Our story
Built by people who hike the trail.
We started because the good stuff kept breaking.
Switchback Supply Co. began in 2016 in a Bozeman garage, with two thru-hikers tired of gear that failed at mile 600 and a warranty process that replaced instead of repaired. We figured we could build packs and shelter that lasted — and stand behind them when they didn't.
Ten years later, the test process hasn't changed. Nothing ships until it's logged real miles on real trail — the Wind Rivers, the Sierra High Route, the Bob Marshall in shoulder season. If it comes back broken, it doesn't ship. If it comes back scuffed and still working, that's the point.
We're a small team that still answers its own email and still re-soles its own shoes. The gear is spec-driven because we are — and because you deserve to know exactly what you're carrying.
Materials & sustainability
The lightest gear is the gear you don't replace.
Responsibly-sourced down
All down is RDS-certified — traceable to farms that meet animal-welfare standards, never live-plucked or force-fed.
PFAS-free finishes
Our DWR treatments are free of the 'forever chemicals' that persist in water and soil. They shed weather without the legacy.
Recycled & bluesign® fabrics
Wherever performance allows, we spec recycled nylons and bluesign®-approved textiles produced with lower water and energy use.
Designed to be opened up
We choose constructions a repair tech can actually fix — bartacked seams, replaceable buckles, resoleable outsoles.
The repair program
Send it back. We'll fix it.
Every Switchback product is covered by our repair program for the life of the gear. Blown zipper, torn hipbelt, worn-through outsole — send it in and our techs will fix what can be fixed, at cost for materials and nothing for labor.
Trail runners and approach shoes are resoleable. Packs get patched, re-buckled, and re-webbed. When something is genuinely beyond saving, we'll recycle the materials we can and credit you toward a replacement.
- 01Email us a photo and a short description of the damage.
- 02We send a prepaid label and a repair estimate.
- 03Your gear comes back trail-ready, usually within two weeks.