In 1994, Steve Sullivan (Sully)
and Brian Cousins (Cuz) had an idea for a line of technical clothing, one that wasn’t
just about bagging peaks and extreme expeditions. They founded Jackson
Hole, Wyoming-based Cloudveil, a company that made technical clothing with heavy western cowboy-style influences and
lifestyle applications. It may have been the first line of clothing that you
could backcountry ski in before heading to work or après without changing.
Cloudveil was bought and sold and
evolved and changed, and Sully and Cuz moved on. But Sully didn’t move far from
that original idea. And this month, Sully announced Stio, a new mountain
lifestyle clothing company. "It's less about what
you aspire to be or do while wearing Stio clothing and more about how it functions
as apparel to wear during your most laid back and adventurous moments," he said.
Look for a retail store in downtown Jackson, Wyoming, next time you’re there. Stio
will only be sold at the store, online at Stio’s website and in its
catalogs. The brand is launching with a few
cornerstone products. Here are a few of our favorites:
A hiking carrier can make (or break) your day on the trail. Photo: Katie Arnold
This project’s been a while in the works, mostly because every time it seems ready to wrap, a new state-of-the-art baby carrier hits the market. This is a good thing for parents, who not so long ago used to be resigned to a couple of less-than-ideal options: cumbersome external frame packs or saggy soft carriers that put all of the weight on your shoulders, guaranteed back-busters when you hit the trail. The truth is, different packs work for different parents and different stages of your child's growth. Here’s a roundup of six stellar choices for hitting the trail with newborns to preschoolers. We did the leg work so you don’t have to.
Downhill mountain bikers, moto riders,
extreme skateboarders and anyone else who is likely to have a rib-crushing
crash: take a look at this. POC’s new low-profile VPD 2.0 Jacket is a non-restrictive compression
shirtthat will protect your back as well as your ribs, chest, shoulders and elbows
if (read: when) you take a digger.
He’s probably crooning so contentedly because he is in one of the most beautiful and hard to reach places in the world shredding pristine slopes and being ridiculous for the camera.
Another reason he might look
so smug is that he just signed a deal with Scarpa, a leading Italian footwear brand. And he’s not just going to be one of Scarpa's athletes. Along
with serving as a Scarpa ambassador and testing new Scarpa products, Davenport
will be a key member of the product development team for a new line of Scarpa
freeride boots coming out in time for the 2013/14 season.
Davenport is one
of the most accomplished big-mountain skiers in the world. "I’m a product guy,
a gear geek if you will. I love equipment, I love tweaking it, and I believe
that you can always make a better product," he said. "There’s very definitely
an opportunity in the freeride category—a product for a specific set of needs
that doesn’t yet exist in the marketplace. I’m joining Scarpa to be involved in
the development of the strongest boot line yet, specifically built for the
needs of freeride and sidecountry skiers."
Kickstarter has been the source of many outdoor gadgets and gizmos. We've written about several here on The Gear Shed, from seatpost bottle openers to sidecountry ski carriers to 360-degree video cameras and cases that convert your iPhone into a helmet cam.
Torch is one of the latest Kickstarter-funded projects to cross our desks. It's first product, the T1, is a bicycle helmet with integrated front and rear safety lights. The brainchild of 32-year-old industrial designer and avid urban cyclist Nathan Wills, the company saw 641 investors give $68,000, which far surpassed the original goal of the campaign.
