Zpacks
Dudley has been an appreciative admirer of Zpacks Gear for years. He has tested and enjoyed many of their backpacks, slept over 100 days with their solo quilt, 120 plus days in his Altaplex tent, and many well-used and much-abused accessories.
In 2004 when their founder Joe Valesko was setting out to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, he couldn't find any gear options that met his needs. They were all too bulky, heavy and full of unnecessary features. He knew there had to be a better way and he was determined to solve his own problem.
Sitting down at a sewing machine in his apartment, Joe began designing and producing his first pieces of gear. He would soon test and refine his gear over the course of his AT hike.
Encouraged by other hikers who were envious of Joe's base weight, he decided to start selling his designs online and producing them at night and on weekends.
And with that, Zpacks was born from this obsession of achieving the perfect balance of weight and function with gear designed to withstand our demands as human-powered adventurers.
As Zpacks has grown, they have made a point to keep the adventurous spirit close to our hearts. Today the company employs adventurers who collectively have tens of thousands of miles of experience under their belt.
This constant experience allows us to design and sell a premier collection of ultralight gear to fill out every adventurer's needs, all sewn in our facility in West Melbourne, FL USA
#TeamZpacks
