Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/68594
on hunting gear. But what has never changed is the relentless, single-minded emphasis on excellence, whether for casual wear or camping gear. And now, as of 2010, Eddie Bauer is back into hunting with a vengeance. In the old days Eddie and his friends tested his stuff himself before he offered it to the public. That philosophy is the cornerstone of the company's new Sport Shop. Every product is carefully and thoughtfully designed, engineered and built for its intended activity, before being tested repeatedly by a network of guides. Let's talk about the design part. Like a fine hunting dog, Rebecca Etchen Peters has practically been line-bred for shooting and hunting. She started hunting at 12. Her great- grandfather, Fred Etchen, was the captain of the trapshooting team that won the gold medal in the 1924 Olympics. Her grandfather, Rudy Etchen, was a world-ranked shooter his entire life. Her father, Joe Etchen, is a trap- shooting champion who now owns one of the finest gun stories in the country. Rebecca has won the Women's Trapshooting Handicap event at the Grand American National Championships, the Women's Trophy in the George McCarthy Handicap at the same event, and was runner-up in the under 14 Pennsylvania Resident Singles Championship. In short, she is – like Christine "Stine" Bauer – a thoroughly detestable young lady. And like many other sportswomen, she grew tired of looking like a seven-year-old wearing Daddy's clothes every time she went into the field. As the Sport Shop Expert, she has helped develop – and has tested – the entire Sport Shop line of hunting, fishing and shooting clothes made specifically for women. "Our focus is on product testing and innovation," Rebecca said, "with the best fabrics, attention to detail, function, up-dated design, and with the same guide-built, guide-tested mentality that went into the First Ascent line." (The gear created for the Mount Everest expedition of 2009.) The men's line is overseen by John Burrell, a certified wildlife biologist, outfitter, head of the award-winning High Adventure Company, three-time winner of Sporting Classics' Award of Excellence, outfitting expert for ESPN's Under Wild Skies, and the current co-host of Brush Country Monsters on the Sportsman Channel. Burrell is also a veteran of more than 30 African safaris and countless hunting trips around the world. "Rebecca and I work with the designers," John told me. "We test the prototypes ourselves and make any changes we feel are necessary before the product is sent out to other guides, so any new product is thoroughly tested before it is offered to the buyer." There is a third member of the team who was not available for a telephone interview. Eddie, the black Lab, is a skilled hunter and field competitor, as well as the official Ambassador-at-Large for the Sport Shop, and it's a safe bet the spirit of Eddie Bauer is there at the corporate headquarters, scratching the ears of his namesake dog. SPOR TIN G CL ASSICS 55