Glen Van Peski never set out to start a gear company. He was an engineer with a 70-pound pack who decided to make himself something lighter. When hikers started calling, asking him to build one for them, he figured 50 packs would satisfy every request and he could get back to his real job. He was wrong: 86 orders came in before the first batch shipped, and an accidental company was born. "The G4 and the Yellow Pad" traces the origin of Gossamer Gear from a hand-sewn prototype to a near-death moment when Glen almost shut it all down, and the unlikely phone call from Whole Foods co-founder John Mackey that saved it. Along the way, we hear about the secret brain trust hikes where the founders of Gossamer Gear, Tarptent, Six Moon Designs, and ULA would backpack together and share trade secrets: competitors who were also friends. And we meet Lloyd Vogel, a former special ed teacher who took the cottage gear ethos in a different direction, building Garage Grown Gear from his Minnesota basement into the online home for over a hundred and sixty ultralight brands. This is the creation story of an industry that started in garages.
Show Notes
The Cottage — Episode 1: "The G4 and the Yellow Pad"
Glen Van Peski made himself a lighter pack because he was tired of carrying 70 pounds into the backcountry. When other hikers started asking him to make one for them, he figured 50 would cover it. 86 orders arrived before the packs shipped, and what was supposed to be a small favor became Gossamer Gear — one of the most respected names in ultralight backpacking. In this first episode of The Cottage, we trace the full arc from Glen's garage to the moment the company almost died, and the phone call from John Mackey that saved it. We also hear from Whitney "Allgood" LaRuffa about the annual brain trust hikes where cottage gear founders would backpack together and share trade secrets, and from Lloyd Vogel on building Garage Grown Gear from his Minnesota basement into the ultralight world's one-stop shop.
Featured Voices
Glen Van Peski (G Squared) — Founder, Gossamer Gear. Author of "Take Less, Do More."
Whitney LaRuffa (Allgood) — Former VP, Six Moon Designs. Former President, ALDHA-West.
Lloyd Vogel — CEO and Co-Founder, Garage Grown Gear.
Links & Resources
Gossamer Gear — gossamergear.com
Garage Grown Gear — garagegrowngear.com
"Take Less, Do More" by Glenn Van Peski — available at gossamergear.com and major booksellers
Glen Van Peski — glenvanpeski.com
Six Moon Designs — sixmoondesigns.com
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Email: hikertashradio@gmail.com
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