Founder Friday Series: Innovating Essentials for Outdoor Enthusiasts and Pros Alike
Innovating Essentials for Outdoor Enthusiasts and Pros Alike
This week’s Founder Friday highlights two brands meeting the unique needs of outdoor enthusiasts and professionals alike. Brynje, with its iconic mesh baselayers, has been a trusted name for over a century, keeping adventurers warm and breathable in the harshest conditions. Meanwhile, Holey Hiker is sparking innovation in trail hygiene with its cleverly engineered mobile bidet, proving that even the most overlooked essentials can transform the outdoor experience.
Jeff Jacobs, Brynje
At first glance, Brynje baselayers look like mesh party attire from the 1980s. But therein lies the genius. For 137 years the company has been supplying thermals to people working in the harshest conditions and mesh has always been their secret. Insulative enough to trap body heat but significantly more breathable than other designs, the company’s baselayers have been used for everything from scaling Mount Everest to cycling across Greenland and racing to the South Pole. For really extreme temps, Brynje also makes an Arctic line where a mesh layer is featured under a merino layer for extra warmth but tons of breathability.
Jeff Jacobs, the company’s General Manager, says first responders, outdoor guides, and militaries across the world know the brand well but it’s now starting to catch on with everyone else. “Brynje’s growth over the past 10 years has been staggering… and I expect Brynje will soon become a major niche brand for the outdoor [community].” He’s also excited for a heritage brand like Brynje to continue innovating and developing new ways to help people play outside safely and comfortably. “Every industry needs innovation and small brands are the life blood of new ideas, even old ones like us,” he said.
Paul Bogush, Holey Hiker Bidet
If we’re all being honest, lots of toilet paper gets left behind on the trails. Which is why Paul Bogush decided to invent a mobile bidet that attaches to the top of most plastic bottles and eliminates this waste by cleaning your behind with water instead of paper. “I’m the guy who decided the outdoor industry needed to talk more openly about dirty butt cracks,” he says. To make sure he built the best product possible he tested endlessly himself but also sent prototypes out with testers who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail, ensuring the product would hold up over 1,000s of miles and provide the kind of cleanliness thru-hikers needed to keep going.
“I did not set out to simply make a bidet that squirted water, anyone could do that,” he says. “I set out to clean butts using the physics necessary to deliver maximum momentum from minimum water. Four holes. Precisely placed. Doing work that a single hole of any size simply cannot replicate.” Bogush says he’s excited for Outdoor Retailer because it will be a chance to broaden the company’s community beyond the 25,000 people who’ve already discovered the magic of a bidet. “OR is a chance to make the case that the most important thing in your pack might also be the one nobody wants to talk about,” he says. Going forward the plan is to grow, but to also stay true to the roots of a company that came to life by trying to solve real problems for real people. “That’s how most of the best outdoor gear gets born, by actual users who get frustrated enough to do something about it. Small brands keep the big brands honest, keep the category weird and innovative, and remind customers that there’s a real human being behind the product who cares whether it works,” Bogush says.
Why These Founders Matter
Founders like these demonstrate what happens when founders listen to the needs of the outdoor community and respond with thoughtful, human-centered design. For retailers, these brands represent the kind of innovation your customers crave: practical solutions that enhance functionality, ease of use, and quality of life outdoors.
Ready to stock products that make a difference? Discover more innovative brands like these at Outdoor Retailer, where the next generation of outdoor solutions comes to life.