Inside Outdoor Spring 2017

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2015, 37 percent of AT long-distance
hikers slept under a Big Agnes logo),
and the brand had three tent models
among the top five (Fly Creek UL2,
Fly Creek UL1 and Copper Spur UL2).
What’s somewhat surprising, at
least to us, is that Big Agnes was
the only major brand name with a
double-digit percentage of market
share. While there are plenty of fa-
miliar names among the top 10 or
so brands favored by respondents –
MSR, Marmot, NEMO, Kelty, among
others – more notable are the few
smaller names that were able to grab
some pretty large chunks of the busi-
ness. Tied for second, each with 12.3
percent market share, were lesser-
known ZPacks (top model in the sur-
vey was the Duplex) and Tarptent (top
model the ProTrail). That placed both
companies ahead of the likes of REI
and MSR, while names such as Six
Moon Designs and Lightheart Gear
beat out well-established brands such
as NEMO and Marmot. Overall, well
more than a third of the tents used
by AT long-distance hikers in 2016
came from brands with little name
recognition, industry pedigree or
marketing budgets.
“We have concentrated our en-
ergy on developing clean, simply and
functional ultralight gear that meets
our customers’ needs,” explained
Matt Favero, brand manager and cus-
tomer experience director at ZPacks.
“Flashy ad campaigns, gimmicks and
giveaways have never been something
that has interested us.”
Of course, within the history of
outdoor product development, it’s
far from unusual for upstarts and in-
novators to break through and make
serious inroads into what is essentially
a specialty niche. And the grassroots,
feel-good stories behind brands such
as ZPacks, Tarptent and Lightheart are
familiar tales: Gearhead enthusiasts
with math or science backgrounds are
not satisfied with what’s available on
the market, so they begin to tinker,
reinvent the mousetrap, make it into
their dream business and, as it often
does, the cream rises. But unlike most
of their predecessors in the outdoor
space, these brands were able to
gain traction despite largely forego-
ing traditional channels of marketing
and sales. For the most part, there’s
been no big trade show booths and no
trade publication push, no significant
retail or ecommerce distribution and
no manufacturing contacts in Asia.
Generally, the go-to-market strategy
is word of mouth, orders are taken
directly and gear is built by hand right
here in the USA.
“Our strategy has always been
to rely on word of mouth from our
customers and independent reviews,”
explains Favero. “This has built a ton of
trust with our customer base.”
Primary Shelter Type Used by AT
Long-Distance Hikers
Shelter 2015 2106
Tent 63% 78%
Tarptent hybrid 15% 13%
Hammock 16% 7%
Tarp only 3% 1.5%
Bivy 2% 0%
Lean-to 1% 0.5%
Source:
APPAREL
SOURCING &
PRODUCTION
INDIA VIETNAM CHINA
HONG KONG USA
Quickfeat produces
sweaters, knits, wovens
outerwear, activewear,
leather, swim and
organics.
Our Services
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Inside Outdoor | Spring 2017 26