The Best "Emerging" Brands At GOA Connect's Discovery Marketplace
- colin7931
- 1 day ago
- 43 min read
We are back from GOA Connect (even if the show isn't over yet) and today Colin is joined by Eoin Comerford to offer their thoughts on what they saw and more importantly highlight their favorite brands from the show's Discovery Marketplace.
At Connect, before the big show begins, they hold a 5 hour mini-show called the Discovery Marketplace to highlight brands that don't have the required retailer appointments necessary to earn a spot at the main event. This part of the show features lots of brands you've heard of and even more that you haven't.
On this episode Colin & Eoin highlight 12 of the brands that they spoke to during the Discovery Marketplace (with a few smuggles along the way).
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Episode Transcript:
Colin True
00:00:00.240 - 00:06:01.620
Welcome to the Rock Fight where we speak our truth, slay sacred cows, and sometimes agree to disagree. This is an outdoor podcast that aims for the head. I'm Colin True and today we're coming to you live from Goa Connect.
But before we do, come back to the Rock Fight this Friday for the first of three interviews we recorded at Geoa Connect. For this first one, Owen Comerford and I sat down with the founder and CEO of Nemo, Cam Brensinger.
And hey, if you're heading to Switchback next week, be sure to put the Rock Flight live on your agenda for Tuesday, June 17th at 5 o' clock in the trailheads Theater. I'll be there with producer Dave with the Consiglierio in Comerford with Shantae Salibair. Gotta get her a new nickname.
If Switchback is gonna be the event of the summer, this will be the event at the event. Don't miss it and stick around. We'll be right back. Welcome to the Rock Fight. Rock Fight.
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Available for streaming everywhere you find actual water based tributaries and don't miss a sneak preview at Spring 26 Goa Connect this June Being Royal Robins because nature and adventure are good for the soul all right, I'm recording this on Tuesday, June 10th and I just got home from the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Connect show. Actually like literally I've been in the house for like five minutes.
The show itself is still going on and it will be for another couple of days, but we got done what we needed to get done over the past couple of days here at the Rock Fight. So if you missed Monday's episode, we previewed Goa Connect and this is a trade show primarily for the dealers of the Grassroots Outdoor alliance.
There's around 100 or so other dealers are invited to intend attend, but it's a very quiet show in that the GOA schedules dealer meetings for the brands with them, meaning it's literally quiet cuz everyone's in meetings all day long. But for us at the Rock Flight we sort of drop in to see what's happening, have a few meetings and then head out. Owen Comerford joined me.
Producer Dave was there. He had some obligations to some brands he works with, so mostly it was Owen and I checking out the show and yesterday we which was Monday.
While I'm recording this, we interviewed three different leaders from outdoor brands and we'll be rolling out those interviews over the next few weeks. But perhaps the best part of our trip was Sunday night which was the Discovery Marketplace.
And since Goa Connect features appointments with some of the best retailers in the outdoor space, there's a lot of demand from brands to be included in the show. Everything from zombie brands trying to return to form as well as emerging brands who are trying to get noticed.
So the GOA hosts the Discovery Marketplace where these Brands can set up a small footprint booth and meet with retail buyers. I had a chance to go to the event last year as well, and it was short. It was only about two hours long and it definitely felt too short.
And apparently someone agreed with me because this year the Marketplace ran from 2:00 o' clock to 7:00 clock. So Owen joined me and we spent as much time as we could chatting with as many brands as we could.
And before we left Reno, before we left the show, the two of us sat down to record an episode of the POD and talk about who impressed us the most and what we learned about our industry by talking to the brands who are itching to get on the main floor at Goa and still have to exhibit at the Discovery Marketplace. So let's get into it. Welcome back to the Rock Fight, where today we're recapping the Discovery Marketplace at Goa Connect.
All right, I'm here with Owen Comerford. We're recording this in a room at the Goa Connect show. We just.
Eoin Comerford
00:06:01.780 - 00:06:12.670
Hold on. Not just a room at the Goa Connect show. We are in the command center in a meeting room that is overlooking the whole floor of G OA Connect.
Colin True
00:06:12.670 - 00:06:13.190
That's true.
Eoin Comerford
00:06:13.910 - 00:06:14.630
It's nice.
Colin True
00:06:15.030 - 00:06:42.850
Let's take a picture while we're potting so that I could post it on Instagram. This is what we're talking about. There it is. All right, so go check out our Instagram if you want to see the photo of our command center.
We definitely are lording over the Goa Connect show. Clearly, we are changing the name to Rock fightcon. That's what's happening. So, yeah, we just got wrapped up recording some interviews.
You're going to hear those over the next few weeks here on the podcast, you know. How'd that go for you? Pretty good. Pretty good day here at G O A Connect.
Eoin Comerford
00:06:43.250 - 00:06:50.530
This is. This was great. This was actually, in terms of the interviews and the quality of the interviews, it exceeded my expectations.
Colin True
00:06:50.690 - 00:06:51.090
Same.
Eoin Comerford
00:06:51.090 - 00:06:56.090
And just being in person with people, I think just. It creates just a different vibe. I thought it was great.
Colin True
00:06:56.090 - 00:07:10.860
Yeah, it was. First time we've done in person interviews on the Rock Fight.
I haven't done an in person podcast interview since before the Rock Fight was even like a seed. Right. So, like, this was really kind of fun.
Like, let's say we, like, we're not pivoting, but like, if we have the opportunity to do it again, definitely will for sure.
Eoin Comerford
00:07:11.020 - 00:07:15.820
Did you get sort of like anti claustrophobia where you weren't doing this in this tiny little.
Colin True
00:07:16.220 - 00:07:25.340
In my little Sound booth a little bit. At one point during our first one, I'm like, oh, I kind of relax. I kind of leaned back in the chair like this is really nice.
We should do more of these.
Eoin Comerford
00:07:25.340 - 00:07:25.820
All right.
Colin True
00:07:25.820 - 00:07:43.930
But last night, which was Sunday, June 8, was the discovery Marketplace where brands that aren't exhibiting at Goa Connect at the main trade show get to meet with retail buyers in a sort of mini trade show format. It's basically a big ballroom with I think five by five booths. Were they five by five? Were they ten by ten?
Eoin Comerford
00:07:43.930 - 00:07:44.650
I think they were ten by ten.
Colin True
00:07:44.650 - 00:07:55.170
Were they ten by ten? Yeah, ten by ten booths. Retail buyers go booth to booth, they get to meet with the brands. You know, just some general thoughts on that.
I mean, I thought it was much better than last year with the one I saw last year.
Eoin Comerford
00:07:55.330 - 00:08:22.590
Absolutely. I think a lot of great brands. And then the extended hours was key because it actually, I think it was only about two hours in the evening.
The last few years this ran from 2 until 7. And we, we, we didn't go in for the first hour to give, give people a chance to maybe meet with some, some of the, the actual buyers.
But we were there for what, three and a half hours and quite frankly maybe talk to a quarter of the people there.
Colin True
00:08:22.590 - 00:08:27.950
Yeah, you, you could make the argument. I'm not making the argument. You could make the argument that, that this could be a day. I mean.
Eoin Comerford
00:08:27.950 - 00:08:28.830
Yeah, exactly.
Colin True
00:08:28.830 - 00:08:49.780
We saw. We're going to talk about coming up here about 16 brands that we got to attack.
Not in too much depth, but I think that's about the most that we were able to see. I mean every, you know, it's 15 minutes minimum every time you engage with it with some folks.
And if you're a buyer then, then it's like, you know, you're probably gonna be in there for much longer. Right. If you're actually gonna thinking about buying this brand. So you could probably run this even longer if you wanted to.
Eoin Comerford
00:08:49.780 - 00:08:56.220
Yeah. And the interesting thing is actually I was talking to Dana who is one of the leadership.
Colin True
00:08:56.220 - 00:08:57.260
Shout out Dana Howe.
Eoin Comerford
00:08:57.340 - 00:09:20.480
Hey, Dana. And actually there were a couple of brands that do both.
So they're at Discovery and they're on the floor here at G OA Connect for the appointment piece. And really because Discovery actually gets them in front of more retailers so they can grow.
Whereas the actual, the appointment show is purely driven by appointments. So you already have to have those.
Colin True
00:09:20.480 - 00:09:30.930
Right. Goa Connect, they will set up your appointments for you. You have meetings with buyers scheduled throughout the show.
So the loosey goosey format of Discovery Marketplace kind of benefits the brand in different ways.
Eoin Comerford
00:09:30.930 - 00:09:31.770
Yes, exactly.
Colin True
00:09:31.930 - 00:09:33.690
Lots of interesting brands I hadn't seen before.
Eoin Comerford
00:09:34.010 - 00:09:35.370
Yeah, a bunch we had.
Colin True
00:09:35.930 - 00:09:47.770
We're going to talk about that.
I am going to put, if we, if we include the phrase emerging brand and the show title of this episode, I will put that in quotes because there are, there are a handful that are, I don't know, you can't really call them emerging brand.
Eoin Comerford
00:09:47.930 - 00:09:57.370
Not at all. I mean, yeah, some like big, like Beyond Yoga, I think is a billion dollar brand.
Rossignol was there, you know, I mean, yeah, these are not small brands, not.
Colin True
00:09:57.370 - 00:10:00.570
All of them, but a handful of truly like, hey, we're trying this out.
Eoin Comerford
00:10:00.650 - 00:10:12.410
Well, I mean really what it is is it's not, hey, you might not be, you might be a big brand, but if you're not big in outdoor specialty and within Goa, you're going to be in the marketplace. That's where you have to go.
Colin True
00:10:12.490 - 00:10:36.920
Yeah. And I think my takeaway from this last year was it was just too short to even really, even from our perspective.
Like we went around and talked to a few folks, but by the end of the night, after you've seen a dozen people you hadn't seen in a while, like you kind of ran out of time, you know, I think it sounds like switchback and or have tried to position themselves to some degree as a place for emerging brands to meet with buyers. This really worked. Right. So I would say if you're an emerging brand, get on the list for a Discovery Marketplace at Goa Connect.
Eoin Comerford
00:10:36.920 - 00:10:50.360
And absolutely kudos, by the way, to Gabe and to Dana and the whole leadership team.
I mean, this is something that I had kind of harped on a bit like that this was missing and that the Discovery Marketplace was really just scratching the surface. So a movement in the right direction.
Colin True
00:10:50.610 - 00:11:25.080
Yeah, handful of brands.
I'm noticing I'm inventing the phrase D to C to S because I think as I think we have, it feels like the old way of approach things like, hey, I've got a new brand, we got to get orders and then, man, we want to land that sports Chile, rei, Dick's Academy. You want like fill in your big sort of, you know, chain store option. Talking to a few folks in the last couple of weeks and then last night as well.
Direct to consumer for the past few years, doing pretty well, sustaining the brand, still independently owned, but now their focus is specialty.
Eoin Comerford
00:11:25.080 - 00:11:25.520
Yes.
Colin True
00:11:25.520 - 00:11:29.080
So that's the S. D to C to S. Absolutely. Is that a new path?
Eoin Comerford
00:11:29.480 - 00:11:57.980
I don't know that it's a new path, but I think it's becoming the path just because it is really quite difficult to break into the really big guys and the specialty.
And one of the reasons why they're a core part of our industry is because they are willing to test new brands and to bring in those emerging brands and also allow those emerging brands to kind of cut their teeth on wholesale at that level versus trying to, you know, make the the quantum leap to, to one of the big guys.
Colin True
00:11:57.980 - 00:14:45.430
Right. We're going to talk about a couple of those in our list. So let's take a quick break.
When we come back, we're going to get into the brands that made the biggest impressions on us last night at the Discovery Marketplace here at Goa Connect. Today's episode of the Rock Fight is presented by Oboz, who wants to share their love of hiking.
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Today's episode of the Rock Fight is brought to you by Garage Grown Gear. Hey, are you eagerly awaiting your next backpacking trip?
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There's a handful of brands that we spoke to who we were very familiar with, and probably to some degree, I'm sure we've mentioned all four of these on the pod at some point. We have another category we're calling Differentiated Apparel. Lots of apparel brands.
So there's some ones we thought stood out and then truly emerging brands. Like one of the ones we're like, oh, we'd never heard of them before. And, wow, that was a really interesting interaction.
So you want to kick us off with our first notable established brand?
Eoin Comerford
00:14:45.430 - 00:14:47.310
Sure. Let's start with Sanuk.
Colin True
00:14:47.310 - 00:14:47.990
Sanuk.
Eoin Comerford
00:14:47.990 - 00:14:48.790
Sanuk, yes.
Colin True
00:14:48.790 - 00:14:49.830
Sanuk's back, baby.
Eoin Comerford
00:14:49.830 - 00:15:02.950
They're back. Yeah. Yes, the Deckers. You know, child, I guess that got a little bit sort of. Obviously they had a moment, right. When. Sure. What was that?
Colin True
00:15:02.950 - 00:15:04.710
This is not a sandal. This is not a shoe.
Eoin Comerford
00:15:04.790 - 00:15:16.310
It's a sandal. They were a thing. And then obviously it had some tough years there. Decker decided that, hey, it was time to move on.
Sold to Lole, which I think we talked about at the pod.
Colin True
00:15:16.310 - 00:15:18.230
We did. It was weird.
Eoin Comerford
00:15:18.310 - 00:15:19.750
It did not seem like a fish.
Colin True
00:15:19.750 - 00:15:25.910
How did knockoff Lululemon by Sanuk. And what does that mean for all of this? Is this a sign of the apocalypse? What is happening?
Eoin Comerford
00:15:26.230 - 00:15:32.790
Right. And I think in talking to the Sanuk folks, it has been a breath of fresh air.
Colin True
00:15:33.360 - 00:15:45.120
We talked to two different reps, independent reps who. Independent reps are usually looking for something negative to say. Sorry. I mean, I don't think that's controversial to say. They really.
They're happy to share their. Their. Their cynical opinions.
Eoin Comerford
00:15:45.120 - 00:15:45.520
Yes.
Colin True
00:15:46.000 - 00:15:51.720
Could not be happier with where things are. The first one we spoke to said, since the 10 months since the acquisition.
Eoin Comerford
00:15:51.720 - 00:15:52.000
Right.
Colin True
00:15:52.000 - 00:15:54.400
They've opened up 200 new doors.
Eoin Comerford
00:15:54.480 - 00:15:55.040
200.
Colin True
00:15:55.040 - 00:16:01.840
We had to fact check that like three times. Did you say 200? If you had told me, like 30, I'm like, hey, nice job.
Eoin Comerford
00:16:02.400 - 00:16:05.120
You Know what I mean? But like he was saying. No, no, like 30 in my region.
Colin True
00:16:05.200 - 00:16:05.600
Yes.
Eoin Comerford
00:16:05.600 - 00:16:17.760
That he. Yes, yes. No. And it's interesting. And you look at the line, I think a lot of it is much the same.
It looks like Sanuk, but then they have this what I would call dippin dots, flip flop.
Colin True
00:16:18.880 - 00:16:31.480
It just. It's one of those, I bet that's existed in some form before, but I can't remember it. And of course it's selling out like hotcakes.
It's a great way to describe it. It looks like dippin dots in the bed of your flip flop.
Eoin Comerford
00:16:31.720 - 00:16:32.080
Right.
Colin True
00:16:32.080 - 00:16:33.320
And it's all multicolored.
Eoin Comerford
00:16:33.560 - 00:16:34.520
Yeah. It's cool.
Colin True
00:16:34.600 - 00:16:40.600
I don't know what the MSRP is, but I'm imagining like 40, 50 bucks probably, if that. Right. And you're just selling them all day long.
Eoin Comerford
00:16:40.840 - 00:16:47.960
Yeah, exactly. It just jumps off the peg because it's just so interesting. It's an easy price point.
Colin True
00:16:49.000 - 00:17:03.580
Yeah. And I want to turn this into like an anti Decker's pod.
But I mean it was like the consensus was it was pretty miserable the last few years of Sanuk and what was happening there under Decker's rule. And then they were excited when it was going to be sold. But who are you going to get?
Eoin Comerford
00:17:03.580 - 00:17:03.900
Right.
Colin True
00:17:03.900 - 00:17:18.460
And again, I all apologies anything negative I said about this deal when that came out. Loli apparently saw the opportunity, saw what could be done with this and is now just executing.
Yeah, they have happy reps, apparently happier dealers, you know. Hey, so no good on you, man.
Eoin Comerford
00:17:18.460 - 00:17:19.300
Kudos to them.
Colin True
00:17:19.300 - 00:17:23.300
Yeah. It makes me wonder like what could Hoka be actually doing?
Eoin Comerford
00:17:24.500 - 00:17:37.319
No, see, I don't think that's fair because. Because really it's a bit of a shiny object thing I think is the issue, if you will, within Decker. Believe me, HOKA has been getting all the love.
Colin True
00:17:37.719 - 00:17:38.359
That's true.
Eoin Comerford
00:17:38.359 - 00:17:45.879
And that's why. And that's why if you're not the. If you're not the golden child, if you're the redheaded stepchild, you feel it.
Colin True
00:17:45.879 - 00:17:46.519
Right, Right.
Eoin Comerford
00:17:46.599 - 00:17:47.559
I think that's the issue.
Colin True
00:17:48.039 - 00:18:02.530
Remember when Sanuk was cool? We should have sell those guys. We got this cool shiny thing going on over here. Yeah. Next up was Mountain House.
So I think we talked about after oma, the media event last fall, you hadn't seen Mountain House in a while and you had a very wonderful experience.
Eoin Comerford
00:18:02.610 - 00:18:24.050
I did. So I'm typically not a big backpacking food fan. Right. It all tends to be a little bit high in sodium, kind of mushy, kind of eh. Right.
And so they had this thing there that was a deconstructed pizza, quote unquote. Right. Pepperoni, cheese crust.
Colin True
00:18:24.050 - 00:18:24.850
Backpacker pizza.
Eoin Comerford
00:18:24.850 - 00:18:32.490
Yeah. And I'm like, that looks. That can't be good. I thought. Right. But I said, let me try it. Yeah.
Colin True
00:18:32.490 - 00:18:33.730
And our friend Sally was serving.
Eoin Comerford
00:18:33.730 - 00:18:39.490
Sally was. And Sally is lovely, by the way. And I had this. It was.
Colin True
00:18:39.650 - 00:18:40.850
You were so pumped.
Eoin Comerford
00:18:41.170 - 00:18:53.710
Awesome. Like, there was really crunchy crunch. I don't know how they did it. It's some sort of weird alchemy, but like it was full pieces of crunchy crust.
I'm a big texture guy.
Colin True
00:18:53.710 - 00:18:54.550
Right, right, right.
Eoin Comerford
00:18:54.550 - 00:19:02.830
You know, and so full pieces of crunchy crust with cheesiness and with, you know, the, the, the pepperoni. I mean.
Colin True
00:19:02.990 - 00:19:04.070
Yeah, they did a good job.
Eoin Comerford
00:19:04.070 - 00:19:05.230
It was, it was really good.
Colin True
00:19:05.230 - 00:19:06.230
It was kind of mind blowing.
Eoin Comerford
00:19:06.230 - 00:19:06.990
Yeah, it was. It was.
Colin True
00:19:06.990 - 00:19:13.750
I was like, he's either gonna love this or hate it. I didn't feel like there was any option for in between. I think Matt was on the table and I was so pumped that you liked it. That was great.
It was great.
Eoin Comerford
00:19:13.750 - 00:19:14.280
It was good.
Colin True
00:19:14.910 - 00:19:32.110
Then we met with the folks, Bill Lockwood and the team over at Oslo Ozlo. We talked a little bit about in the pod. I mean, they're just kind of a keep on keeping on brand. I feel like just, you know, like solid product.
They kind of just like doing their thing. The thing that was interesting talking to Bill was they're noticing and they're hearing from dealers. Apparently a shift back towards boots.
Eoin Comerford
00:19:32.190 - 00:19:32.670
Yep.
Colin True
00:19:32.670 - 00:19:48.730
I think we're hearing this from our friends who advertise here on the pod. At Oboz Loa also has had a bunch of new boot product, even though they also are pushing their trail running range.
And so hearing that like, hey, the pendulum is swinging back after a very hard shift towards trail running for a long time, people are becoming interested in boots again.
Eoin Comerford
00:19:48.810 - 00:20:02.529
That was great.
And the other thing too is, I didn't know this, but they're the only brand that has a female specific last for mountaineering boots for women with and also new this year, which my wife is gonna love this.
Colin True
00:20:02.529 - 00:20:03.930
That you're talking about on the podcast.
Eoin Comerford
00:20:04.330 - 00:20:07.210
Well, she doesn't listen to this. Are you kidding me?
Colin True
00:20:08.970 - 00:20:10.650
That's fair. Neither does my wife.
Eoin Comerford
00:20:12.250 - 00:20:14.920
She's like, I get enough of you.
Colin True
00:20:15.000 - 00:20:16.920
Are you going to talk to those boys and girls again?
Eoin Comerford
00:20:17.160 - 00:20:27.720
Yeah. So I think that's really, you know, fit is so important and, you know, to take it to that level where you're having a bunion specific fit, like wow.
Okay. I respect that.
Colin True
00:20:27.720 - 00:20:31.440
And they're big on their resoling program too. Which Oslo has been doing for a little while there.
Eoin Comerford
00:20:31.440 - 00:20:32.440
Exactly. Yeah. Yeah.
Colin True
00:20:33.080 - 00:20:49.030
Lastly though, definitely a contender, probably for MVP for me of the, of the evening was Filson being there. Right, right. Filson, which we 1897 founded. We've all known Filson. Great stuff, beautiful apparel bags. They got the shop, they make stuff in Seattle.
Eoin Comerford
00:20:49.030 - 00:20:52.270
The whole deal, all the leather, the wax, canvas, whatever. Yep.
Colin True
00:20:52.430 - 00:20:56.190
Industry veteran Tim Bantle recently stepped into the role there as brand president.
Eoin Comerford
00:20:56.270 - 00:20:56.830
Yep.
Colin True
00:20:57.070 - 00:20:59.790
And he has his eyes on specialty retail.
Eoin Comerford
00:21:00.030 - 00:21:18.840
Yeah, absolutely.
And really looking to make, to leverage the incredible history and tradition that is Filson, but also make it accessible and get it out there as a real alternative to maybe some of the established brands in specialty.
Colin True
00:21:19.240 - 00:21:32.040
And it was cool to see. I think that's a smart move. Like what an interest.
Like it's kind of go to a shop with a, you know, again, more everyday wear type of line that belongs in an outdoor store. But it's called, it's Filson. I mean you just bring hit brand heritage with you.
Eoin Comerford
00:21:32.120 - 00:21:32.520
Right.
Colin True
00:21:32.680 - 00:21:50.730
It also then kind of leads into our next category, differentiated apparel, because it really does feel like there's been a bit of a maturation. We were talking about this, that before we hit record that, you know, there's been lifestyle, we had lifestyle in our top five apparel draft.
There's, you know, every outdoor brand has had lifestyle components to their apparel line.
Eoin Comerford
00:21:50.890 - 00:21:51.290
Right.
Colin True
00:21:51.290 - 00:22:00.010
It feels like that kind of moniker has grown up a little bit. Where there are definitely one there. There are some folks who are just making things that absolutely belong in an outdoor store.
Eoin Comerford
00:22:00.090 - 00:22:00.490
Right.
Colin True
00:22:00.650 - 00:22:08.350
But it is not outdoor stuff and I think Filson's a good example of that. And then the next one on our list in the first one in this category was Paka.
Eoin Comerford
00:22:08.590 - 00:22:54.800
Paka. Exactly. And so for those that aren't aware, alpaca is a.
It's actually a 10 year old brand based in Boulder and its focus is on alpaca wool and using that as the main ingredient. And their signature piece is this hoodie, which is really kind of cool, good vibe.
But they've then branched out from there and they've got socks and I think underwear, T shirts, et cetera. Now they've got an alpaca, I guess a patent pending alpaca based fiber insulation that's coming out, which is really cool.
But again, to your point, it's not something you're going to wear going climbing or even hiking, but it still has that outdoor vibe and that Mountain lifestyle vibe. I think that's really cool.
Colin True
00:22:54.800 - 00:23:15.959
Yeah. We see that a passenger has kind of been playing in this space. Royal Robbins has been playing in the space. It just seems like this kind of.
It's kind of found itself of, like, again, that it belongs, but it's also not technical. And it was beautiful product. Doug Schnitzman's here. Does. Do you know Paka and Boulder Doug? I love Paka. I'm a big fan of the brand.
I've got a paka sweatshirt with me.
Eoin Comerford
00:23:15.959 - 00:23:20.600
Right here on this trip. I got their light sweater, their summer.
Colin True
00:23:20.600 - 00:23:25.300
Sweater, which is beautiful. Is this Boulder Homerism? What's going on? I don't know if it's Boulder Homerism. I think it's.
Eoin Comerford
00:23:25.370 - 00:23:27.330
It's just. It feels good.
Colin True
00:23:27.330 - 00:23:32.770
The base layer. Big fan of the base layers, too. I wore those all winter, and I test a lot of stuff.
Eoin Comerford
00:23:32.770 - 00:23:34.130
So this isn't just Homerism.
Colin True
00:23:34.130 - 00:23:39.770
This is actually the stuff I end up wearing. Yeah. The stuff you keep. You're like, this is my. Actually, like, I will not be sending this back.
Eoin Comerford
00:23:40.010 - 00:23:40.490
Yeah.
Colin True
00:23:41.290 - 00:23:44.410
Next up was one of my favorites, Ripton, which is performance denim.
Eoin Comerford
00:23:44.410 - 00:23:50.370
Performance denim, yeah. So, yeah. Really cool. Also. Great people, too. Just a great.
Colin True
00:23:50.370 - 00:23:51.570
Yeah. Sarah over there rules.
Eoin Comerford
00:23:51.570 - 00:24:09.179
Yeah. So I was. You know, it's 40% stretch. It's not 40% Spanx, but it can stretch 40% larger, so it really can move with you. And. Yeah.
I mean, what are these? Jorts, I guess.
Colin True
00:24:09.179 - 00:24:09.460
Jorts?
Eoin Comerford
00:24:09.460 - 00:24:09.660
Yeah.
Colin True
00:24:09.660 - 00:24:10.460
They started as jorts.
Eoin Comerford
00:24:10.460 - 00:24:10.820
Yeah.
Colin True
00:24:10.820 - 00:24:29.800
Yeah. I mean, a lot of mountain bikers like to mountain bike in jorts.
I mean, Justin Howard, our own Justin Hausman, huge, like, cutoff jorts, likes to wear those mountain biking, and they recognize this, and, like, let's make it a little more tailored for cycling. Add stretch to it, and it launched. And the thing that I think is exciting about Ripton is that it is a. It's a female LED brand.
There's stuff for men and women.
Eoin Comerford
00:24:29.880 - 00:24:30.200
Right.
Colin True
00:24:30.200 - 00:24:34.760
But they said they have. Their Demo split is 65, 35. Women to female, women to men.
Eoin Comerford
00:24:34.840 - 00:24:35.240
Right.
Colin True
00:24:35.240 - 00:24:38.360
Which is awesome. And that's something that's kind of a rare thing to hear about in the industry.
Eoin Comerford
00:24:38.760 - 00:25:24.210
But, I mean, the interesting thing, though, is that while. While they are actually sort of a performance product, as you say, performance denim, I mean, you can. You can hike in it, you can bike in it.
I think they've got pictures of people surfing in it. I mean, that's maybe that's weird, but whatever. But they actually. I think the outdoor. While they are outdoor, Focused.
I'm not sure that the industry has necessarily embraced that. Okay. So their penetration is actually more in fashion today, but it definitely is something that outdoor especially could look at to.
To appeal to that active user that also still wants that look. And the durability of denim.
Colin True
00:25:24.210 - 00:25:36.530
Yeah, it's the best version, to me, of the whole. You can, like, wear it out on the trail and still go to the bar.
Like, I mean, that's like the most tired kind of phrase in outdoor apparel right now, you know? And I think this one, though, it's like, no, you really could.
Eoin Comerford
00:25:37.970 - 00:25:47.910
You won't just look like somebody that walked up the trail. And then they've got their latest. I guess they're still. Jorts, have a seam sealing now, which is. Yeah, so they go.
Colin True
00:25:47.910 - 00:25:49.110
They crack the code on that techie.
Eoin Comerford
00:25:49.110 - 00:25:49.390
Yeah.
Colin True
00:25:49.390 - 00:25:51.950
And now apparently there's other bigger brands who are trying to steal their tech.
Eoin Comerford
00:25:51.950 - 00:25:52.350
So.
Colin True
00:25:53.150 - 00:25:58.190
Not cool, man. Lay off, Ripton. All right? I want to let you just vamp on Hikerkind because you were impressed.
Eoin Comerford
00:25:58.350 - 00:27:34.850
Yeah. So Hikerkind.
It's actually part of, I would say, this new and thankfully emerging group of brands within our industry, which are these female led brands that are saying, hey, listen, you know, we want to be outdoors. We want to do those things, but we don't want to look like classic, quote, unquote, outdoor girl. Right.
And we're not necessarily interested in flannel, you know, I mean, you know, we don't want convertible pants. We want to be out there and looking good. And so, you know, in this group, I would certainly put scenic as an example, Wild Rye half days.
And hikerkind takes a similar look, all typically using performance fabrics as well, but just with fits and looks and cuts and construction.
That is much more flattering, potentially better fitting, but also has a different look, a different aesthetic that maybe is a little bit more fashion influenced. And so, you know, hiker kind, I think really is doing an interesting job with just lots of different stuff. I was really taken by their.
They have a new hiking pant. Right. Which has. It's more of a flared leg, which is in. Right now in fashion.
The challenge with that from a hiking perspective, though, is potentially ticks and other things. So actually they have an integrated gaiter, which is like, wow, that's kind of wild right underneath.
So you're still fine as you're walking as you're truly outdoor. So this isn't just, hey, I want to look hiker ish as I'm at the bar.
This is a functional piece that has got so much look and style to it as well, by the way.
Colin True
00:27:34.850 - 00:27:47.850
That's. There's innovation, right. Because internal gaiters like that, not a new thing.
Every snow pant made in the last 50 years by had some sort of internal gator. But here's a way to deploy it in a different way and still maintain that sort of look that you're going for.
Eoin Comerford
00:27:47.850 - 00:27:48.330
Absolutely.
Colin True
00:27:48.330 - 00:27:48.810
Very cool.
Eoin Comerford
00:27:48.810 - 00:27:49.210
Yeah.
Colin True
00:27:49.210 - 00:27:51.930
If Hiker Kind and Ripton had a fight, who do you think would win?
Eoin Comerford
00:27:52.410 - 00:27:53.530
Boy, I don't know.
Colin True
00:27:53.530 - 00:27:54.210
It's Ripton.
Eoin Comerford
00:27:54.210 - 00:27:58.010
Come on. Okay, okay. The Hiker kind people.
Colin True
00:27:58.410 - 00:27:59.050
They're nice.
Eoin Comerford
00:27:59.050 - 00:27:59.770
Such nice people.
Colin True
00:27:59.770 - 00:28:08.960
Yes, exactly. All right. The last one in this category is actually technically an established brand, but not in the US right now. And that was Berghaus.
Eoin Comerford
00:28:09.200 - 00:28:49.730
Berghaus. You go up to their booth and the product just jumps off the rack at you. Right. And it is not just the color, but the construction.
And the combination of construction and color blocking just. It's like, okay, this is like nothing that we have right now.
And, okay, there's lots of European brands that have a lot of color, but it's the way that they. The way that they're putting it together.
It isn't just like, Hally Hansen, for example, has a lot of really big color, but it tends to be very sort of mono color within a particular silhouette. This is. No, no, no. We're gonna have orange with white.
Colin True
00:28:49.890 - 00:28:50.170
Right.
Eoin Comerford
00:28:50.170 - 00:29:15.940
I mean, it's like creamsicle. I mean, this is. But this stuff. And some of it maybe even harkens back to a more of a vintage look, I would say even, but really different.
And we talk about this on this pod, probably ad nauseam, is that the sea of sameness issue that exists within a lot of outdoor stores. This is not the same. Now, it might be similar materials.
Colin True
00:29:15.940 - 00:29:17.300
Yeah. The fabrics are probably the same.
Eoin Comerford
00:29:17.300 - 00:29:29.740
Right. It might perform in a similar way, but it just looks so different.
And, you know, I think if you want to bring in that different customer, something that is just fucking fun, you know?
Colin True
00:29:29.820 - 00:29:30.220
Right.
Eoin Comerford
00:29:31.020 - 00:29:39.180
And so there. And there's the whole Liam Gallagher, you know, Oasis angle on this deal. And so apparently, I didn't know this, but he is under contract with them.
Colin True
00:29:39.660 - 00:29:40.300
Oh, really?
Eoin Comerford
00:29:40.460 - 00:29:46.300
Yes. Yeah. So, yeah, so he's still. He's still shilling the brand even, you know, from back in the day.
Colin True
00:29:46.300 - 00:29:49.260
Right. Well, is the Oasis summer tour gonna happen? Is it still on?
Eoin Comerford
00:29:49.910 - 00:30:01.430
So not only do they.
Well, so in talking with the Burgheads folks, not only is it going to happen hopefully, but they're hopefully going to do a Bit of a, you know, kind of a collab with the tour.
Colin True
00:30:01.830 - 00:30:05.629
Well, I hope that the Gallagher brothers fight in their Berghaus jackets. This would be great.
Eoin Comerford
00:30:05.629 - 00:30:06.550
That would be awesome.
Colin True
00:30:06.950 - 00:30:13.030
And then leave. Good pr. You know, they're wearing their Berghaus jackets. Did you see that?
Eoin Comerford
00:30:13.430 - 00:30:14.950
You're in the fucking orange.
Colin True
00:30:15.270 - 00:30:19.110
I'm in the orange. You Boston and a lot of other words.
Eoin Comerford
00:30:19.110 - 00:30:19.870
Yes. Okay.
Colin True
00:30:20.030 - 00:30:52.970
Oh my God. Yeah, no, same thing. It just popped off the shelf.
I mean, and that's kind of the, you know, that's what you want, especially in the CSA in this, which I frankly think we can't say enough because it continues to happen, you know, so like we will be the sense of the common sense voice around here. But. No, no, it was just, it just, it was, it gets mentioned because you're right. You just walked up to the booth and you're like, what is that?
You know, you wanted to see what that is. And anyway, yeah, good on you, Burghouse. We'll see them again at Switchback next week.
All right, now we're moving into the emerging brands and the first one on this list I'm going to try to describe.
Eoin Comerford
00:30:53.130 - 00:30:53.690
Yeah.
Colin True
00:30:53.770 - 00:31:09.650
And I'm going to do a terrible job at it. And I mean, which is a challenge they probably have in describing their own brand and selling their own brand.
But it's one of the coolest things I've seen in a while. A true, I think, example of innovation that we always are looking for, especially on this pod. And this is the brand Rux R.
Eoin Comerford
00:31:09.650 - 00:31:10.970
U X R U X. Exactly.
Colin True
00:31:10.970 - 00:31:18.250
Seen these guys, Doug. So I had a set of Mountain Smith sort of like gear. Gear cubes.
Eoin Comerford
00:31:18.330 - 00:31:19.370
Cube things Back in the day.
Colin True
00:31:19.370 - 00:31:37.590
Yeah. It had kind of a big duffel with like three sort of cube things actually. They were great. Right.
And you're like, oh, I threw my mountain bike shoes and gloves and helmet in there kind of thing, like, kind of like to haul your gear stuff around. So the, the idea of the gear cube is not a new idea.
No, these guys, I'm not gonna say they perfected it, but they definitely took it to a whole other level.
Eoin Comerford
00:31:37.670 - 00:31:37.990
Right.
Colin True
00:31:37.990 - 00:32:06.080
And it starts with a sort of, I don't know, like a 2 foot 3, 2, 3 foot by 2 foot kind of kind of cube. It looks like, it looks kind of like a, like a. Contain just like basic container.
But there was the, this is sort of, I guess, variability that you can do in terms of storing your gear in this cube. There's all sorts of bags that you can sort of connect to it in Interesting ways. There's coolers that you can put into it.
It's all measured to the point where you can take any number of these things and put them in together in a very seamless way.
Eoin Comerford
00:32:06.080 - 00:32:06.960
Right, exactly.
Colin True
00:32:06.960 - 00:32:11.400
You can store it on your wall in your garage and you have to put up slat wall to do that. But it was incredible. Way to go.
Eoin Comerford
00:32:11.400 - 00:32:12.570
Or L channel will work too.
Colin True
00:32:12.880 - 00:32:45.260
Right. And then. And it's just. I know I'm not describing this well, I know I'm underselling it, but the way.
By the time they were about halfway through their demonstration of the product, I was just in.
And it was just everything you'd want from a gear storage system that could either replace the sort of just basic cubes you may have had from other brands or to get rid of just the Tupperware containers that we all currently have in our garage or basement or gear closet or whatever. It kind of just an ingenious design to really solve a need that anybody who dabbles in the stuff that we talk about will appreciate.
Eoin Comerford
00:32:45.660 - 00:33:08.980
Absolutely.
And I think the, the best part of it is just the fact that it does go from garage wall again with sort of these, these built in hooks to, to your, to your SUV to whatever your cabin or what have you. And everything can be dispelled out. It was, it was funny actually. One of the reps had his wife's. That's the thing that sold me bundle. Right.
Colin True
00:33:08.980 - 00:33:10.850
It was her, her kit.
Eoin Comerford
00:33:11.090 - 00:33:14.530
It was just right there. And he's like. Cause you thought it had been propped out.
Colin True
00:33:14.530 - 00:33:20.170
I thought it was a merchandise exercise here. Like, hey, bring your stuff and we'll put it in the thing and. Nope, this was hers.
Eoin Comerford
00:33:20.170 - 00:33:43.650
Yeah, but you could totally see it. It's like, okay, yeah, sure, that stays on the wall, but then when we're ready to go, pop it off the wall in the back of the back of the truck.
Ready to go.
And it has these internal rails that actually then each of these individual components which live by themselves as their own pieces, as a cooler or a storage piece or what have you. And they're all also basically dry bags to a degree.
Colin True
00:33:43.650 - 00:33:46.290
Dry bag, like functionality, right? Like the way they roll down and stuff like that.
Eoin Comerford
00:33:46.290 - 00:33:59.010
Exactly. So they're going to keep it, they're going to keep it, you know, dust free, water free, etc.
But it all kind of links in together in this cohesive system that really is. It's just clever. So it was.
Colin True
00:33:59.010 - 00:34:15.780
Clever is a great word. Like it just solved these little problems. Like even the rail where you can kind of clip like a bag to it.
Like say, I mean, listen, you're supposed to pack out your poo at the end of a lot of trips, right. And if you could, you could throw your wag bag in this thing, clip to the side and it's not going to spill out into anything. It's.
It's like it's a worry free system for something like that.
Eoin Comerford
00:34:15.780 - 00:34:16.420
Yeah, the.
Colin True
00:34:16.420 - 00:34:55.190
They brought out something at the end that kind of was. Doubles as a travel bag the way that kind of so much. Yeah, the duffel. Thank you. And it was just, I don't know, they just really won me over.
And immediately like, we need more of this in the industry. So many problems solved and kind of makes your experience that much better. Kind of checks all the boxes.
And this is the example of the D to C to S that I was talking about because they've been around, I guess four or five years, doing pretty well and now expanding into specialty retail. Not looking to go big box, just like they want specialty dealers. So I think it's great. All right, next up we got Packfire pacfire.
Eoin Comerford
00:34:55.190 - 00:35:04.190
Now this is definitely innovation here, brought to you by the founder of gci.
Colin True
00:35:04.190 - 00:35:04.910
Gci. Yeah.
Eoin Comerford
00:35:04.910 - 00:35:16.910
Right. And so he actually, he saw really what it is is basically a portable smokeless fire pitch. So you think about that like it's.
Colin True
00:35:16.910 - 00:35:17.670
Kind of like a solo stove.
Eoin Comerford
00:35:17.670 - 00:35:27.690
Okay. I didn't want to say a solo stove, but okay, we're going to say solo stove. So if you think of a solo stove, like the regular full size one. Okay.
It works really well.
Colin True
00:35:28.880 - 00:35:30.640
It's the whole smokeless ring, the whole deal.
Eoin Comerford
00:35:30.720 - 00:35:57.110
But it's pretty darn heavy and it's darn bulky. And you know, you're not gonna take that thing to the beach. I'm sorry. Unless you're really into it or maybe into camping.
This thing though, the whole thing comes apart, folds up, goes into a bespoke backpack with kickstand. There's a kickstand on it. It has a kickstand. And then it's. Now it's, it's not light. It's about 30.
Colin True
00:35:57.170 - 00:35:57.680
30 pounds.
Eoin Comerford
00:35:57.680 - 00:35:58.680
Yeah. So I mean, you're not gonna go.
Colin True
00:35:58.680 - 00:36:03.760
Back like, it's like, it's like a solo stove in that regard. It's like, it's a legit heavy metal, like fire pit.
Eoin Comerford
00:36:03.760 - 00:36:07.320
Yeah. This. But this thing is it. It's pretty sweet.
Colin True
00:36:07.480 - 00:36:33.040
It was just cool. It's sitting there and I'm like.
And you know, you're doing this enough times in your life or you're at these trade shows and you're seeing things out there, and you just immediately rip this brand to shreds before the guys even open their mouth. You're like, nice solo stove knockoff. Like, you know, I know what this is. You know, I don't even want to stop.
They're like, hold on, let me come see this. We knew some people who worked there, they could, like, they're showing it to us.
As soon as they started breaking it down, I'm like, oh, that's awesome. It's like, what a smart idea.
Eoin Comerford
00:36:33.040 - 00:36:33.520
Yeah.
Colin True
00:36:33.520 - 00:36:37.840
Right. And it's. What was the 300 bucks? 299.
Eoin Comerford
00:36:38.080 - 00:36:40.400
Maybe 349 somewhere in that.
Colin True
00:36:40.480 - 00:36:45.570
So, I mean, probably competitive in that kind of, you know, that sort of backyard fire, beach fire pit.
Eoin Comerford
00:36:45.880 - 00:36:46.080
Right.
Colin True
00:36:46.080 - 00:37:07.040
But just convenient. And you think about kind of like the rucks thing if you want to take it camping.
And it fits into its nice little rectangle bag, and now you're stacking it in the back of your car. It's not this weird dingleberry thing that you're trying to like, how do you jam it in the back on top of all of all your other stuff?
And there's like, soot on stuff or what? You know, there's something, you know. So just a really well thought out executed upgrade to something that has existed.
Eoin Comerford
00:37:07.040 - 00:37:12.040
For a while, but also nice enough that you could have it on your back deck. And it is your fire pit.
Colin True
00:37:12.360 - 00:37:13.320
And it looks really nice.
Eoin Comerford
00:37:13.480 - 00:37:15.450
Right. It's not like your portable only version.
Colin True
00:37:15.680 - 00:37:15.920
Right.
Eoin Comerford
00:37:16.880 - 00:37:21.200
And then also they were showing that they. I don't know if you saw that they have a tabletop version.
Colin True
00:37:21.200 - 00:37:22.400
I did, Yeah. A little small one.
Eoin Comerford
00:37:22.400 - 00:37:23.200
That would be really cool.
Colin True
00:37:23.200 - 00:37:28.440
Yeah, we said that was the fondue one. You're cooking your meat on a little spear over it.
Eoin Comerford
00:37:28.440 - 00:37:28.880
There you go.
Colin True
00:37:28.960 - 00:37:33.160
So next we saw. Oh, Mickey Kai.
Eoin Comerford
00:37:33.160 - 00:37:33.920
Mickey Kai.
Colin True
00:37:34.160 - 00:37:38.240
Yeah. This is innovation on a smaller scale, but also, I think, a much needed thing.
Eoin Comerford
00:37:38.320 - 00:37:57.049
Yes. So this basically is insect protection. Yeah, it's bug spray. Okay, Bug spray. Sure. But that is deet free.
But that actually works as well, if not better than DEET itself. And so, you know, I mean, according.
Colin True
00:37:57.049 - 00:38:00.970
To the sales guy who showed it to me. That is true. But with Sasha, we know it.
Eoin Comerford
00:38:00.970 - 00:38:14.510
Yeah, we know Sasha from his days at Burton and elsewhere. But. Yeah. Because, you know, personally, for me, do not like.
I mean, yeah, I'm probably the only person in the world who doesn't like to get bitten by. By mosquitoes.
Colin True
00:38:14.510 - 00:38:15.590
No, everyone loves it.
Eoin Comerford
00:38:16.150 - 00:38:20.670
Everyone else, but I, you know, they like Me though, I am tasty. Yes.
Colin True
00:38:20.670 - 00:38:24.710
You got that sort of the blood close to your top of your skin Irish thing going on.
Eoin Comerford
00:38:24.710 - 00:38:34.150
You know, they love it, they love, they love some of that Owen blood. So like I, you know, I'm like effort, whatever, 100 deed, I don't care.
Colin True
00:38:34.150 - 00:38:34.470
Right.
Eoin Comerford
00:38:34.470 - 00:38:36.490
Slobbered on me. But, but I don't know what I'll.
Colin True
00:38:36.490 - 00:38:37.530
Trade a few days of my life.
Eoin Comerford
00:38:38.970 - 00:39:08.700
Right. You know, but so yeah, yes, I'm willing to do that. But what is that doing to myself, to the environment? I guess deep like melts plastic.
I mean it's just not good stuff. It takes color off of things, you know. Yeah. And so this stuff though is actually developed from. Was it wild tomato plant enzyme?
It's plant based pheromones from wild tomatoes is what I got.
Colin True
00:39:08.860 - 00:39:15.540
Yeah. And it's natural and stuff. And I thought something that interesting that Sasha did say is that, you know, we know that DEET works.
Eoin Comerford
00:39:15.540 - 00:39:15.980
Yeah.
Colin True
00:39:15.980 - 00:39:29.500
I think there is a. I asked the question, I'm like, does it matter how bad DEET is for you at this point?
It's kind of like the PFAS thing in terms of, not in terms of the broader world but in terms of my own personal safety. And he was like, yeah, I'm not really sure. But the thing is that this, we know this performs as well and is from plants.
Eoin Comerford
00:39:29.500 - 00:39:29.900
Right.
Colin True
00:39:30.060 - 00:39:43.510
And I'm like, right there. I'm like, yeah, I'm in. Like why would you put the two next to each other?
Do you want the corrosive plant plastic melting deed or do you want the one makeups from tomato spicing, spices or whatever it is. So yeah, good innovation.
Eoin Comerford
00:39:43.510 - 00:39:52.670
Yeah. And that's something that it's been in development, I guess for the past five years and now is FDA approval, et cetera.
And it's just coming to market ready to go. Interesting one.
Colin True
00:39:52.670 - 00:39:57.790
Which is a tough thing because I think most people who've tried DEET alternatives have been not impressed.
Eoin Comerford
00:39:57.870 - 00:39:58.510
Not impressed.
Colin True
00:39:58.510 - 00:40:11.210
Yeah. So now. And we have not tried this.
So actually I would like you to go home to your lakeside home where I'm sure their mosquitoes are going to be out soon if they're not already. And one arm with one arm without.
Eoin Comerford
00:40:11.210 - 00:40:15.730
Let's see, let's slather half of my body with this and we'll see what happens.
Colin True
00:40:16.050 - 00:40:32.410
Last brand, I'm sure we've talked about these guys at some point in the pod is Pingora new pack brand launched last year. We saw them at outdoor retailer last year. C.J. whitaker, former coated Epoxy guy. Mike May is his partner.
We had a chance to chat with Matt, with Mike last night. Was this your first time seeing Pingora?
Eoin Comerford
00:40:32.410 - 00:40:32.850
Yes, it was.
Colin True
00:40:32.850 - 00:40:33.730
Okay. What'd you think?
Eoin Comerford
00:40:33.890 - 00:40:40.510
I thought it was good. A just whatever about the performance. A good looking pack.
Colin True
00:40:40.910 - 00:40:41.710
Yeah. C.J.
Eoin Comerford
00:40:41.710 - 00:41:10.540
Makes good packs, you know, because there are a lot of, you know, sea of sameness in the pack world and just the little things, just the slightly asym zipper, just some of the design choices. I'm like, oh, I like that. You know, and then, you know, the color blocking and we'll get to that in a minute. Why? It's a little bit different, but.
But even the overall construction looks interesting and not just the same as everything else that's out there.
Colin True
00:41:11.260 - 00:41:15.660
But the key differentiation with Pingura is it's all dead stock.
Eoin Comerford
00:41:15.740 - 00:41:31.590
Right. Which to those that don't know is basically what they're saying is we're not going to source new fabric.
We're basically going to go to the mills and say, hey, what have you got left over in whatever Rip Stop or whatever we're making whatever performance they.
Colin True
00:41:31.590 - 00:41:33.190
Need to metrics they need to achieve.
Eoin Comerford
00:41:33.190 - 00:41:38.350
Exactly. For that pack. And apparently in talking was it.
Colin True
00:41:38.350 - 00:41:38.830
It was Mike.
Eoin Comerford
00:41:38.830 - 00:42:26.850
Mike. In talking to Mike, let's say they're going to do a run of whatever, 500 packs.
Then they'll get like, hey, here is your array of potential colors that are available from this dead stock. And then they'll go through and kind of match them up and mix them. Match.
Like they had a really nice pack there that had sort of a few different shades of kind of burgundy ish color. Right. With a little bit of green accent. So, you know, so people shouldn't think. Cotopaxi del Dia. That's not what this is. No, no, no, no, not at all.
This is a technical pack where just. But using the dead stock in a very, I would say, thought out way. Right. In terms of how it will look as it comes together.
Colin True
00:42:26.850 - 00:42:34.210
Very well designed.
If you go and look at some of the videos they have on their social media feedback and some of the features they built into the pack, it's really innovative stuff, just from a design perspective.
Eoin Comerford
00:42:34.210 - 00:42:34.650
Yes.
Colin True
00:42:34.650 - 00:43:20.980
The interesting thing, we're talking with Mike and it kind of echoed a little bit and we talked just some tease from interviews coming down the road for what we did here at Goa.
We had a conversation with Cam Brensinger, the founder of Nemo, and we asked him about their sustainability initiatives and the common thread, I think between what Cam said and what Mike said about what they're doing with the dead stock is kind of at the root of the innovation conversation that we're always having here. Because innovation is not always clean. It's not always like, here's this thing that was great, and we made it better. And boy is not innovative.
It's, you know, talking with Mike, it creates inventory problems or reorder problems where people are like, hey, we sold through that one. We want more of that in black. And it's like, yeah, we don't have that because there's no more of that fabric available. We can make it for you.
And hold on, let me check with the factory. Green, yellow, and red.
Eoin Comerford
00:43:22.340 - 00:43:39.840
But as a buyer, that's a real issue, because as you look at your assortment and you say, okay, you know, the Pingora Whatever backpacking ski pack was great for us last year. It really worked in this white color with the pink pop. We're definitely going to do that one again.
Colin True
00:43:40.000 - 00:43:40.560
No, you're not.
Eoin Comerford
00:43:40.560 - 00:43:43.760
And then we'll do the blue one. Yeah, no, not so much.
Colin True
00:43:43.760 - 00:44:06.480
I saw it. Because you're a meticulous guy. You're a reports guy.
You're the only other member of the Rock Pie team that takes interest in download numbers, which I appreciate. Thank you.
And I'm watching your brain kind of break in real time as you're realizing what the Pingora lines on your inventory report would be or sell through report or whatever. Just the history of the same pack with a thousand colors.
Eoin Comerford
00:44:07.360 - 00:44:14.120
Right, exactly. And just do think about auto replenishment systems. And it's just like, no, you're never going to get that again. That was great.
Colin True
00:44:14.120 - 00:44:15.920
You have to set it up for whatever color is available.
Eoin Comerford
00:44:16.080 - 00:44:16.560
Yeah.
Colin True
00:44:16.720 - 00:44:18.000
Good luck. Hope it sells.
Eoin Comerford
00:44:19.760 - 00:44:25.020
But it's such a great idea and so beautifully executed.
Colin True
00:44:25.020 - 00:44:25.380
Right.
Eoin Comerford
00:44:26.020 - 00:44:29.540
The industry deserves figuring it out.
Colin True
00:44:29.540 - 00:45:08.070
Well, and it's also this is. And that it. If it comes across that we're being critical of them, we're not. Because they're solving a problem that the rest of the industry created.
Right, right. They're saying, oh, there's all this shit just left laying around. So, fine, we'll make something with that.
And now we're like getting all nitpicky, like, but we don't have it in black anymore. You know, it's like, it's so. So that's true.
It's kind of like what Cam was saying about what they're doing on their innovation side with sustainability as well. And that's kind of what the. Again, the industry. And I say that as the royal industry As a whole here. Right. This gets messy. You have to try things.
You have to mess things up that have worked for a long time. And that is what innovation is.
Eoin Comerford
00:45:08.390 - 00:45:34.210
Yeah, absolutely. So hopefully the industry will figure that out because otherwise a brand like Pingora really sort of ends up just becoming a DTC only brand.
And to the detriment of the industry, quite frankly, because I think there is traction there and people, people will be drawn to a brand whose whole focus is on this whole dead stock model. But doing it in a beautiful way where there's, you know, there's no compromise involved.
Colin True
00:45:34.370 - 00:45:36.370
Well, and then, hey, and retailers support it.
Eoin Comerford
00:45:36.450 - 00:45:36.850
Right.
Colin True
00:45:36.850 - 00:45:46.380
Take. Take a risk, take a flyer on this. And to help be brutally honest with your customers and your. And your staff, like, yeah, this is going to be it.
And make that cool. Make that exclusive.
Eoin Comerford
00:45:46.380 - 00:45:46.900
Exactly.
Colin True
00:45:46.900 - 00:45:52.220
You will have a unique pack. There's a hundred of these in the world, right? You have one of them.
Eoin Comerford
00:45:52.220 - 00:45:52.860
Yep.
Colin True
00:45:52.860 - 00:45:57.020
Yeah, that's it, man. That was the list. Any other things that come to mind?
Eoin Comerford
00:45:57.260 - 00:46:02.060
No, it was. As I say, my only gripe is that we didn't have three more hours.
Colin True
00:46:02.060 - 00:46:03.660
Yeah, there's a lot more brands we could have seen.
Eoin Comerford
00:46:03.660 - 00:46:03.940
Yeah.
Colin True
00:46:03.940 - 00:46:09.900
We were talking about doing a top five. We're like, we really can't do a top five because we didn't see enough brands to do a top five. There were that many we didn't get to see.
Eoin Comerford
00:46:09.900 - 00:46:19.380
Well, exactly, because it wouldn't be fair to the other brands that, that we didn't get to consider. And actually there were a few brands that I told I was going to stop by and I didn't stop by. So if you were one of those brands.
Colin True
00:46:19.380 - 00:46:21.780
So sorry, but he was talking about you all night.
Eoin Comerford
00:46:21.780 - 00:46:22.580
Guys, that is not.
Colin True
00:46:22.580 - 00:46:30.580
I don't want to go see those guys. No, we want to. Even I had friends working at like the Kizik Kyzac. We never got an answer if it's Kizik or Kizik. We were going to see them Swoop.
Eoin Comerford
00:46:30.580 - 00:46:33.260
I was going to stop by, see Virginia at Swoop. That didn't happen.
Colin True
00:46:33.260 - 00:46:34.660
We got to see Daniel at Arn.
Eoin Comerford
00:46:34.660 - 00:46:35.620
We did get to see who's been.
Colin True
00:46:35.620 - 00:46:38.570
On the Whirlwind tour for the last month from New Zealand.
Eoin Comerford
00:46:38.570 - 00:46:39.650
Got to put on the packs.
Colin True
00:46:39.890 - 00:46:40.250
Yep.
Eoin Comerford
00:46:40.250 - 00:47:26.320
Tried them out, you know. Yeah. Here's what I would say. I mean, like, the logical part of my brain totally gets this.
And to those that don't understand what the whole iron pack concept is, basically you've got your. It's like a regular backpack. But on the front, you've got two mini packs that are. That do clip into your hip belt.
So basically, from a weight distribution, it's going right through the hips as opposed to adding that much more weight to the shoulders.
But it gives you much better weight distribution as opposed to having it all on your back where then you're sort of unnaturally leaning forward to try to balance yourself. And so now you've got this much more balanced weight distribution. So it makes perfect sense.
Colin True
00:47:26.320 - 00:47:26.760
Oh, yeah.
Eoin Comerford
00:47:26.760 - 00:47:38.920
And it's also obviously much easier to access key items that you might need and just not have it in your hip belt or whatever. The issue, though, is the look.
Colin True
00:47:38.920 - 00:47:39.880
It's not a good look.
Eoin Comerford
00:47:41.480 - 00:48:02.300
You know, it's a different look, I think.
So, thankfully, I'm sure there were people out there that are less about the vain than you, than Colin, 100%, and who will appreciate the fact that it'll help their back and they'll be able to go further. And that's.
Colin True
00:48:02.300 - 00:48:14.300
They've been around for a while. I mean, and Daniel's at. He was at days. He's been going and finding tons of new customers, people who are like. It's the kind of brand people thank.
And you have helped me be able to continue to backpack because I now have this in my life.
Eoin Comerford
00:48:14.300 - 00:48:18.140
And they're the number two brand in New Zealand, I think, behind Osprey.
Colin True
00:48:18.140 - 00:48:22.860
Right. Which is basically being the number one brand in New Zealand because, you know, Osprey is number one everywhere.
Eoin Comerford
00:48:23.660 - 00:48:37.000
So. So clearly, I mean, when people. It's probably.
I think it's one of those products that once somebody tries it, they're like, oh, yeah, why have I been doing it the other way forever? But you just have to get over the fact that it just. It looks different.
Colin True
00:48:37.000 - 00:48:45.880
Yeah, don't listen to me on this. I don't like to go camping, you know, so it's kind of like, you know, who am I to say that you shouldn't. This looks bad.
I'm not the one you should be listening to.
Eoin Comerford
00:48:45.880 - 00:48:46.920
Yeah, right. Exactly.
Colin True
00:48:47.720 - 00:48:49.840
All right, man. All right. Good job here at G OA Connect.
Eoin Comerford
00:48:49.840 - 00:48:50.760
Yeah, it was fun.
Chris DeMakes
00:48:51.640 - 00:50:13.170
All right, that's the show for today. No parting shot today. Hey, we want your emails.
Send them to myrockfightmail.com therockfights A production of Rock Fight LOC Today's episode was produced by me, Edith, producer Dave, Art direction provided by that Sarah. For Owen Comerford, I'm Colin True. Thanks for listening. And here to take us out, it's Chris Demaikz with the Rock fight, fight song.
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