There is an increasing trend in getting into adventure travel. This trend has of course caused that adventure companies are generally no longer adventurous, but instead they are offering the kind of trip we would call "off the beaten path", simply because they don't want to get closed into a sector that only attracts physically fit persons. If you are going to select one of them, you'll find some advice in this article.
First of all, and even if many of us are generally not concerned about this when selecting a company, you should take a look at their web-page and look at how much are they into responsible travel. It isn't going to affect your final price, but even if it looks like a decision which is not concerned with your personal interest, believe me it is. Why? Simply because a responsible company with the environment is normally going to be responsible with people, with you. Companies which are only interested in getting a benefit at any price will usually don't have any respect for the nature and culture of the places they travel to. You can, then, expect a lot better customer service from a company concerned on this topics.
After that, and taking into account that adventure travel many times runs in regions such as Africa, South America or Asia, you want to make sure security levels are met. How can you know that? The best way is see if their website tries to hide safety issues or instead exposes them with no problems and provides huge support into safety matters. For example, a news section with the latest changes in itineraries due to security reasons, links to official government agencies concerning alert levels to travel to different countries, etc.
The best adventure companies will be offering tours with native guides. That could be related with security. A local will always know many times better how to react to different situations, compared to a person who is just traveling there and has books and some field experience on the region. Related to local guides it is also the issue about payment. It is good if a separate part of the price for the trip is payed directly to the tour guide. This means there is a close relationship with them and the mother company and also proves they are openly exposing that local tour guides get payed and are not abused. A happy tour guide means more safety.
Another thing the best adventure companies will have is concerning the price. We are looking for something neutral, not the cheapest, not abusive. Normally you'll see it from the accommodation they have chosen. If there's a lot of 4-5 stars in the route, you're probably getting into troubled waters. Instead, if they are working close to family operated hotels, guest-houses and family homes you are probably more in the right path, and prices be related and cheaper. Compare different trips, dividing the price by the number of days the trip has and you'll get the price per day of travel. That will give you a good indication.
There's a lot more to discover in the topic of the best adventure companies to travel with, but if you don't want to spend the time doing a lot of research, simply get the help of fair neutral people, the ones that do not have commissions from travel agencies or tour providers, as it can be for example some travel consultants.