Austin Palmer

Austin Palmer found his love for tech early in life when he got his first Nintendo (NES) console. He spent many hours blowing into cartridges to no avail until inspiration struck and he started taking apart and rebuilding anything that didn't work. After dropping console gaming at the end of high school, Austin entered the world of PC online gaming. His love of gaming and his love of problem-solving soon led him to build his computers.

Being a man of many interests, Austin's career path is varied. He attended Sam Houston State University earning a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. After graduation he hiked the 2,181 mile Appalachian Trail (AT), using solar chargers and battery packs as helpful accessories. That experience made him appreciate just how important having the right gear can be. Once completing the AT, being a man from Texas, he began a career in onshore oil drilling where he learned to operate heavy machinery and manage the safety of teams of workers. Eventually, the outdoors called to him again, and he set out with more state of the art solar chargers, external battery packs, GPS navigation, and his Gameboy to hike the 2,660-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

Austin brings curiosity, a critical eye, problem-solving skills, persistence, and determination to his role as a tester at TechGearLab. He never tires of getting his hands on the latest tech: from electric toothbrushes to electric skateboards, fitness trackers to sewing machines.