[00:00:00] Tayson: Everybody welcome back to the Live Ultralight Podcast. Powered by Outdoor Vitals. Today, we are doing our special end of year episode where we just recap the entire year. And this year was a special year for us because it was also our 10th year in business. So we're gonna recap trips that we did this year gear that we launched this year, lessons that we learned funny stories, just everything as fast as we can. I guess there's a lot that happens in the year, but we're gonna condense that into hopefully, a really fun and Powerful podcast here over the next little while. So, We've got Brigham, product designer, on and Tyler over operations to help me recap
[00:00:37] Tayson: today. Are you guys doing today
[00:00:40] Brigham: pretty good? Well, yeah.
[00:00:43] Tayson: Oh God. Our morning. Brews going Brigham's honest, third Rockstar in the morning so he should be wide awake. I wish to wipe his sleep out. So yesterday we we actually went out and did a little service project at the forest service here. So we're kind of getting back into the swing of things to around the office from everyone being out. So Of fun. Looking to expand that though, had some really good conversations with the forest service around, giving us, you know, certified to be able to go and do some of our own projects which I think will be really productive a lot less planning and involvement and coordination. We can just go and pick
[00:01:29] Tayson: Charles that we know, because we hiked a lot of local Trails here. That need some help and hopefully, that was a lot of fun, but Yeah hopefully we're awake enough. Hopefully Brigham's Rockstar gets into a system here shortly and we'll have we'll have a good time. So I don't know, I don't know. We can start in so many different places on the year, but maybe let's just recap trips that we did. Throughout the year. I took some a minute here and just kind of wrote down some of the trips and we can talk about those trips a little bit as well as any highlights or lowlights from, from those trips, in particular, at least things
[00:02:10] Tayson: that we remember. So I don't know how many trips I have down here, maybe, maybe, 10 or 12, which is common for us. We try to do a trip every single week or excuse me, week, month of the year, as a team, sometimes they end up being sometimes. this year, we had a few or a little bit harder, but in the grand scheme of things, we actually did pretty. Dang, well, on the year of still squeezing those in.
[00:02:35] Tayson: So, starting last January myself in Brigham, when someone at a local 12,500-foot peak here—or actually, it’s not 12,500; it’s 12,200—here in southern Utah called Delano Peak. so Snowshoe to the top of this peak, you know, stayed the night out there, the main thing, I remember from that trip Brigham is Brigham left. his poles holding his tent up and so, he did not summit with poles, which is a challenge and my snowshoes were kind of junky
[00:03:07] Brigham: for. It was a two-night trip tonight. Yeah.
[00:03:17] Tyler: You guys had it for one of the nights, didn’t you?
[00:03:21] Tayson: Yeah, yeah. I forgot about that part
[00:03:23] Brigham: of it. Wait. I was like up there a couple weekends ago and I was thinking it. I think it's totally doable, doable. trail conditions are right to do that. Yeah, like oh yeah. Esther.
[00:03:40] Tayson: Yeah. Yeah, I think, I think we could definitely do that in a day. we stretched it out because we've well, I don't know, we wanted to do an overnighter and bring people in the team owner to just be able to Get up but not everyone on the team. Was me ready or capable to Summit the peak? So we kind of stretched out. We also had some, some gear. I want to say that we were testing. We had some some winter. Sets per se that we're, we were trying to work on, but that was a fun trip. It was just so the two things are like that trip. Found a cool year that I would love
[00:04:15] Tayson: to be able to access, but apparently you have to hire a guide to use this yurt, so I don't know. We'll end up doing that or not this this winter season. They force you to have a guide to use the yurt. That's on public property. So, I don't understand.
[00:04:30] Brigham: Well, I would There's a lot of yurts like on National Forest. Even in the state of Utah that you don't have to have a guide. Yeah so I understand
[00:04:44] Tayson: having to rent it but that
[00:04:45] Brigham: I was I wonder if they're having a like a third party management. It is.
[00:04:54] Tayson: It's like Recreation. Mmm. I can't remember. But like those are not. Government entities. Those are Forest Service entities. They're just somebody. You know, that on contract basis that hires it out. Yeah, that's unfortunate. It is unfortunate because they look like a really fun place to go and Do, and just every way. Correct create, you know, hang out up there.
[00:05:18] Tyler: Mm-hmm, I didn't get to go on that trip, but it didn't sound like an easy trip. You guys didn't have good weather while you're somebody in, right?
[00:05:25] Brigham: It was, it was really socked in, and we had quite a bit of wind. So yeah it was by the time I got to the top because the back side of this peak is like a cliff. I mean it's a good 100- to 200-foot cliff, and you couldn’t see it when it was five feet away. So it was pretty socked in for a lot of it, but we got a few windows of views kind of looking to the to the north versus the South but It was windy it because of the wind, it blows all of the the snow off of kind of ice essentially. So it got real icy and Rocky at times
[00:06:02] Brigham: and navigating was tough coming down. We had to be pay extra close, attention to try to follow our footprints but it got increasingly harder for sure.
[00:06:13] Tayson: Yeah. The day, we climbed, you know what? Not climbed the hiked up and down. yeah, the weather was low visibility and windy. the rest of the time, the weather was pretty. Pretty down off. Yeah, pretty favorable and it's not I don't know, that's just a good. That's just a really good mountain to hike up in the winter time because He can't. I mean, I wouldn't say like, you can't go wrong but like you know, it's
[00:06:48] Brigham: low here, screw it up and turns of like If you get off path, a little bit the consequence is just wasted time like yeah because
[00:06:57] Tayson: it’s bald up there, it's above tree lines. So like if you get off path, you're like, you could like head the wrong direction for a while and then have to like read Trace steps. And so, that's kind of the most likely consequence, but there's a couple spots. Where if you did, go too far, left or right, you'd probably be on too steep of a slope to be safe. And you know, avalanche considerations. But
[00:07:23] Brigham: yeah. Yeah. Well, we've got a lot to cover today and it's a short amount of time, and a lot of trips.
Editor’s note: Delano access, yurt management, routefinding, winter conditions, and avalanche comments describe the group’s 2024 understanding and trip. Verify current access, permits, land-manager rules, weather, and avalanche information before travel.
[00:07:29] Tyler: We gotta figure out how to move through these just a little bit quicker because that's a great trip, great trip. Next
[00:07:36] Tayson: trip, February, I believe it was. We cross-country skied as a team main highlights from that. Everyone loved a video that I made where I was kind of testing out eating a bunch of calories. You stay warmer through the night
[00:07:50] Brigham: that was last year and
[00:07:52] Tayson: I so I consumed like a full stick of butter, broken up into multiple meals and things throughout that the butter hot chocolate, the bullet that was that was amazing. If you ever want to make the best, Hot, just stick a bunch of butter in the hot. Chocolate doesn't even matter if you don't milk, like usually just be like, oh, make your hot chocolate with milk. No, it doesn't even matter. Just like butter in it and you will think me later. So, ever need some easy, you know, he's just like a butter in there in the winter, but that was a fun one. The other thing that I remember was Joe, who Moved on to another
[00:08:30] Tayson: occupation kind of pursuing his goals. He was our videographer. Because one of the highlights that got brought up during our annual, or excuse me, like our holiday party, was
[00:08:41] Tyler: it gets cold up there, right? Your cross country skiing in and it can get windy. And apparently Joe had gone off in the trees to use the bathroom, and a big cold gust came flying through and Joe just let out a really good screen. He's in the middle of his pants were down. Yeah, there is so many funny parts eventually, it's good. My favorite was when we were in a hot tent and another gust of wind knocked, the chimney flew off of the stove and Brigham tried to catch it right now and we kind of on video which was yeah, I was I was a sketchy moment for a second. Heather, red, hot,
[00:09:32] Tyler: titanium, pipe swinging around. Yes, swinging around
[00:09:46] Brigham: I've accidentally brushed a down jacket against the part of a stove and it turns into a full on quick puff of down flying everywhere. Yes, the good one now.
[00:10:00] Tayson: We did a big like YouTuber Meetup trip where we flew in a bunch of YouTubers. I don't know. There's like eight or nine YouTubers that came in and hung out with us and hiked with us. I don't know where there are so many funny things to remember about that trip, but I think overall, it was just very enjoyable to spend time with those YouTubers and see what they're like, kind of off-camera. All of them are just so quirky and funny and enjoyable to be around. It was, it was just a really comical comical trip.
[00:10:34] Tyler: I had really very careers and backgrounds as well. You know, like, like no one at this point really planned to be a YouTuber. So they all had interesting stories leading up
[00:10:44] Tayson: to, to them becoming content creators, which was cool. Yeah, it's not like the kids today where they growing up saying, I want to grow up and be a YouTuber, you know, they all kind of fell into it and so getting backgrounds and You know, it's always fun to bring people in from zero elevation and bring him into Utah. Just a good time, spent a night at an Airbnb, a couple nights at an Airbnb and had fun playing some ping pong with a few of the crew. I was a Funny a funny enjoyable time as well. So, but overall it's a good time is tripping to the desert into one of our favorite places here in
[00:11:17] Tayson: our own, our own backyard just outside of Zion National Park. So
[00:11:23] Tayson: April Brigham and I went and did a Grand Canyon rim-to-rim-to-rim day. We spent, I mean we obviously slept at the on the North Rim two nights but we did that all in a day on Saturday South Rim, but we did the actual 50-mile hike that we did in a single day. What do you remember from that one?
[00:11:48] Brigham: I remember. That when I did it 28 days earlier the weather was better. I'm first, the first weekend of March of versus the first weekend of April, Should have been better the first week of April. I was it actually was fine most of the most of the time and so just like the last, what our to I mean. Yeah. We needed. There was a big weather system coming in and That would either be rain at the bottom, but snow at the top you know, the top 1000 feet or whatever. But yeah, but definitely there's some gear I want to
[00:12:28] Tayson: highlight with that later on too. Yeah that's well,
[00:12:31] Brigham: that's where I was going on. Was
[00:12:33] Tayson: So we'll resource or go back to like some gear highlights from that trip, but that trip
[00:12:38] Tyler: Steve's name attracted that weather, right? Like, like Steve Speck, owner of Exo Mountain Gear. Does it? A gnarly gnarly hike? Every year they call it the 100-mile Death Hike or just the death hike, but they try to do 100 miles non-stop. So the goal was to try and do as many miles as possible
[00:12:59] Tayson: to do R3. So
[00:13:00] Tyler: yeah, rim to rim, turn around and do it again without stopping. And so that was like not intended to be like. A fun walk in the park that was meant to be a test.
[00:13:15] Tayson: It was. And yeah, I mean and a lot of ways it was kind of it was almost set up as if you were doing a DIY. 100 mile ultra was the original plan. just, Some guys that want to go out there and push themselves essentially that we linked up with and but yeah, the name, death hike is what they've branded this. Yeah. Maybe they are supposed to be Very difficult but nearly. Yeah, that there's a low percentage chance that it's even possible that it pushes you that hard.
[00:13:51] Brigham: Yeah. That was I think it was just unfortunate the weather because mm-hmm. Here's the, the takeaway is that like Tough guys out there. And I'm not even referring to that group of guys, even though there were plenty tough. But like It really does not matter how trained or tough. Anyone is like there's Mother Nature can dominate so
[00:14:19] Tayson: I guess they're both. So, like, I mean, I guess if you don't care about dying or your friends dying, but
[00:14:24] Brigham: I think most people do so like that was a case where yeah, the weather dictated that it wasn't the best idea for For the group to to continue. Yeah. So so we did not do
[00:14:36] Tayson: this second attempt the back-to-back day but we did have I had a very enjoyable. Our three that De
[00:14:45] Tyler: Mi not stop. It
[00:14:48] Tayson: was it was beautiful. And like for me, I say that too is I had you know, we've done the R3 before but we stayed the night and then I've been doing some ultra running and It informed my plan for my 100K— My plans of how to execute and hydrate and fuel. That was like one of the cleanest trips I've ever had and it was just like it was a real good confidence booster for me,
[00:15:25] Brigham: I would train for any older, but it's funny because my experience has gotten better the three times I've done it. So the first time we don't talk about that, this group
[00:15:35] Tayson: was miserable. So it's just was painstakingly slow, limping along for the majority of the
[00:15:41] Brigham: trip and the next time, you know, I I did it on sleep deprivation. So, Yeah, I it was better than the first time because I didn't I wasn't injured. So I was able to do it in pretty decent time but because of like my sleep schedule and the time of day that I did it. That presented a challenge towards the end and then yeah, third time was much smoother. I mean, the weather was rough. But
[00:16:11] Tayson: yeah, yeah. I mean the weather but honestly, I didn't mind. I think I just missed the Part of why my day was better than than others. I Kind of got off. I mean the north rim had 50-mile-an-hour gusts that were really brutal but because Climbing in the worst of the guests. So I didn't it didn't get me too cold but it was brewed. I mean, it was borderline miserable there. As far as just the the weather. hands and stuff like that and conditions like that I wear. My hands got really cold because you're Anyways, but then yeah I got out of the canyon just before or just as the worst of the
[00:16:54] Tayson: the snow was rolling in. And thankfully. And so I got really cold right at like the last mile of the 50 miles. But there's a lot of dudes who got really trapped in that snow and it was really nerve-racking because Brigham and I you know having done that came before realizing a brutal is we kind of brought like emergency down insulation, we had our prototype down pants, we had jackets, you know down jackets, we had stuff to be like if we if there's an injury so you have to stop for some reason, like It gets brutal in their fast, your high desert essentially, which the temperature just gonna swing so fast. But other dudes
[00:17:32] Tayson: in the group that we were kind of, with They they hadn't, you know, experienced as much of that. So it was I was very concerned at the top being like and a lot of people were the more people that came out of the canyon. The more people started to, you know, hang out at the trailhead and worried about people getting up and out and So they're yeah, like you say mother nature got her vote on that that trip in particular and we did not attempt it around two. So yeah. Next I've noted this one down but Brigham you went over to Vietnam and spent some
Editor’s note: The Grand Canyon route, weather, emergency layers, endurance, and turnaround discussion reflects this April 2024 effort. Current trail access, forecasts, water, closures, and individual readiness should govern any attempt.
[00:18:03] Tayson: time doing some some factory work. Design work in April as well. So I was another trip. We attended CDT Days. Yep. So we put up a booth in in this New Mexico, Silver City. And, and attended CDT Days, which was awesome. Should be planning to be back there again this year. So if you're in the area come come check us out. Come come say hi. Then for me, at least in May and I don't know if I had another group group hiking made that I could remember. But for me in May, I did the Bryce Canyon 100-miler So did that Ultra and then in June, we did. I put in quotes that the trip
[00:18:55] Tayson: from hell, but we went and did a trip on a local. I don't know. I guess it touches the Wilderness a little bit, but there's a kind of a
[00:19:04] Tayson: local Wilderness and found a trail that we had never done before kind of pre-scouted it, read some reviews online, but they're very, very sparse and that trip became a trip that the ones that were on it and Tyler will never forget it. Mainly because the farther we went into the trail, the worst overgrown, it got it got it was very, very overgrown with I don't let you call it brush—oak brush. I'm thinking of what carries? Yeah. And and the farther we went in the worst it got but we're trying to do a loop. And so the Hope was that once we got to the loop and started to go back the other
[00:19:47] Tayson: Trail, which from reviews sounded like, it was a little bit more hyped. We thought the trade would get better. The problem was by the time we pushed to that point, we had it had gotten really, really bad and we were all and cut up, and Scraped up and and damaged. And when we got to the loop point to head back, The other Trail was even worse. So then we're at the farthest point away. And we got looking at the map like, well, we can try to bail off of this Trail, you know, not very far like two miles or we can go back the same 10 or 12 miles the way that we
[00:20:23] Tayson: already came and we knew how bad that was anyway. So I made a bad decision on top of a bad decision to try to do a bail off point that we did not know if it was better and that got even ten times worse than the other part. I mean there was one part where I was will our finance guys first trip with us and he I got separated from him for a little while. By the time I got back to him, it looks like he like he'd been straight-up mauled by a bear on his lower half. She was just bleeding off of his legs. Oh, my it was absolutely brutal us out. Yeah,
[00:21:03] Tyler: I was on paternity leave. But you like sent me a message and said, hey this Trail is garbage that you plant because I helped but I was on paternity leave so I didn't go. It said it was like we probably need and extraction from the other end.
[00:21:21] Tayson: First ever extract first ever? Like well, no, well we had to get bailed off the The High Line but sorry, I guess I second ever time we've had this
[00:21:31] Tyler: so I was like, well okay I'll drive down and try to meet you guys at the other end and it turned out that the road up to the bailout point was a pure rock-crawling road like just like three foot shelves of rock, that he had to get up and just like a lot of exposure on one side to the road and I drove my truck up the road for about two and a half miles. And I was just like Just I was like it's gonna take me all day long to get another mile to where those guys are and so I ended up like destroying my tires on my truck and having some other damage
[00:22:14] Tyler: and then and then having to go up some really sketchy stuff that you would think twice of driving a side-by-side up like not even a normal pickup truck. And then I had to get an axe out and chopped down some bushes to be able to turn around and then drive down it all again, in order to find a new way up and I did find a different route in. It was quite an adventure.
[00:22:41] Tayson: Highlights of that trip was playing some. Some good Bocce Rock at camp that night. We, we had a good time. And we probably played for almost two hours, just just playing Bocce Rock, so they don't need a good camp game. That's a and it's a great one.
[00:22:56] Tyler: That is a beautiful area like that was a perfect time of year. I
[00:23:00] Tayson: really want to go area. That's that's the number one place that I would like to take us into to help. Try to
[00:23:06] Brigham: clear Trail.
[00:23:06] Tyler: Yeah
[00:23:07] Tayson: if we were able if we'll have to check regulations in their able to pack in some big loppers and maybe a couple electric
[00:23:13] Tyler: chainsaws and some body armor and
[00:23:15] Tayson: that trail could be amazing in no time. It doesn't need structural or anything. It just needs. Massive oak brush to be beaten back. So so in five years, Trail might be
[00:23:31] Brigham: ready to go again. My highlight was that I wasn’t on that trip. I took my kids backpacking in the Wind River Range and so I
[00:23:42] Tayson: was rubbing that was because we know if you were on that trail, he would have made us turn around
[00:23:48] Tyler: him would have made everyone turn around then. I wouldn't have had to buy new tires and wheels on my truck.
[00:23:54] Brigham: Perfect.
[00:23:55] Tayson: Yeah, it was It was one of those where we needed to another opinion on the trail and he was in the US. So yeah, that's fun. Okay, that was June. Then we had a big, a big gap. I separated my shoulder. We had some new baby or had a new baby coming into the office. So Derek was out. Tyler had a newer baby Bring him out. A lot of personal trips planned. It was just became a really a wild mess for June or July and August and we missed some months which was explaining why July
[00:24:28] Brigham: we had 100 mile the Colorado Trail and it was just gonna be me. and then the day before,
[00:24:39] Tayson: There is a few days about four days, five days, well, the Monday before, but it was the day before we were supposed to leave that you sent
[00:24:47] Brigham: out a message saying I better not go.
[00:24:49] Tayson: Yeah. Figure out how, like, if I was gonna possible. Yeah. So I separated my shoulder mountain biking the Monday before we were supposed to leave on like a Friday or Saturday, I want to say I was and then I got into a doctor and tried to see what was possible and ended up having to pull the plug on that. So that was where we missed in July. August. We did go to PCT Days so we went back up there and got to talk to a lot of a lot of you guys that are probably listening. There's a lot of you guys that come and say hi there. We have a really cool following that. It's
[00:25:27] Tayson: always sure to come and visit us at PCT Days. So that was really good. I want to give it. I won't try to find this guy on
[00:25:35] Brigham: LinkedIn. Give him a shout out. Because my highlight in August was on. I was on another backpacking, trip in Idaho with my kids, and I in this place that like, it's beautiful and it's growing, you know, every time I go seems like there's more people but compared to anywhere else, you know, mainstream the people go backpacking in the mountains like you just don't I just never expect to see anybody that I would have any connection with but Came across this guy hiking down. Area. And we're hiking up to this Lake and he was kitted out with outdoor, vitals gear. And it was It was pretty cool. Mark Altom. Yep. So how to find conversation with
[00:26:22] Brigham: him and that was that was just really cool to be in that place. That's like kind of my one vacation trip a year that I take to just really escape and Kids. and so, that was It was fun to make that connection to be like at that place. Like a really, really special place to me and that was so cool.
[00:26:46] Tayson: Yeah, I think we had. I mean, we had some other Awesome personal trips as well. That kind of happened through June July August. But the next one that I noted down that was, you know, quote unquote, a I don't know. I tried to declassify work trips from personal trips, but obviously like Brigham just mentioned. If he's backpacking with his kids, he's still doing a lot of R&D, still taking all of our stuff, he's still trying out new things. So we we try to segregate him a little bit. But the next one that I had was the
[00:27:17] Tayson: the Wind River trip that I went on to do the 100 Mile Challenge this year. I ended up going solo on that trip kind of doing a last minute thing and and Highlights of that trip. Number one, just the scenery Like the Wind River Range is Absolutely incredible. We've been in there one other time and I was impressed. But going back in there and seeing a whole lot more of it, this time I was kind of Beyond impressed so, absolutely beautiful. Beautiful Trail. Um, I don't know highlights on that. That was one of the hardest trips I've ever done. I mean, being solo, it kind of allows you to move, I would say a little bit
[00:28:00] Tayson: more efficiently but even With that. Efficiency. I think I averaged 24, 25 miles a day and in some tough country, forgot food—I left all of my lunches in the cooler, in my rush, to get out and get on the trail because I had a pretty tight window that I needed to make that trip happen in. But it was it was just absolutely incredible amount of fish in those rivers that you're Crossing and stuff. And and you know getting into like the Cirque of the Towers to some of those Rock features are absolutely incredible. And then, yeah, I mean just having to dial in, I guess I had to run that trip. More like
[00:28:45] Tayson: I would run a Ultra marathon where I really had to divide out my calories per hour versus like having meals. because of the lack of calories that I had and I'm going to do a video on that pretty soon to kind of describe what that looks like and how to stay away from like a calorie wall specially, don't have as much food as you might like, but overall an amazing Never done a solo, 100 mile backpacking trip before and had a phenomenal time. Definitely hoped to be able to do more of those in the future. So That was September. Also in September, I did a week-long, call it an R&D trip in Colorado, spent seven
[00:29:31] Tayson: nights and some High High Country in Colorado, that was awesome. Had some some really cool wildlife and experienced some things that I hadn't experienced such as finding a very small Lake full of shrimp. Well, over 10,000 feet in elevation, which I didn't even know, freshwater shrimp lived out there. But apparently there's an endangered species. fairy shrimp and there was a lake. Just absolutely packed full of them. So sometimes off decision, maybe share some photos of that. But that was a highlight. I was just absolutely shocked. I thought I was trying to filter water. with a bunch of tadpoles around me, but they were, they weren't tadpoles they came swarming into the light and I was
[00:30:17] Tayson: filtering in with the headlamp and and yeah. Super super interesting trip. But
[00:30:21] Tyler: now, when you had some really bad weather R&D, right?
[00:30:24] Tayson: Yeah, yeah. So two straight days. Pretty much didn't didn't. Leave the tent just getting smashed by storms. I've never never been in quite that level of weather the snow wasn't piling up really high, but I've never had wind, and, and snow and rain for that amount of time. And the gusts were, were wild. I had. I was having my nine-inch Easton stakes, rip out of the ground on me, which I've never ever had happened. In like when they were fully embedded in the ground but getting that many 50 miles an hour, 40-mile-an-hour gusts hitting the tent over and over and over and over and over and over again. Eventually worked one
[00:31:06] Tayson: of those up. And pulled out and that's the best steak I've ever used hands down our none. Like those Stakes are amazing and it was still enough to do some of that. So it was really interesting. Got some amazing feedback on some tents that we've been developing. We're able to, you know, take that and apply that to the next, the next rounds of samples. So overall a really really good R&D trip for sure for that and for some clothing that we were testing and for some rain gear got to spend quite a bit of time you know dealing with some some rain gear which is been good because we've had Some shakeups in regards to
[00:31:45] Tayson: rain gear development with the PFAS regulations coming out so well, we'll talk more about that actually
[00:31:52] Brigham: 2025.
[00:31:53] Brigham: Yeah, I forgot about I should back up to August and this is one that audience can go and watch. So I went and did a trip with Devin Ashby of the Backcountry Exposure, YouTube channel. That was really cool. It's not from the design perspective. It's very It's a really cool opportunity to go kind of one-on-one with. You know, that backpacks a lot and has a lot of, you know, analytical thought towards gear. So that was, that was a good, a good experience. It was a cool backpacking trip in the windows where we kind of connected a few basins and scrambled. Did a lot of like scrambling off trail. That was, that was, that was a
[00:32:39] Brigham: cool trip. He Devon actually has a video. I don't remember what it's called, but I'm sure you could find it. But that was, that was another cool trip from like the R&D side where that's one where I'm always testing stuff, but it's great to be out there with people using prototype gear, but also existing gear and just to just to observe I think there's just so much value in In that for me being able to go out and do that with with other people. So that was definitely a highlight. Yeah.
Editor’s note: Tent, rainwear, PFAS, and product-development comments describe 2024 prototypes, testing, and plans; they are not current specifications or release commitments.
[00:33:11] Tayson: Moving into October again, this is like a borderline work, personal trip, but I actually got to spend six six nights backpacking, with my parents, which has never happened before this summer. They came back packing with me and spent one night. I think that was the first time I had both of them out ever, ever. My dad has done a little bit more than that with me, but that was the first time that my mom had come. So this time had both, Dads nights out of a backpack with him which is which is a lot of fun. And again just more that's been good amount of time out there testing some new gear and and work
[00:33:48] Tayson: on some things. happening in October for you, bring them as far as I know you had some some personal trips as well,
[00:33:55] Brigham: but five night. I know that was that was, that was a good one. I mean, I was
[00:34:03] Tayson: a cold one right here.
[00:34:04] Brigham: It was like, nine day, it was Summer and then winter, like on Wednesday, you know, it went turned to winter. So it was like legitimately like 65, 70 degrees, and then 33 degrees, The next day but that was great. Great trip. Great great to be out there testing test and gear by myself and
[00:34:26] Tayson: then towards the end of October. We did do another company trip to Canyon called Red Canyon here locally took out our newest Warehouse Foreman that was his first trip but it's really really fun. Beautiful, chill trip, just some good times. I guess highlights of that was hanging out on Camp and playing just some dice games and getting to know our new form in a little bit low, a little bit more on a personal level. So, That was a fun trip. And then in November Brigham and I went out and did another trip on the west side of Zion National Park. So that's a really, really pretty trip. But again, kind of a an out-and-back. I
[00:35:13] Tayson: don't know how far that is nine miles in or so are miles in one way. So it's good trip got some, some definitely some some great time, but man, that's that's I don't want to tell you to go do it because we want to be able to get permits ourselves but yeah, don't go do that. True, don't do it November either. But that was that was a really fun trivia
[00:35:38] Brigham: recorded a podcast on that one, which is like, Yes,
[00:35:41] Tayson: actually was one of our like, a lot of people really loved that that podcast we talked about solo backpacking versus group, backpacking. And had a really, really good response. That was a fun conversation to do as well. So cool setting, we'll probably do more like that. actually just because we got a different mics set up that allows us to do podcasts like that and it's it was really easy and so pretty more from the trail if whenever we can That takes us through the year, I actually just got curious. So I started
[00:36:12] Tayson: counting up the nights in a tent. And for me, I counted up 28 nights in a tent this year and A little bit over 10 more camping in like a camper with my kids and stuff. So pretty solid year on on getting out and and that's usually when I've ever counted it up that's about my my average. A program wasn't at that or higher, actually for the year. But if nothing else to take away from this, just know that we do try to spend a significant amount of time out there doing this, and You know, spending one out of every 10 nights in the backcountry essentially on a yearly average. It's it's not always easy
[00:36:57] Tayson: but we always find that it's worth it in terms of what we develop and what we're able to stay connected with with what we're doing here in the office. And with with our customers and then obviously try to pull back and and bring in some cool lessons and takeaways and stuff for you guys as well as a big part of what we're doing here, obviously. We've said this before, but for us. Transparency and education or big part of what we do here. That's a big part of, you know, our owl icon as a company. As, you know, trying to educate you guys, and let you guys be the wise owls, per se, of of your
[00:37:30] Tayson: own. Gear in your own Trip's and so we're always going to try to be transparent. Do trips, help educate. Let's go through some other highlights on the year. Maybe, let's save gear for last any any lessons. I guess that we skipped over there. Some of those were just highlights, was there any lessons I guess? from the trail in particular that stood out this year that and then we'll get into some of the business and launches stuff but It's a lot condensed and think about that question. I got such a broad question, but on the year,
[00:38:07] Brigham: Lessons. Oh yes. I mean there's always I think weather you intend on learning something or not. I just love that seems like that. I always take something away from from a trip because there's just so much out of out of my control or anyone else's control that like That means inevitably, something's going to be thrown at you, weather it's big or smaller good, or good or bad that like take away from, I mean, we can get it to, you know, things like the Grand Canyon trip. There's always like little nuanced things that I think, if you pay attention to with hydration or rest breaks, or pacing that like, if you're just open to, trying to
[00:38:51] Brigham: take away learning experience, is from these trips that like That's that's, that's, that's a side of backpacking. And this business that I really really enjoy. I don't know, things like a little bit of planning or misplanned like when we did that media trip the YouTuber trip like I went out like the. Week fire or like, just a few days prior, because it was in March, right? And the 7,000 feet in March, even in southern Utah, like It could be not doable because there's still two feet of snow or it could be totally doable and just things like. So, I went out a couple days before the trip and the hiked that route just to make
[00:39:32] Brigham: sure it was safe and clear and not icy and then all so to find a spot because that's not something you can take time to do with a group of 15 people, and then, you know, that takes away from that experience. If we're up there trying to You know, change plans or find a barely suitable campsite. And I thought that was, you know, sometimes a little bit of advanced planning pays off. and then, I mean. Not as a it's not even a it's not a criticism but like the the leg shredding trip that was like those are legitimate Trails. I mean, you can only do what you can do to plan and plan her out.
[00:40:14] Brigham: But like that was one where Unfortunately, that trail was terrible.
[00:40:17] Tyler: Yeah, I think the lesson that we learned from that one is Don't go on a trip that you don't plan yourself, right? Because I read all the reviews and I had been up there. I hadn't been on that exact October but I'd been on the other trails that go straight up the mountain and and since I wasn't going I wasn't as thorough as normal with planning but in also
[00:40:42] Tayson: like one of those where you can read the reviews beforehand and see what you want to see and then you get back from the trip and you read the reviews and you see oh you want to see?
[00:40:51] Tyler: Yeah, exactly. So so that one like that's probably where our wires were most crossed was. I was the one planning it but I wasn't planning on going and so everyone was not on the same page, you know?
[00:41:09] Tayson: So yeah, and I think about the years as a whole lessons from those trips and one thing that comes to my mind is experience is the best teacher and there's no substitute for it. Success. I had when you know on some of these higher exertion events really came from experience, I actually said in the Wind River hike I think on in the film like That I wouldn't have been able to have done that hike, maybe even two years. Prior, I think I would have actually failed out, not met the miles and had to, you know, alter my trip essentially. but, Just experience there are absolutely ways to shortcut experience by getting really good. Education from
[00:41:53] Tayson: people who know a lot more than you but time in the field is you can never just fully replace that. And that kind of curtails into the second thing I would say on the year as I look back as a whole. You can nail nutrition and hydration. I think, like, You're going it's like you're like you're just so much more efficient and likely to succeed in a bit of a higher exertion effort. Whatever that is for you. Maybe maybe you're trying to go from eight miles to 12 miles and If you can get better and better at the nutrition and hydration side of things, even if your physical condition stays the exact same, you will.
[00:42:37] Tayson: More like you'll be able to do more miles, it might even feel easier, it might even be able to avoid issues. You can also avoid things like injuries. There's all sorts of things that Kurt tell into that and so Just looking back like there's a handful of trips that succeeded purely because of maybe getting better and better at nutrition and hydration. But yeah experience and nutrition are probably my two big takeaways on the year from from the trips.
[00:43:04] Tyler: I think you guys both had trips, where is very evident that you have to be prepared for all weather and all elements, you know, Brigham was saying in Idaho, is swung 35 degrees
[00:43:17] Tayson: in a day and then, you know, for me in Colorado.
[00:43:21] Tyler: Yeah, like you, if you're going to High Country, especially you just have to be ready for everything. Yeah.
[00:43:28] Tayson: And knowing how to use your kit for every situation as you because I think a lot of people can easily like get their their kit, their layering system, heavier and heavier and heavier when they go to conditions like that. But you know, little things like understanding, how you can use a rain shell for multiple things, how you can. You know, and just like how you can, how every piece in your system can be used multiple times, and multiple ways for optimal outcome.
[00:43:53] Brigham: Kind of way. I think about that is like, okay, so, our logo is an owl, right? We've talked about wisdom. Well, in my opinion.
[00:44:06] Brigham: Wisdom is not equal to experience. Wisdom comes from wisdom, equals experience, plus the application of lessons learned. So I think people can have tons of experience. And lack wisdom because they're not. Conscious consciously applying or being they don't have their eyes open to look for those learning experiences. and apply those to their their body of experience to get A wisdom and then. With wisdom can come what I would. There's this two terms we would use in the military. One was called tactical proficiency and one was called technical proficiency and Tactical proficiency is knowing what to do. And you know what to do in your situation. You know, your hiking up on, you're getting above tree
[00:44:56] Brigham: line. Your bare metric, pressure drops clouds roll in. What do you do, right? Or you know, how do you pace yourself on a long endurance thing? Like that's tactical proficiency knowing how to operate yourself, how to function, how to live in the back country. Technical proficiency is knowing what your tools and resources are weather that's that rain jacket, you were mentioning and knowing how to use it in a wide variety of circumstances. So I Like those are two phrases that I really think are very valuable is like technical proficiency is just knowing what you can do with your kit. because when you mentioned like the trip, where the there was huge temperature swings, Just not
[00:45:43] Brigham: a lot of difference in the kit, in my pack weather it was going to be warm the whole time or cold the whole time, there might be a difference of 12 to 16 ounces of gear in the entire pack. That's different for those conditions. because, Because of just knowing what to do and how to apply certain pieces of gear in certain weather. Situations or terrain situations. It's Incredibly, it's like motivating. It's empowering because you like opens up this broad expansive capability. It's really fun.
[00:46:22] Tayson: yeah, I couldn't agree more and I would say like the last little piece of that too, is like Listening at about making high performance gear because less is more and when you're relying on key critical pieces of a kit. Those key critical piece is matter right? And so for instance, when I was out in Colorado we were in a bunch of moisture. I was testing a newer rain jacket with some newer Technologies in it and it just it didn't meet the mark, right? And That single condition, you know? Like like we really passionate about that because if you're in a situation where you are 12 miles from the closest Trailhead, in the middle of the
[00:47:08] Tayson: Wilderness and you get soaked out. And, you know, I mean like, It gets. It builds in intensity and danger and all those kinds of things. And that's why for us having high performance pieces, maybe that sounds a little bit vague but what we mean by that is like it's doing the job that's intended to do in the situation, it's intended to do it. That really, really matters to us a special when we're keeping our kit. Just that light when we're going into winter conditions and it's in our kids, only growing they Sing wait. You know, that that says a lot about the piece is being able to operate summer winter. You know, through the whole
[00:47:45] Tayson: thing at allows you to build a lot of confidence and familiarity with the pieces. But Yeah, we're big proponents that it matters in a lot of that is because we love the mountains. We love getting out there. Regardless of what the weather may or may not be doing and and, you know, Mother Nature gets her vote and so the Dear matters. So, I wanted to just kind of throw that in there. This is probably just a good time to take a quick quick note. And just say when this podcast is released, we should be doing our last sale of the year. It's our kind of end-of-year “clearance” sale, but essentially I
[00:48:23] Tayson: believe we're giving away gifts with every single order and anything that's in clearance is getting additionally, discounted down. So if you want to shop it, you know what we're liquidating. What we're clearing out right now, head over there, you'll be able to get additional discounts, but you're going to get free Gear with every single order as well for the last few days of the year and over near. So there's our, there's a little pitch but going back into it. That's kind of the
[00:48:46] Tayson: year in a
Editor’s note: The clearance sale, discounts, gifts, and availability described here were limited to December 2024 and should not be treated as a current offer.
[00:48:47] Tayson: nutshell. We want to talk about gear. I may still hold off on that for just a second and take just a second to talk about kind of the 10 year. I don't know, this was our 10th year of business and so it was a bit of a reflection year in a lot of ways looking back at the last 10 years of business. And what's gone, right? You know, areas that we've maybe haven't made the best decisions and have changed and adapted and in our quest to continue to grow and help people and get people into the vital Outdoors. But How are you guys' thoughts? On kind of reflecting back on on the journey. I mean,
[00:49:24] Tayson: Brigham, you've been here now? More than five of them, Tyler, you're three or four. So you've seen a lot of it and you've heard the entirely you were around not clean inside of the company, but you're a friend of mine, you know, running your own company at the same time. So we talked a lot about things early on, but you guys are very familiar with the history and I've been here long enough to to be able to also kind of take this year and do some reflecting. But any thoughts on just just Crossing over that 10 year, mark for us.
[00:49:54] Tyler: It sure doesn't happen by accident. You know, you look at the statistics and they're very few small businesses that make it past 10 years. And so I think that's a huge accomplishment and really cool to have been able to see it from when you were very first testing out products and sales and then when you went full-time and and all of that. And so, yeah, I think it's a huge accomplishment and we tried to celebrate that in August by doing an anniversary sale with everyone. So hopefully some of you guys that are listening took advantage of that. We celebrated it mostly as a company here during our holiday party just recently and it was fun
[00:50:40] Tyler: to hear all the all the funny stories and all the you know like you start getting history,
[00:50:46] Tayson: history, trivia. And that was that's how it was like of the year to just see these guys trying to figure that
[00:50:53] Tyler: put together a good trivia game, but it's just just cool to hear all of the improvements being stacked. You know, one upon the other because it's not like yeah, yeah, and and the company has has I would venture to Guess that it's gone directions, that you didn't imagine that it would and that it's It's you know grown I was like matured in ways that you didn't expect
[00:51:27] Tayson: yeah like like in the beginning when you're really think forward of like what you would want to build in a lot of ways, it is exactly that. But in a lot of other ways, You like, I didn't Envision it being what it is today, either? At the same time, right? I mean in the very beginning I couldn't imagine growing a business to do a million dollars in sales a year and that happened like you're too for us. So that like so there's been so many times I've had to rewrite Expectations and goals and what was, you know? Buyers for the company. but there's definitely things now that like it's I always described like this, like
[00:52:05] Tayson: the farther you walk you Climb up towards the say, the peak of a mountain higher, you get on the mountain, the more you can see, right? The farther, you can see per se and then, the more you can see, That's happened. Just numerous times for us you know, we get through the first couple of years, you'll learn a bunch of stuff. Look around and you make a few tweaks and pivots and then you go another couple of years and you kind of do the same thing. So, Yeah, looking backwards. There's definitely been some pivotal pivotal moments for us. Some of them we talked about regularly like talking about, like, I only started due to touch
[00:52:36] Tayson: apparel and how much that did for us, but, but there's been a lot of them that maybe you're were less vocal about or talked about as much, but yeah.
[00:52:47] Brigham: well, I think it's been cool is I'm thinking from obviously an Insider's perspective but trying to consider You know, our audience, our customers, the Backpackers out there and the people that were we kind of exist to support, right? So, like they're never going to see like the day-to-day inside business related things. One thing we do like, when we have like, kind of our annual planning meetings as we We kind of look ahead like to the Future say, like, well, what is, what are things look like in the next, like, three to five years or, you know, some type period like that. and if You know, we go back, save five plus years or whatever. you
[00:53:38] Brigham: know, the time that I've been here, you know, one of the things I at some point I don't remember but started thinking yeah it'd be it'd be really cool when we start you know attending or being like an exhibitor or participant in certain like shows right? Like you know so I think it's been I thought it's I enjoyed like some of those things coming to fruition like you know Exhibiting
[00:54:11] Tayson: at PCT Days. Like,
[00:54:13] Brigham: you know, that's one thing. Five years ago that we didn't do, you know, we didn't, we didn't get it, we didn't go to trade shows that were like so focused, and really dedicated towards Core user group, right? And so like I think that's one, that's been really cool to come to come to fruition and then like what actually you know the interactions that take place like app, you know events like PCT Days, they're really cool like we we attended Appalachian Trail Days, you know, and Things like that. Where those are things that on the consumer side, the audience, you know, they can go to those events and they could, you know, they could come and
[00:55:00] Brigham: and see us and talk to us and try our gear on and get their hands on it and and we get to we get the benefit from that. So I think that's been been pretty cool.
[00:55:12] Tyler: Yeah, I think so. For part of our holiday party, I was just kind of aggregating. Some information about, you know, different things that come up and we actually this quarter crossed 300 media features like from professional outdoor media features which is like pretty crazy to think about that's something where four years ago when I came in where, like, this is what we're seeing happen with all these other brands and like, how cool would it be to start to see that happening for us? And and it is and in fact, I don't know if I'm really spilling beans here or not, but I got an email from Outside magazine yesterday morning saying that the NovaPro
[00:56:01] Tyler: jacket is the winning product for Outside Magazine’s, winter gear guide, Men's insulated mid-layer jacket, so they're naming that the winning product for the whole thing. Sweet. So that's awesome. yeah, it's just it's super cool to To see. the products getting used the way that, you know, we intend them and and seeing people have really good experiences with them and so I think that that's definitely a standout as well.
