Meet the New Cnoc Collaborative Designs

Cnoc actively supports the conservation, protection, and maintenance of the trails you use our products on. As a B Corp, we believe in action to along with our words and expect ourselves to take tangible steps in support of those trails and the organizations that protect them. That may mean getting our own hands dirty on staff trail maintenance days, adopting a section of the PCT, or most recently, creating a series of collaborative products with organizations whose missions we value and donating part of the proceeds back to them. We wanted to take a moment to introduce these organizations - and explain why we value them so highly.

PCTA 2L Vecto - designed in collaboration with the Pacific Crest Trail Association

For the small few readers unaware, the PCTA’s mission is to preserve, maintain, and advocate for the Pacific Crest Trail - just a little known long trail that spans from Mexico to Canada. As Cnoc is based in northwest Oregon, it is likely no surprise why this organization is important to us: half of our staff are former PCT thru-hikers, and it’s where all of us spend a significant chunk of our weekends - it’s our backyard trail. We have even adopted a section of it!  As the trail’s biggest champion and steward, the PCTA’s mission could not be more important to us and beyond that, the PCT design makes for a beautiful looking Vecto.

ONDA 3L Vecto - designed in collaboration with the Oregon Natural Desert Association

The Pacific Northwest may have a reputation for being damp, lush, and green to outsiders, but that stereotype overlooks one of Oregon’s most beautiful natural areas - the high desert. The high desert includes the John Day River Bed, the Oregon Badlands Wilderness, the Owyhee Canyon Lands, and much more - and almost the entire desert is designated as public lands. It also includes the Oregon Desert Trail (ODT), a 750 mile choose-your-own-adventure trail that connects hiking trails, old Jeep tracks, and historical wagon routes. Highly remote and isolated, it’s likely the closest you can come to recreating The Oregon Trail in real life (both the video game and the historical route). The Oregon Natural Desert Association cares for this entire region, with a mission that breaks down into two main goals: protect the public lands of the Oregon high desert and help restore the lands and waters to improve life for the residents within it, both humans and wildlife alike. It is important to us to support an organization that cares for such a large portion of our home state, including a significant portion of our public lands.

TKO Vesica - designed in collaboration with TrailKeepers of Oregon

TrailKeepers of Oregon is a volunteer based non-profit that hosts trail parties (not maintenance projects!) on trails all over the state. TKO’s origins trace back to the Portland Hikers Forum (now the Oregon Hiker’s Forum), an online community of outdoor enthusiasts that were passionate about stewarding public land. They’ve exploded in scope in just a few years - in 2021 they hosted 464 trail parties with 2,751 volunteers, and maintained 505,539 miles of trail. 2022 will likely have higher numbers. They also prioritize outreach, advocacy, and education and are constantly expanding to include more avenues of stewardship and more trails. We strongly support organizations that throw themselves so whole-heartedly into sharing their passion for trails and helping preserve that passion for others. If you can’t head out to a trail party yourself, consider showing your support with the purchase of a TKO Vesica.