When Andrew Ingram says that he loves to use a certain tester because "she beats the snot out of products," he means it in the most professional sense. That's exactly what he says about Brenda, whose seemingly mild-mannered day job of designing supercomputers might give some people the impression that she would go easy on outdoor gear. Not so, because this is one supercomputer designer who doubles as a super outdoor athlete. Since she began serving as a PFT tester in 2002, Brenda has taken numerous products into the wilderness surrounding her home base of Lake Tahoe. Her broad range of outdoor interests -- including back country skiing, backpacking, mountaineering, rock climbing, trail running and mountain biking -- make her an ideal candidate to test a variety of product types. She makes a great tester because she's willing to raise the bar on her adventures in order to subject gear to more grueling conditions. "I put a lot of wear and tear on the products I test," she says. "I intentionally go off-trail so I can really see what this stuff is made of. So far, nothing I've tested has ever fallen apart right on my feet. Being a PFT tester is a lot of fun." We're glad she thinks so, because we consider Brenda one of our most valuable snot-beating team members.
