This is what an American-made Gear Factory Looks Like
Aaron and Kris from Katabatic Gear holding up a Palisade Quilt
For a lot of outdoorspeople—even long distance hikers—the question of “where my gear comes from” doesn’t expand much more than “from the store or website.” If we do think about where our gear comes from, images of crowded factories overseas come to mind—and then we quickly try to block that image and think of something more pleasant. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited by Aaron Martray and Kris Diers from Katabatic Gear to visit their factory in Lakewood, Colorado. Getting to visit Katabatic’s headquarters and floor space (“factory” makes it sound way bigger than officespace in a stripmall) gave me an insider’s look at how gear goes from raw materials to what is in my pack—and what an American-made “factory” looks like. It also gave me an idea of some of the challenges of running a small company, and the innovative tricks that have allowed Katabatic to provide customizable options to their users, while also allowing for a quick turnaround time.
For those unfamiliar with Katabatic Gear, they are a small, cottage company that makes high quality down sleeping quilts, bivys, down hoods, and cuben fiber backpacks. During his planning for a thru-hike of the Colorado Trail, Aaron had a hard time finding a quilt that could keep the draft out while still being warm—so he designed one himself. His quilt went on to become the popular Katabatic Palisade Quilt, which he used to thru-hike the Hayduke Trail, bicycle to Alaska, and packraft in Alaska. Since he first started working on designs in 2007, Katabatic has gone on to become “the gold standard of ultralight sleeping quilts” and is carried by elite thru-hikers, like Cam “Swami” Honan, who introduced me to the company in 2012.
The finishing table where Aaron personally inspects each quilt before shipment.
As I entered Katabatic’s office, the first thing I noticed was a large table. Aaron and Kris explained to me that this is where Aaron personally inspects every quilt before it’s shipped. This is where bags are fluffed to make sure down is evenly distributed and where I was able to examine a fresh-off-the-sewing-machine Palisade Quilt. As a small, American-made company, Katabatic has built a niche for themselves in a market of foreign-made bags by emphasizing a quality and design that justifies the
Next, we passed Kris’s office—where she uses her CPA background to run the business side of the company. This includes everything from what happens when a hiker makes an order to making sure shipments of raw materials happen on time. A few months ago, Katabatic noticed that one supply of their stuff sacks had some issues. Their Customer Service response was to email all their customers who ever got a bag and offer a free replacement. That’s the sort of diligence that is usually only seen in government-mandated car recalls. But unlike cars, no one is going to die over a stuff sack and no government cares about a few off stitches. I could never imagine the North Face or any other big company caring that much about their customers or reputation for quality (or even having a way to track all their customers).
The sewing department at Katabatic
The main area of the factory was about as different from the factories I’ve seen abroad as anything. The sewers (or sewist—much debate on this topic) mostly looked like they were the hip, craftsy crew that sell stuff on Etsy—talented people who love sewing and make the rest of us feel dumpy in mass-consumer clothes. Each lady had a robust toolbox of different sewing machines to tackle whatever fabric or stitch they needed for whatever piece of gear they were working on.
Aaron and Kris explained Katabatic’s rigorous sewing test for would-be sewers. “People who have worked in bridal tend to do well,” Aaron explained that many bridal fabrics tend to be similar to Pertex Quantum. But their test, he told me, is rigorous enough that even people who have tailored for 20 years and have had formal training haven’t been able to pass it.
How a box of down feathers measures up to an Ewok
As someone used to seeing gear as finished products, it was especially exciting to see raw materials—bolts of fabric, cuben, and down feathers shipped from Allied Feather. A box of down half my size weighs only 15 pounds! Starting next year, all Katabatic Quilts will be part of the Track My Down program and will come with a number where you can find out where the down in your quilt comes from. A highlight of the trip was getting to see Katabatic’s patented, proprietary down insertion machine. If you’ve ever wondered how a factory can get all those feathers into such a confined space, know that there is something better out there than the mumble-your-prayers method that I learned when I tried to make my own quilt. Aaron’s machine gets rid of the inefficiencies, waste, and the mess. The sewers first make the sleeping bag shell—baffles and all—and down gets inserted last. This allows Katabatic to make their bags to order, allowing customers to special order extra fill and still get their bags quickly.
The front panel of a Katabatic cuben fiber backpack.
Lastly, I got to see where Katabatic is headed in the future. This year, they launched their backpack line, and my friend Johnny Carr was the first to take a Katabatic pack on the CDT. I’m not going to lie–it was weird and a little creepy to see what a pack looks like before it’s all stitched together—like looking at a tortoise without its shell. Aaron puts cuben pack parts together by hand himself. It was encouraging to see the founder of a company working on the floor alongside the staff. Aaron joked that up until recently, he was the only male sewer in the building.
This is what American-made small factories look like. Nothing dirty and industrial. Just real people like you and me—outdoor enthusiasts—making gear they actually use. Everyone knows everyone’s name in the building. For ultralight backpackers and long distance hikers, there are a lot of small, cottage industries that make gear. For these companies, it takes a lot of attention to detail and quality to compete with the big boys. Whatever company’s gear I go with, as a long distance hiker, I know that cottage industry gear tends to be higher quality and better designed that even the high-end mainstream stuff. Backpacking is my passion and my life, so it’s worth it to me to do some extra research and pay a little extra for gear I feel awesome about carrying.
