An Interview with Stone Glacier Founder Kurt Racicot

We take our gear severely at F&S, whether or not it’s for looking, fishing, or tenting. Our alternatives are primarily based on many components, like high quality, value, and goal—simply to call a couple of. However generally there’s extra to a fishing jacket or looking knife than what you see.

By means of my years of protecting the most effective outside gear, I’ve found some actually cool manufacturers with some actually cool tales doing a little actually cool issues. In our new “Behind the Model” interview sequence, we’re telling these tales by the phrases of the founders themselves.

Most hunters, after they have hassle discovering gear they like, simply holding purchase issues till they discover one thing that works. Kurt Racicot isn’t most hunters. When he had hassle discovering an excellent pack for his alpine sheep hunts, he didn’t purchase a brand new one—he purchased a stitching machine to make his personal. And in that second, Stone Glacier was born.

We had been fortunate sufficient to get an opportunity to sit down down with Kurt for an unique interview. The longtime hunter and now entrepreneur opened up about how Stone Glacier grew into the model it’s in the present day, what makes an excellent pack, and what drew him to mountain sheep looking within the first place. Plus, he revealed his favourite hunt up to now and, spoiler, it was along with his daughter.

Discipline & Stream: Begin originally. How did you get into the outside, and particularly sheep looking?

Kurt Racicot: I used to be born and raised in Montana, so I grew up across the outside, looking and fishing. That was all the time part of our way of life as a household. After I went to school at Montana State College, I needed to go to Alaska and dwell up there—extra alternatives, wilder nation, all of that.

So I obtained a educating diploma and moved to Alaska, the place I used to be a instructor for six years. That was after I began to grow to be extra eager about sheep looking and the alpine-style hunts which might be so prevalent up there.

I then ended up switching careers to the facility trade and going into the oil area. It offered a little bit bit extra time to have the ability to hunt and fish, and what I discovered I loved essentially the most was the longer sheep and goat hunts that had been sometimes 10 to 14 days within the wilderness.

How did these hunts ignite your ardour for good gear?

You’d backpack all the things in in your again for no matter time period you had been going there and then you definitely’d should pack all of it again out. Generally that began from a truck, generally it began from an airplane. There’s solely a lot you’ll be able to take with you.

At the moment, the ultralight backpacking group was the driving pressure behind loads of the light-weight gear that was on the market. There have been fairly a couple of of us into backpack looking that began to have a look at what they had been doing. We realized we might have a lighter sleep system or we might carry completely different stoves and several types of meals to scale back weight and quantity.

That was actually the place my curiosity in gear started, principally out of necessity. I began what sorts of gear I might modify to make them a little bit bit lighter and performance a little bit bit higher for looking particularly.

What obtained you into backpacks particularly?

Just about all the things you wanted was out in the marketplace—aside from a light-weight looking backpack. And so I obtained a stitching machine and taught myself tips on how to sew.

How did you design your first pack?

I started modifying the present backpacks I used to be utilizing. It began with simply modifying the surface of the bag by including pockets or zippers or taking off one piece of cloth and changing it with one other one simply to make it extra usable in a looking sense.

Then it obtained to some extent the place I figured, effectively, if I make a totally completely different body, I might make it a little bit bit taller. And loads of the backpacking frames weren’t made to hold actually heavy hundreds. And so I might reinforce it and use completely different stays.

I did this time and again for about two years, enjoying with completely different designs, and actually ended up with a wholly new backpack.

What was your testing course of like?

It was loads of trial and error. I’d provide you with an thought and make a change. After which, as a result of I’ve all the time both lived in Alaska or Montana, I’d take it out and go looking the subsequent day to attempt it out. If I didn’t prefer it, I’d come again that night time, take it aside, and repair it. That’s one of many nice issues about working with material and stitching—it’s fairly fast to make adjustments. And I believe that’s the enjoyable a part of it, too.

Then as soon as I discovered one thing that labored, I’d maintain testing it to ensure it was good and that it might carry out over the course of time. That’s primarily been the way in which I’ve gone about it.

How did you go from modifying your individual backpack to promoting it to different individuals?

I began fascinated about how I might convey my new design to market. I believed if I wanted a product like this, there should be different individuals on the market who might use it, as effectively.

However after I began down that path, I didn’t have any intentions of beginning a enterprise. I had my profession, I used to be set going that approach. I simply had put loads of effort and time into it. And after I confirmed it to my pals, they stated I ought to make them, however I didn’t have the time.

I talked to a number of outside and looking firms, however all of them had their very own designs and their very own path they had been already. Ultimately, I noticed that if I needed it to go to market, I’d should do it myself.

I talked to my spouse, Nicole, and I stated, “Hey, right here’s my plan. I’m simply going to search out somebody who could make 60 of those. I’ll solely take $15,000 out of our financial savings. That’s all we’ll spend money on it. Both we promote these and we get our a reimbursement and by no means do anything, or we permit it to develop.”

That was actually the way it began.

And it should’ve labored, proper?

I began Stone Glacier, made these 60 backpacks, and offered all of them within the first couple of months. It was principally by phrase of mouth. I put collectively an internet site however I used to be removed from an online designer—it mainly simply had my contact data and some photographs. Most likely the entire first 60 packs offered went to pals or pals of pals.

And since I had my profession on the opposite facet, I didn’t ever take something out of the corporate. So I simply took the cash and rolled it again in and made 100 packs the subsequent time, offered these over the subsequent a number of months, after which we simply stored transferring up.

How did you provide you with the title Stone Glacier?

One of many locations I used to be looking in Alaska had this small unnamed glacier that was tucked away again up on this valley. It had a few rock options that got here out of it. I began calling it Stone Glacier as a result of you have to have some extent on the map. As soon as I began the corporate, it simply appeared like a logical alternative for the title.

What makes a Stone Glacier looking pack distinctive?

I actually designed our first pack round a function known as the load shelf, the place the again separates away from the body and you may carry the heavy portion—just like the animal bones, meat, or quarters—proper subsequent to the body, which is closest to your heart of gravity. The concept is that you just’re making an attempt to attenuate the quantity of leverage that heavy portion of the load creates in your physique, so that you don’t should lean ahead and interact your core as a lot.

One other factor that’s particular about our backpacks is our weight to carrying load ratio. We’ve a few packs that weigh simply over 4 kilos however are rated to hold over 150 kilos. We attempt to hit the candy spot of a light-weight body that may nonetheless maintain so much.

Why did you select to go together with all stable colours? Why not embrace any camo?

There are two causes behind this. First, once you have a look at the worth level on our backpacks, particularly being made within the U.S., it’s actually costly. And most of the people who backpack hunt are additionally doing issues all summer season. They is likely to be backpacking into a spot the place they’re going to fly fish or going mountaineering. So I actually needed to make a chunk that wasn’t camouflage that may cross over and that you would use nearly wherever.

And generally individuals don’t like to make use of camo. They don’t put on camouflage items in the event that they exit to dinner with their household. Some do, some don’t. However I might say most don’t. So whether or not it’s a jacket or a backpack, I figured for those who’re going to make that funding in a chunk of drugs, you must be capable to use all of it yr spherical for no matter you need.

Second, once you add a camouflage to one thing, it turns into a little bit of a vogue piece. Folks both just like the camouflage or they don’t. It is likely to be the most effective rain jacket on the earth. But when they don’t just like the camouflage, they’re not going to purchase it. So at Stone Glacier, we offer the stable colours that may go along with your favourite camo, no matter it’s.

What are your three favourite Stone Glacier merchandise proper now?

Terminus Searching Pack

The Terminus backpack is one among my favorites. More often than not, we develop items primarily based off buyer suggestions. However this one was my very own thought. I simply needed a special kind of backpack. And so I made it.

I figured if I favored it, there needed to be no less than a couple of individuals on the market who favored it, too. That’s the way it began. It’s tremendous light-weight, developed for sheep looking and different alpine-style hunts.

Sentinel Bino Harness

I’m a extremely large fan of our bino harness. I’ve been testing the Sentinel for the final three years and I like that it’s modular. You’ll be able to simply change out the pockets on it. So if I’m simply occurring a tenting journey with my household, I add additional pockets for carrying all the youngsters’ snacks and my binoculars. Then if I’m looking, I can have my magazines and that entire package.

M5 Jacket

The M5 is our rain jacket and it’s all the time in my backpack. It’s mainly the final line of protection. I actually prefer it.

What’s subsequent for Stone Glacier this yr?

One of many issues I’m very enthusiastic about is our archery line, which we’ve been engaged on for some time and which is lastly popping out this yr. A variety of our attire and backpacks work effectively for archery however now we have fairly a couple of clients who’re eager about extra archery-specific items. So we’ve spent the final couple years specializing in that and creating 4 or 5 merchandise for that new line.

We’ve additionally had much more curiosity from our U.S. army in our merchandise for mountain warfare and operations. That’s only a actually rewarding piece for me to assume that our service women and men are selecting our gear. I’m happy with that.

On to a couple enjoyable questions. What’s the most effective hunt you’ve been on?

Oh, man. I really feel actually lucky to have been on as many hunts as I’ve thus far. However most likely my favourite hunt was this final yr when my 12-year-old daughter and I went on our first backpacking hunt collectively. We lived out of a backpack for 4 days and she or he obtained a deer. It took us two days to pack it out. I believe that was one of the enjoyable hunts I’ve ever been on.

What’s your favourite species to hunt?

I actually get pleasure from sheep looking (and goat looking is an in depth second). It’s fairly restricted today. There aren’t loads of alternatives to go that always. However after I do get to go, I actually get pleasure from it. It takes you into these distant areas the place the animals that you just wouldn’t get to expertise in any other case.

What do you’re keen on most about looking?

You simply unplug. You unplug from know-how. You unplug from the fixed inputs. It all the time appears to take a pair days to actually get into that spot the place you’re simply targeted on the second. I joke that it’s nearly like a pressured mindfulness train. You simply get to the purpose the place you’re not checking your cellphone otherwise you’re not fascinated about what you have to do tomorrow. I believe that’s my favourite half.