Gear Companies

How good of an investment is the outdoor and recreation industry on Wall Street?A SNEWS analysis shows the sector has outpaced broader market indices such as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average with healthy gains during the past five years, albeit still lagging behind ...read more

When the sun goes down and the stars come out, a headlamp is essential to your camping and backpacking kit. These nine brands have come out with new and improved versions that are brighter, lighter, and more battery efficient, helping you either wash dishes and clean up camp or ...read more

With people continuing to buy pallets of bottled water, the cycle of single-use products seems continuous. But Polartec has found a way to repurpose the waste.On Wednesday, the brand shared what they’ve been working on: 100-percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) Power Fill ...read more

Elevator Pitches are written by the company and edited for space and clarity. They do not express the opinions of SNEWS or its editors.Ride the elevator with Buzz Burrell, brand vice president of Ultimate Direction.We started the running hydration category in 1985 and continue to ...read more

If you glanced at your garbage can or recycling bin right now, what would you find inside? Chances are, it’s a jumble of plastic and cardboard – and you’re not alone. According to the EPA, nearly 30 percent — a whopping 76.7 million tons — of municipal waste is comprised of ...read more

Hundreds of representatives from outdoor brands and retailers gathered last night for the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance annual awards, which pay tribute to the vendors and retailers that are leading the outdoor industry in excellence.The presentation happened in Knoxville, ...read more

A business hive in a mountain bike haven with a watering hole and holistic health care: It sounds like an ideal recipe for productivity and fun. Pending zoning approval, Yeti Cycles will build a brand new headquarters and factory in Golden, Colorado, with adjacent acres that will ...read more

Elevator Pitches are written by the company and edited for space and clarity. They do not express the opinions of SNEWS or its editors.Ride the elevator with Sam McCoubrey, general manager of AKU North America.This summer, AKU introduces the Tengu GTX and Tengu Low GTX. Both ...read more

Humor us for a moment. If you flip over your shoes, what brand is the rubber? This Monday, I sifted through my shoes to find a pair needing new soles. The Vibram Sole Factor crew was coming by that day as part of their second full year of touring the U.S., in partnership with ...read more

Well this is ironic. By imposing tariffs to help domestic steel and aluminum manufacturers, President Donald Trump is hurting other industries that assemble products in the U.S.Last week, the Trump Administration announced that tariff exemptions on steel and aluminum imports from ...read more

Elevator Pitches are written by the company and edited for space and clarity. They do not express the opinions of SNEWS or its editors.Ride the elevator with Jason Shinn, co-founder of Cauldryn.The Cauldryn Fyre V2 is the first travel mug to boil water and maintain temperatures ...read more

Dear outdoor gear and apparel companies,Each change in season brings a new round of product arriving at stores across the country. My staff and I get excited when the UPS and Fedex trucks roll up…we know the store will soon be filled with cool new gear, and we get to share the ...read more

You say tomato, I say...wait, does anyone really say tom-ah-to?The waters are a little muckier with the Italian rubber outsole giant. We promise, we won't judge ... but apparently there IS a right way to pronounce Vibram.  Oh, and full disclosure, we've been saying it the wrong ...read more

Elevator Pitches are written by the company and edited for space and clarity. They do not express the opinions of SNEWS or its editors.Ride the elevator with Tim Nickles, founder and CEO of Roofnest.Roofnest started on a road trip to Moab with a big group of friends getting ...read more

Peter Whittaker was just 12 years old when he first climbed Mount Rainier. Back then, tweens were still a rarity on Washington’s 14,411-foot summit, yet Whittaker’s climb didn’t take the local mountaineering community by surprise.The son of legendary alpinist Lou Whittaker, who ...read more

Ride the elevator with Miles Pepper, founder of FinalStraw.Did you know that Americans use 500 million single-use plastic straws every day—enough to wrap around Earth 2.5 times? Many of these straws end up in our oceans and landfills. FinalStraw is working to change that with the ...read more

Black Diamond Equipment’s parent company is expanding in Utah over the next decade, adding high-paying jobs and nearly $50 million in value, according to the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED).Needless to say, the growth of Clarus Corporation bodes well for Utah in ...read more

Rockport today announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to be acquired by CB Marathon Opco, LLC an affiliate of Charlesbank Equity Fund IX.In a statement, Rockport said the “asset purchase agreement” will enable the company to focus on global ...read more

Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd (CTC) has announced its plans to purchase Helly Hansen, the Oslo, Norway-based maker of sportswear and workwear.Founded in 1877, Helly Hansen is controlled by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.CTC has agreed to purchase the company and brands for ...read more

Elevator Pitches are written by the company and edited for space and clarity. They do not express the opinions of SNEWS or its editors.Ride the elevator with Mina Yoo, founder of Heroclip.Several years ago, I had a baby, decided to summit Mt. Rainier, and moved into a fixer-upper ...read more

A Pacific Northwest brand’s billboard of two bears getting frisky didn’t last long.About eight hours after it was erected Monday, the billboard company replaced The Great PNW’s design with a more PG-rated (and, frankly, forgettable) logo. But some motorists had already taken ...read more

During a networking event on a frigid morning in March, Judy Gross of Lightheart Gear was bundled in a purple puffy jacket underneath a helmet and full-body harness. She was perched on a platform in the trees above North Carolina’s Green River Gorge getting ready to take her turn ...read more

Ride the elevator with Jason Bolt, founder and CEO of Revant Optics:You buy a pair of sunglasses. You wear them. You break or lose them. You pay another $200 for a replacement. It’s an endless, expensive cycle, and a terrible waste. In 2010, I started Revant Optics in Portland, ...read more