Inside Outdoor Spring 2017

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This small-brand disruption within
ultralight shelters would seem to
suggest that a handful of larger in-
dustry players might somehow be
missing the mark with this core group
of backpackers. There is, however,
something much larger at play here.
Likely more important to the overall
industry is the realization of changes
we’ve been hearing about for some
time in how products are brought
to market. During the past 10 or so
years, we’ve seen lowered minimums
for all types of components, while all
sorts of technology and machinery
have become more and more widely
available. At the same time, localized
manufacturing, accessible shipping in-
frastructure and near-free mass com-
munications have increasingly allowed
businesses to be run from bedrooms.
These smaller, virtual and viral com-
panies, we’ve been warned, often will
be more nimble and responsive than
their much-larger and loaded-down
counterparts, and that seems to be
what we are seeing on the AT.
“Our website, customer service
department, manufacturing, design
and shipping is all handled under the
same roof,” says Favero. “This allows
for quick and seamless changes to
products and implementation of
new designs.”
Lightheart Gear, for instance, says
it will ship out shelters within 48 hours
of ordering, while ZPacks shelters are
“made to order” and typically ship with-
in a week. In many cases, these smaller
brands can handle some modification
and customization of existing designs
and often handle repairs. And accord-
ing to Tarptent founder Henry Shires,
one of the biggest advantages of sell-
ing directly to consum-
ers is that it allows for
more direct customer
feedback and design
collaboration.
Indeed, what The
findings show us
is that the crack of the
long tail is being heard
within the ultralight
shelter market. And
keep in mind, these are
not specialty socks or
T-shirts. Backpacking gear is a compli-
cated business with lots of components
and suppliers, specialized fabrics, test-
ing and assembly. It can be challenging
to scale for even well-funded operations.
At this point, we are not seeing
similar disruption in the sleeping
bags, footwear or backpacks used on
the AT, according to similar surveys
performed by . But if it can
happen in shelters, it certainly can in
these categories, as well. Welcome to
life on the long tail.
ZPacks two-person Duplex with vestibule
Spring 2017 | InsideOutdoor 27