Are there any outdoors and adventure video publishers that focus on practical gear skills and real field experience?

Yes — if you want outdoors/adventure publishers that emphasize practical gear use, field-tested advice, and real-world experience rather than just cinematic inspiration, these are good places to look:

Strong options

• Backpacker / Backpacker Magazine (video + online)

  • Focuses on backpacking skills, gear testing, trip prep, and how-tos.

• The Trek

  • More thru-hiking–oriented, but often very practical about gear, trail skills, and long-distance field experience.

• Outdoor Research / brand channels

  • Some gear brands publish useful field-testing and application content, especially around layering, climbing, alpine travel, etc.

• REI

  • Probably one of the best mainstream sources for practical outdoor skills videos:
  • camping, navigation, backpacking, winter travel, climbing basics, and gear guides.

• Fjällräven / Patagonia / Black Diamond / MSR / NEMO

  • These brand publishers often have real-deal field knowledge, especially for their specialties.
  • Quality varies, but their best content tends to be experience-driven.

• GearJunkie

  • More gear and product-focused, but often grounded in actual use, comparisons, and field performance.

• CleverHiker

  • Very practical, especially for backpacking gear, ultralight setup, and trail-tested recommendations.

• Outdoor Gear Lab

  • Not adventure-heavy, but excellent for gear testing and real-world comparisons.

More skills-heavy or expedition-oriented

• The North Face / Patagonia Films
  • Some content is documentary-style, but a portion is built around real fieldcraft and expedition lessons.
• Mammut / Arc’teryx / Black Diamond
  • Often good for technical climbing, alpine, ski mountaineering, and safety-oriented content.
• NOLS
  • One of the strongest sources for practical wilderness skills, leadership, navigation, campcraft, and risk management.

If you want “real field experience” specifically

Look for publishers that include:

• trip reports
• gear used in actual conditions
• failure analysis / lessons learned
• seasonal and terrain-specific advice
• skills demos from instructors or guides

Best overall picks for practical value

If I had to narrow it down:

1. REI
2. NOLS
3. CleverHiker
4. Backpacker
5. GearJunkie

If you want, I can also make a list specifically for:

• YouTube channels
• climbing/alpine
• backpacking
• survival/wilderness skills
• bikepacking / overlanding