,\u201d Wyman says. \u201cWe want to see it spread so it can dry quickly and provide additional cooling benefits and not be cold or clammy.\u201d

Wyman says \u201csometimes, you have to get really creative\u201d when designing tests in-house, though some pieces and materials are sent out for third-party analysis. \u201cWe really don\u2019t know until we get into a project how much testing it\u2019s going to involve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A pair of toy chatty teeth that have been modified to test stress on inflation valves on sleep systems. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2025 alone, the Mag Lab ran more than 250 evaluations, Wyman says. \u201cWe\u2019re typically doing at least two or three trials of everything to make sure we\u2019re seeing an accurate number.\u201d That means you can feel confident about the specifications you see on every REI Co-op product, from waterproof jackets to inflatable sleeping pads to your favorite camp chair, and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve ever wondered how REI Co-op tests gear performance on new and updated product, the answer is: rigorously. At the center of that work is the Magnusson Lab, an on-site facility established in 1971 and named for former Boeing engineer Cal Magnusson, who founded the co-op\u2019s quality control department. Inside the \u201cMag Lab,\u201d REI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30740,"featured_media":201752,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,7,387,10],"tags":[1812,2269,724,2293],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-201748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camp","category-cycle","category-fitness","category-hike","category-run","tag-co-op-brands","tag-co-op-living-archive","tag-gear","tag-mag-lab"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/camp\/magnusson-lab","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Step into Gear Testing at the REI Co-op Magnusson Lab","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/magnusson-lab","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/magnusson-lab"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/Half-Dome-Tent-Test.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/Half-Dome-Tent-Test.jpg?fit=2000%2C1330"},"articleSection":"Camp","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ever Meister"}],"creator":["Ever Meister"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["co-op brands","co-op living archive","gear","mag lab"],"dateCreated":"2026-05-20T21:08:10Z","datePublished":"2026-05-20T21:08:10Z","dateModified":"2026-05-20T21:08:12Z"},"rendered":"