Christopher Stinson is the son of Pat and Jane Stinson. Chris begins his thrid year as a full time guide on the Big Horn River. Standing at 6’4” and 250 lb Chris is tough on all equipment we test and review. Chris discovered his passion for the Outdoors where most sons find it, with his Dad at the tender age of three years old on his first ice-fishing trip. Chris continues to hone his fly-fishing and hunting skills, spending over 200 days on the water or in the field. Chris second passion is hunting the wily ring neck pheasant all over Montana. Chris doesn’t limit himself to upland game; you can find him as well as all our testers hunting Deer, Elk, Antelope, ducks, geese, and coyotes when the leaves turn and North winds blow. If manufacturers want the ultimate test on there product Chris will oblige, and it had better be ready.

Dan Hunter grew up in the Lake District in the Northwest of England and spent most of his youth climbing, hiking, and camping through English National Parks, the Scottish Highlands, and Snowdonia National Park. Dan acquired excellent map reading and wilderness survival skills through his adventures. Dan is an outstanding cross-country runner and successfully competed in many of the English fell running competitions.
Dan is quickly becoming a skilled and knowledgeable hunter and Fly angler. Dan and wife Sarah will test and review tents, stoves, sleeping bags, hiking shoes and boots along with running and cross training footwear. Dan and his wife Sarah currently live in Bozeman, Mt.

Gabe Lapito is a member of Montana Test. Gabe is a recent Graduate of Creighton University with an MBA in business. Gabe was a four-year starter on the BlueJay baseball team, earning Academic All-America honors. He comes to Montana Test with an impressive educational, and an equally impressive Outdoor resume. Gabe and his father Leo have hunted and Fly fished all over Montana. Gabe hunts all big game species, waterfowl, and upland game, and is an accomplished Fly Fisherman. He will be testing all products for Montana Test. Gabe is truly an outstanding young man and we are thrilled to have him on the Montana Test team.

Jane is the Queen of Montana Test. Her love of the outdoors started years ago with her nine brothers and sisters. Jane?s father was an avid hunter and angler and would bring along the whole family with him camping and fishing. Jane discovered fly-fishing and spends hours on the water with her husband Pat, son Chris, fishing for large trout on the Big Horn, Stillwater and the Yellowstone and any other body of water that?s holds fish. One of Jane?s many talents is camp cooking, and camping product. Jane spends hours searching for the best camping product. Sleeping bags, tents, pads, cookware, all the ancillary products that make a family fishing and camping trip the most comfortable.

Like many former Montanans, Jim moved back to The Big Sky Country to be closer to its great outdoors. In 1989 and 1990, he helped develop and produced the first year of "Fly Fishing the World" (ESPN). Today, instead of waiting for the opportunity, he makes the time to visit his favorite Montana places and to find new favorites. Never a true "gear-junkie," Jim is currently headed down that precipitous path with a unique perspective on what works.

Montana based Writer/Director Jim Abel has more than twenty years experience and is the founder of Out in the Cold Productions. He works primarily in the Rocky Mountain West but has taken crews to Argentina, England, Mexico, Belize, Yugoslavia, the Bahamas, and New Zealand as well nearly half of the United States. Jim has received more than 150 Awards of Excellence for his work, has served on The Montana Film and Television Advisory Council, The Billings (Montana) Police Foundation Board of Directors, and chaired The Billings Area Chamber of Commerce Film Liaison Council.

Television credits include: ABC, A&E, CBS, COURT TV, CNN, Discovery, E!TV, ESPN, FOX, HBO, The History Channel, Lifetime, MSNBC, NBC, Nickelodeon, OLN, Starz, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Brothers.

Commercial credits include The AB-Belt, Adventure Cycling, Ageless RX, Bridgestone/Firestone, Disney, FoodSaver, Helen of Troy, Hewlett Packard, Kampgrounds of America, Montana Silversmiths, Northwestern Energy, Oster, Toppik, VioLight, Viper Grip, Voom Satellite Network, Westwood College, and The U.S. Navy.

Corporate/Industrial credits include Anheuser-Busch, Apple Computers, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, ConocoPhillips, Harley Davidson, Home Depot, Intel, John Deere & Company, Johnson & Johnson, National Education Association, Pennsylvania Power and Light, U.S. Census Bureau, Veterans Administration, Wells Fargo Banks, Warner Brothers Home Video and Yellowstone National Park.

Leo Lapito is another member to the Montana Test Team. Leo is the father of Gabe Lapito another new member. Leo is the owner of Strategic Retirement Plans located in Billings Mt. Leo arrives at Montana Test with a long and rich resume in Fly Fishing, and Hunting. Leo took Pat Stinson the owner of Montana Test under his wing over 10 years ago and taught him about the finer points of Fly Fishing and that mentoring continues. Leo is unquestionably an outstanding Fly Fisherman, Upland Bird, and Big game hunter. We are proud to have Leo as a member of the Team, his enthusiasm and generosity of sprit is contagious. Look for Leo?s reviews in the coming weeks and months.

Patrick Stinson is the owner and founder of Montana Test. Born and raised in Norfolk Nebraska, Pat?spent?his youth combing the rolling hills of Northeast Nebraska after Pheasants, Quail, and spending many an early fall morning in a Duck and Goose Blind. Today, he is a Free Lance writer and the Outdoor Editor for The Billings Outpost, a weekly Newspaper in Billings, MT. www.billingsnews.com Pat?was the President and Founder for both of the first Pheasant Forever chapters in the state of Nebraska and Billings MT. He has hosted an outdoor talk program BaseCamp America from 1998 to 2001 heard Coast to Coast on the Radio America network based in Washington DC. BaseCamp America was broadcasted Sunday morning live for two hours from Billings.?

Pat was also the host of a Local Talk show "Up Front" from 1993 to 1998. Besides his extensive background in the outdoors, Pat and his wife Jane have owned and operated Stinson Investment and Insurance Services since 1985.

RBI is our fishing dog. RBI stands for Run Batted In. My son brought her home a couple of years ago and set her on my bed, she was tiny and very quiet. Chris got her free from a Rancher from Absarokee Mt. Since those early days, RBI has grown into a very, very large dog. She is 36 inch?s high at the top of her head and weights 125 pounds. She loves to fish and will stand next to me, Jane or Chris as we cast and not move. RBI is a Heinz 57, a combination of many breeds. RBI is friendly and loves our testing outings, we would not go anywhere without her.

Ryan is back after a short hiatus chasing coyotes around Montana. Ryan continues his full time work as a guide on the Big Horn River. His uncompromising and exacting testing has proven to all of us that Ryan can determine the best from the pretenders. Ryan can take any product, rod, reel, clothing, wading boots, and any product that enters the Montana Test zone and determine almost instantly if it is worth his time. An avid Deer and Elk hunter, Ryan took one of the nicest suburban bucks in Billings. A five point Whitetail after he extensively scouted the area for months. Manufacturers take notice; if Stefek gets a hold of your product, you can be sure he will work it relentlessly. If it comes out the other end with a thumbs up, it?s ready for a good review. Ryan will never give a best rating on anything he can always find something a company can improve on.

Sarah Stinson Hunter has been camping, hiking, cross-country skiing and fishing from the time, she could walk. Sarah took her first backpacking trip at the tender age of 12 into the Beartooth Mountains of Montana. Sarah continued her enthusiasm for the outdoors through high school and college, camping and backpacking in Montana, Catskill, and Shawangunk Mountains of New York State. Sarah and her husband live in Bozeman, Mt. testing, and reviewing tents, sleeping bags, hiking shoes and boots. The Montana landscape offer an excellent opportunity to test camping product, and the Hunters will be bringing all the results enabling the camper, angler, and hunter to find and purchase the best possible product.

Sue grew up in an outdoor family in near the Adirondacks in NY State. She is an avid hunter, fly angler, side-by-side shotgun enthusiast, pointing dog trainer, and alpine skier. Sue earned a Natural Resources degree from Cornell University, which eventually brought her to the west 11 years ago to do forestry work all over the Rocky Mountains. Her experience includes guiding upland bird hunting trips and she is an NRA certified shotgun instructor. Sue is involved with her local sportsman’s association where she shoots skeet and trap. Sue resides in Carbondale, CO with her fiancé,who is a longtime fly fishing guide, and her two German shorthaired pointers. We are thrilled to have Sue join our team at Montana Test.

Wayne Egbert joins the crew at Montana Test with an impressive outdoor resume. Wayne is celebrating his 14th year as a full time fishing guide on the Big Horn River, and this fall will begin his 8th year as a hunting guide. Egbert has spent more days on the water and in the field than most will in a lifetime. Wayne will never admit it but he has seen and experienced the outdoors most of us can only imagine. Wayne is a native Montanan and started hunting and fishing early, chasing Whitetail, Mule Deer, Elk, Antelope, and fishing local waters. During the off-season if there is such a thing, Wayne is busy trapping Bobcats and Coyotes in Southeast Montana for local ranchers. Wayne has just recently picked up a bow and will try his skills on big game this next season. Wayne will be responsible for testing and reviewing various fly-fishing, and hunting gear.