Their Story:
Jeff Knight and Dan Cruikshank founded Granite Gear in 1986. It all started when we went on a paddling trip deep in the heart of Quetico. As usual, it took a few days of being out there before we shed the outer layer of our plastic civilization and began to get the rhythm of “being” in the wilderness. A week after that, we had discovered something about who we really were, and how we wanted things to be. At such a time, Dan and Jeff began to build a fire, both literally and figuratively…. that would become Granite Gear. A fire that started with the idea that we could make gear that genuinely worked, and supported wilderness adventurers in the pursuit of discovering something about themselves.

We are passionate about offering products that are not just creative, but innovative. Creative products have great shelf appeal because they usually come straight from the marketing department, complete with a new buzzword to describe it! To us, innovation is more than just being creative for the sake of market differentiation; it has to actually work better. True innovation starts with the fire of an idea, is tested on the trail, and stands the test of time. We are so passionate about innovation, that we’ve kindled our whole business fire with it.

We’ve seen a lot of design fads come and go over the years, but our original philosophy to design innovative, functional and durable gear has remained. We’ve watched as a lot of small and mid-sized companies owned by our friends get bought out by larger, profit driven corporations and lose their original charm. We still own our company because we believe in a grassroots way of doing business, satisfying one customer at a time. When you travel in the wilderness, shed the marketing department, forget about your gear, and discover something about yourself and how you want things to be.