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Tune in to Field Test TV By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Scott Stouder is a Corvallis outdoor writer known for penning passionate prose about protecting the environment, about the ethical dilemmas of technology in hunting and about the bounties of backwoods living. He has a fetish for pack horses and mules and rarely buys the new, can’t-live-without-this gadgetry peddled by outdoor manufacturers. And the boob-tube isn’t even on his radar screen. "I like to think of myself as a minimalist," says Stouder, 51. "But let’s face it: If you hunt and fish, you use gear. And I don’t do anything that doesn’t require gear." Now Stouder is pitching good gear on a groundbreaking national television show that’s creating a new genre in outdoor media. The show, called "Field Test TV," features Stouder and four other experienced Oregon outdoor writers testing the latest gear, showing viewers how the equipment works and giving opinions of whether consumers will get the bang they want for their buck. But the gear recommended by "Field Test TV" can be bought instantly online through the show’s Web site or by telephoning a toll-free number. It’s like "The American Sportsman" meets "The Home Shopping Network." "This is all brand new," says Scott Linden, the show’s executive producer and host based in Bend. "We’re not re-inventing the wheel, we’re inventing it. None of this has been tried before." The half-hour show debuted July 3 on The Outdoor Channel, which is carried on 3,000 cable systems reaching 18 million homes across the country, primarily in the eastern and southern states. The show’s first broadcast, and two subsequent rebroadcasts last week, netted about 300,000 viewers. Hundreds of e-mails lauded the show for its format and its thoughtful field-testers like Stouder. "We’re pretty happy," says Linden, 46. "It’s scary how quickly this can catch on." The show airs on the West Coast at 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 10 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. Sundays. Locally, it is available on Charter Communications’ digital package for Medford and Ashland as well as the regular cable package for Ruch. The show’s other field-testers are veteran Pacific Northwest freelance outdoor writers well-known to outdoor magazine readers. They are Scott Staats, an Outdoor Life writer living in Prineville; J.D. Gore, a Springfield resident who writes for several national and regional hunting and fishing magazines; and Holly Endersby, Stouder’s wife and a full-time outdoor writer with multiple national magazine credits herself. In the show, the experts take new gizmos, most of which sell for less than $100, and run them through a gamut of tests. They check how they work, what might go wrong and how they can fill customers’ general needs. And the experts develop real-life scenarios for how the gizmos work in the outdoors. Stouder, for instance, field-tested a gun bore-cleaning product in the inaugural show by carrying a gun around all day, then crossing a stream on horseback to arrive in his hunting camp. At camp, he cleaned the barrel littered with debris that real hunters experience. Stouder explained how the cleaning kit works well in camp settings for hunters who would most benefit from the product. Interested buyers can order the gear through the show by logging onto www.fieldtesttv.com or calling 1-866-9-geartv. The show only features gear the testers endorse. "If it gets in the show, then the gear’s run the gauntlet," Linden says. "It means it’s cool, we’ve tried it, we haven’t broken it and chances are you won’t break it, too." Linden forged this new format as a way to make money on his passion. A former teacher, he broke into the outdoor communicators’ market in 1993 by generating and peddling short segments for radio stations. He quickly rose through the ranks to host Outdoor Life Radio and Field & Stream Radio, essentially making him the "voice" of the world’s two largest outdoor magazines. He then branched off to television, producing and hosting shows on The Outdoor Life Network. Though he generated good shows and respect among the outdoor industry, his efforts didn’t do much for his pocketbook. "People in outdoor TV do this for the love of what they do," Linden says. "But I decided there’s got to be a better way to make a living." A cameo chance on "The Home Shopping Network" in March 2001 solidified Linden’s resolve. As an HSN pitch-man for a fancy camp-cooking tool built by a friend, Linden talked up the gear and sold 1,000 tools in 12 minutes. "I knew the idea for direct-marketing for outdoor gear made sense," Linden says. "The question was, would guys who fish and hunt buy from a direct-marketing show?" Linden drafted his business plan last December, accumulated investors and swung a deal with The Outdoor Channel, which offers round-the-clock hunting and fishing shows. Linden then secured deals with outdoor companies whose gear gets featured on the show. He takes a cut of the orders generated on the Web site and phone lines. Linden says the show fills a need among outdoor enthusiasts who find fewer and fewer places where they can buy good gear from knowledgeable clerks. "In very few parts of the country, you can walk into a good rod and gun store with knowledgeable people to talk to," Linden says. "We’ve become that store in virtually every town in the country." Linden expects copycats to surface on other outdoor channels soon. "All we can do is a better job than them," Linden says. "And we can always say we were first." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S