G3 Opens New Nelson R&D Facility

A new Nelson R&D facility is good news for skiing, backcountry recreation, and the Kootenays’ growing outdoor innovation sector.

G3 Genuine Guide Gear has officially opened a new research and development facility in Nelson, positioning one of Canada’s most respected backcountry brands at the base of the legendary Selkirk Mountains.

Located in the Purcell Business Centre, the move brings G3’s product design, testing, sales, and repair services closer to some of the best ski-touring terrain in the country. For a company built on real-world performance, that proximity matters.

Nelson isn’t just a scenic address — it’s a proving ground.

The Selkirks are synonymous with deep snow, complex terrain, and a long tradition of ski touring. By relocating its R&D operations to Nelson, G3 is effectively embedding its design process in the very environment its products are built for.

Skis, bindings, skins, and avalanche safety tools won’t just be engineered in an office — they’ll be skied, stressed, repaired, and refined in real backcountry conditions. That kind of immediate feedback loop is invaluable in a category where performance and reliability aren’t luxuries — they’re necessities.

Leading this next chapter is Cam Shute, G3’s newly appointed General Manager. Shute previously spent 18 years with the company and brings more than three decades of ski-touring and mountaineering experience to the role.

That depth of field knowledge signals something important: this isn’t a corporate relocation play. It’s a strategic move grounded in mountain culture and long-term product development.

For a backcountry brand, authenticity isn’t marketing — it’s credibility earned turn by turn.

For the broader region, this investment reinforces a growing reality: the Kootenays are becoming a serious hub for outdoor recreation technology.

From ski and bike brands to guiding operations and avalanche education providers, the ecosystem here is both mature and evolving. Organizations like KORE Outdoors have long advocated for the region as fertile ground for outdoor gear companies — and G3’s move adds weight to that claim.

Nelson already has the snowpack, the terrain, and the culture. Now it has another anchor brand committing to build and innovate locally.

At a time when many companies centralize in urban tech corridors, G3 is doubling down on a mountain town. That decision speaks to a deeper truth about the future of outdoor gear: the best innovation often happens where the terrain demands it.

For skiers and splitboarders across Western Canada, this means the next generation of backcountry equipment will be shaped in the Selkirks — tested in real storms, on real skin tracks, and on long, consequential descents.

For Nelson, it’s another reminder that mountain towns aren’t just playgrounds — they’re engines of innovation.

And for the Kootenays, it’s one more reason to believe the region’s outdoor sector is just getting started.

Source: KORE
Cam skiing: Steve Ogle Photography
Cam profile: Peter Moynes