Ultralight outdoor gear store in St. Paul finds success uplifting small businesses

Despite being around for more than a decade, Lloyd Vogel said his outdoor gear store is a relatively hidden gem in St. Paul, getting maybe 10 in-store shoppers a day.

Garage Grown Gear specializes in ultralight outdoor equipment. It doesn’t sell Patagonia, North Face or Marmot. Nearly all of its inventory comes from small businesses or “cottage brands,” as co-founder and CEO Vogel calls them.

Ultralight backpacking takes a minimalist approach to hiking with the lightest equipment possible, and operates on the idea that the journey to your destination doesn’t have to be uncomfortable.

This means lightweight backpacks, cooking equipment and poop trowels. Ultralight backpackers know what they need for their adventures and what they can leave behind, and are comfortable with creating their own solutions.

The minimalist approach is reflected in the business model.

Most of the brands stocked at Garage Grown Gear are from very small businesses that don’t even think of themselves as “brands,” Vogel said. Some are from just a single innovative person creating a product to share with fellow ultralight enthusiasts.

“Our makers are people who are sewing fanny packs in their basement,” Vogel said.

Cottage makers

Such is the case for Hartford Gear Co., which sells lightweight pouches to Garage Grown Gear. Based in Hartford, Conn., the brand is run by Georgia Wetmore, who sews up to 500 pouches a month for Garage Grown Gear.

Enlightened Equipment, a company that sells ultralight sleeping quilts and insulated apparel, started similarly in Minnesota and has grown to an 85-person staff.

Based in Winona, Enlightened Equipment was started by Tim Marshall in 2011 when he began sewing sleeping quilts, which are like sleeping bags but more versatile and lightweight, in his basement.

Chris Schabow, CEO of Enlightened Equipment, said the company sells some 15,000 sleeping quilts a year.

Around 3% of Enlightened Equipment’s sales come from Garage Grown Gear, Schabow said, adding that the community fostered by the St. Paul store is something their brand is proud to be a part of.

“People know if they get on Garage Grown Gear’s website, the products are vetted and they can’t go wrong,” Schabow said.

‘Not a tailored REI experience’

Lloyd Vogel at the company headquarters in St. Paul. The shop specializes in ultralight equipment and supplies from small brands for hikers and outdoor activities. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Vogel said nearly all of Garage Grown Gear’s sales come from online shoppers and people are often shocked when they stop by the physical store.

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Located at 2380 Wycliff St. Suite 140, Garage Grown Gear “is not a tailored REI experience,” Vogel said. Instead, it looks more like a warehouse spanning 5,000-square-feet with inventory stacked to the ceiling.

You won’t find any climbing walls, traditional displays or even barcodes on the products, but if you have the time to hunt around you can discover more than 900 different products from 215 brands.

The brands and products sold at Garage Grown Gear come from across the country, but Vogel said they make an effort to have as many Minnesota and midwestern brands as they can.

From Minnesota, the store stocks Granite Gear backpacks from Two Harbors, Trailtopia food packs from Rochester and Northern Coffeeworks from Minneapolis, to name a few.

Garage grown growth

Although foot traffic is lacking, Vogel said business is booming online with 10,000 visits to the website a day.

The store’s largest sales come from Washington, Colorado, Oregon and California, but Minnesota is slowly climbing the ranks, Vogel said, adding that about 10% of the company’s sales are international.

This time last year, Garage Grown Gear had five employees. Now with a team of 18, Vogel said they fill between 200 and 300 orders a day and are quickly outgrowing their warehouse.

Vogel said he attributes some of the shop’s success to the little competition there is in this current niche. Outdoor gear retailer Midwest Mountaineering closed up shop in Minneapolis this year after more than 50 years in  business.

By partnering with other small businesses, Garage Grown Gear is able to offer products that buyers would otherwise not know about, while also providing visibility for business owners who are often running their business alone.

“What can we do for Patagonia that they can’t do for themselves?” Vogel asked. Whereas brands like Hartford Gear, which doesn’t have its own marketing departments, can get known from gear reviews, giveaways, email lists and social media through Garage Grown Gear.

Vogel holds the smallest white gas camp stove on the market at the company headquarters in St. Paul. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Ultralight backpacking, which has historically been popular among young, active adults, is starting to pick up steam in the retiree crowd, with older backpackers discovering the advantage of lightweight equipment, Vogel said.

With more people becoming interested in ultralight recreation and the online store doing well, Vogel said they are looking at opening a traditional brick-and-mortar storefront as early as next summer.

“Backpacking culture is small but mighty,” he said.

Garage Grown Gear’s bestsellers:

2L Vecto water container from CNOC Outdoors
Ultralight trowel from BoglerCo
Pack liner from Nylofume
Ultralight hoodie from Farpointe Outdoor Gear
Fuel transfer device from FlipFuel

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