Wingnut History: 2005-2019
Wingnut is dedicated to providing the most innovative cycling and adventure racing products. Our hydration packs are hand built in the USA from light, waterproof sailcloth fabrics, and feature the Lowrider System for a custom fit and better balance. We are constantly upgrading materials and designs based on your input. We also like to push boundaries and are currently involved in development of mobile solar powered trauma/medical stations. This solar program has since evolved into ecopioneer.com and takes up most of our marketing efforts so please spread the word.
Wingnut and Wingpocket are a registered trademarks and the Wingpocket design has a patent pending status.
Wingnut started late in the fall of 2005. By that time the following year, we had won gear of the year award for our 3.0 pack which utilized the low rider design we discovered in our previous 8 years of making packs for adventure travel. Why WINGNUT? Well, the only people who understood the advantages of the low rider system at the time were a small group of insane athletes that called themselves "adventure racers." (This sport of multi-day excursions has since devolved to your one day events with mud and beer and vikings.)
I immediately fell in love with everyone I was meeting and felt I had found my people, so what else to do but follow their lead, go all in balls to the wall, and rename the line after them - WINGNUTS. I base the designs on nothing but the best materials, lightest weight and meet their multi disciplinary demands in such a way that the packs enhance their performance by becoming a non issue, something you would literally forget about as you use it.
The picture is from interbike demo days in 2008 where I was field testing my solar powered air conditioned medical support tent for said adventure races. When I say "committed" I want you to question everything you think about what’s sane and what’s insane, what seems to be impossible is only that way until you step outside your comfort zone and try. To me it's a thin line that separates the two, and a lot of it has to do with your will to achieve something that others say is impossible. (The solar powered AC tent cooled it by 15 degrees, by the way.) Mostly it's solved over time or by whoever reaches the finish line and/or can provide some measure of success. For me, 9 years after WINGNUTS birth, the reality of the wide spread acceptance of sail cloth across the bicycle packing market and the fact that my designs haven't changed since the beginning prove the validity of what WINGNUT is based on: providing results...OK, and having a blast along the way; let your freak flag fly people! Just make sure you’re doing the right thing and make a valid point while you’re at it. No one likes a show off!