Caribou Gear

New Backpacking Jacket

OntarioHunter said:
I am definitely not a puffy jacket guy when hiking, not even in cold conditions. I get WAY to sweaty. My suggestion would be to make this in fleece. It is much more breathable. I can envision getting overheated in this jacket even with the back gone. I sweat in front as much as I do down the back. It would seem unzipping the front would not be an option unless the mesh insert is zipped into the back. Even in fleece jacket I can get quite sweaty in front hiking with my small Browning Wasatch pack but fleece would still definitely be better than plastic and puff. For stationary situations I think the puffy stuff would be great but best pulled out of the pack when one gets to the destination.
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My first design was just that. lightweight fleece, lightweight windproof poly, tried a lot of materials. No back, lightweight pull on from the front option. Why I didn't go with that is this option is more universal. Its not going to be for everyone and I'm OK with that. It will be for a lot if not most people though. Puffy are a huge seller right now with backpackers.

Our launch is going to also only be in 5 sizes. SM-2XL. We will be $100k into just that. Takes a lot to kick off items, change materials, change colors, add options. Like I mentioned we have about 10 ideas following this but have to clear some initial sales first. Ifthis first one isn't for you, bear with us and we are following up with something like you mentioned.
 
Moosie said:
My first design was just that. lightweight fleece, lightweight windproof poly, tried a lot of materials. No back, lightweight pull on from the front option. Why I didn't go with that is this option is more universal. Its not going to be for everyone and I'm OK with that. It will be for a lot if not most people though. Puffy are a huge seller right now with backpackers.

Our launch is going to also only be in 5 sizes. SM-2XL. We will be $100k into just that. Takes a lot to kick off items, change materials, change colors, add options. Like I mentioned we have about 10 ideas following this but have to clear some initial sales first. Ifthis first one isn't for you, bear with us and we are following up with something like you mentioned.
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Yes, you gotta go where the market leads you. And you're right, for whatever reason the backpacker crowd has sure got into the Mt Everest expedition look. It was just my thoughts based on my experience.

And I was serious about the mesh undershirt. Not what that kinky thing was designed for I'm sure. But I would think a short sleeve version with collar in the right place would be great for ventilating against the skin. A regular cotton undershirt just gets soaked up with sweat and stays that way = cold base layer against the skin. A mesh undershirt would also seem to work better at dissipating body odor.
 
Problem with sweat is it has to go somewhere. Does it just evaporate when you wear a mesh ? Or go to the next layer out. If you have no other layer maybe that works.

I sell Base layer shirts. A 4-way stretch poly/Spandex wicking shit : https://www.catchandrelease.us/product-page/4-way-base-layer-long-sleeve Works like any other base layer, light, dries fast, etc. But even at that I bring a 2nd shirt on hikes at a min to swap out when I get to destination. I bring extra socks as well. But I have wussy feet that blister easy.

We are making a back that is in a similar material as I mentioned above (Solid color though), in the near future. It will be interchangeable as well. The mesh has to do with making someone "feel" like they are wearing a jacket, the 4-way stretch the same principle. I'm not a fan of it but we all like or use different items, we all have our preferences. I can agree a wet base layer on the skin in the cold sucks. I'm jsut providing a jacket that reduces that. Unless there is a way to stop sweating, this is the next best thing ;)

Great ideas though everyone. Good feedback. Glad to see great hunters collaboration came up with some of the same thoughts I came up with.
 
Moosie said:
Problem with sweat is it has to go somewhere. Does it just evaporate when you wear a mesh ? Or go to the next layer out. If you have no other layer maybe that works.

I sell Base layer shirts. A 4-way stretch poly/Spandex wicking shit : https://www.catchandrelease.us/product-page/4-way-base-layer-long-sleeve Works like any other base layer, light, dries fast, etc. But even at that I bring a 2nd shirt on hikes at a min to swap out when I get to destination. I bring extra socks as well. But I have wussy feet that blister easy.
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Yes, the sweat doesn't just disappear but if it goes to the next layer the mesh keeps it away from body. The dry voids between the netting acts as insulation.

I bought a similar "spandex shit" Red Head camo shirt at Cabelas in Minneapolis when I had a Lab down to U of M vet school two years ago. I don't care for Cabelas but just learned Opal was terminally ill and I needed the distraction. I ultimately loved the shirt so much I bought three more. I wear them all the time. They don't seem to get as stinky when hunting hard and definitely keep me dryer when sweating. VERY comfortable and wear like iron. Button down collars are attractive and sleeves are plenty long enough (very rare to find with crap from China). It has button straps for rolling up the sleeves but I've never needed them. The shirt is plenty cool enough even on hot days. Purpose of all this is to encourage others to consider spandex stuff as a base layer ... or even every day shirt. I never thought anything was better than cotton but this synthetic sure surprised me.
 
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Neat concept. I'd like to pick one up for sheep hunting. Temps can swing huge and with wind I struggle to no over heat and stay warm with a puffy.

I think I have about a dozen puffy and down coats/vests. The one thing that all of them lack is enough insulation. They all seem to have about the same amount and it's not enough without a number of base layers.
 
Bambistew said:
Neat concept. I'd like to pick one up for sheep hunting. Temps can swing huge and with wind I struggle to no over heat and stay warm with a puffy.

I think I have about a dozen puffy and down coats/vests. The one thing that all of them lack is enough insulation. They all seem to have about the same amount and it's not enough without a number of base layers.
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Sign up for the kick starter launch. :)

Whats neat about this one is once you get to where you are going, you put the back back on and use it as a puffy jacket still. We aren't building an "artic puffy" here though, so it might just be like your others from the thickness stand point.
 
If you think I’m paying extra money for you to cut the back out of a puffy I’ve got a flex seal boat I want to take you out to the gulf stream in.... it’s pretty much just a snuggy with the britches end cut off ain’t it?🤪. Kidding aside, it’s a novel idea but definitely a niche market. Plenty of GQ (gear queer) consumers in said niche though... good luck!
 
Note to self. When joltnjoe sees how awesome this jacket is because all his buddies buy one and decides to buy one, add 30% to it ;)

So yah. There was a big name hunting brand that came out with some pants that I thought were pretty stupid. But it was a big name and despite not being full length people bought them. Not sure I know all the ins and outs of it but I'll never really look. I'm assuming people will be that way with the jacket.

It is a niche market, and so is camo. I tapped into a saturated market with that and in now a multi ten dollar company ;)

I dont need to sell to all 10.54 million backpackers, not counting hunters. But I'll pick up a percentage of the GQ crowd. And others that understand evolution of products.

Thanks for the well wishes, truly.
 
Every inventor falls in love with their own "great idea". I think this is the classic ingenious solution to a non existent (certainly very small) problem. I wish you well but I am afraid that the group of people who would actually spend serious money on a product like this is very small at best. I am in the woods EVERY day and can not imagine any scenario where I or my partners would stop and remove a back panel, install a mesh panel or clip onto my pack then later stop and screw around with multiple long zippers to put it back together again. Sorry. Not happening. Just using a simple removable liner in a heavy coat is a pain in the ass and you don't see many of them anymore. Good luck, It will be interesting to follow the response for the product .
 
Jcs271 said:
Good luck, It will be interesting to follow the response for the product .
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That's the great part, you don't have to stop to remove anything. You don't get the jackets purpose by your description. That's OK, like I said, its not for everyone. I'm sure there are a lot more just watching expecting it not to work or sell. Appreciate you vocalizing it.

Thanks for the well wishes though and good lucks. We will find out soon if it makes it or not.
 
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I have the opposite problem, I need one that zips out the front with interchangeable sizes. That way as my beer belly swells I don’t have to replace the whole jacket. Or when the steering wheel wears out the front from all my road hunting I can keep zipping new ones on.
 
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