Blog

The disposable mindset of product manufacturing in the last few decades has been leading to a counter-movement in the USA: The Right To Repair. This is not a new concept, humans have been opting to repair their things since the time that we realize that making stuff is hard, expensive and resource-heavy. The change in approach from the repairable to the disposable is a new one, it is as recent as the last 40-50 years. With the development of cheaper plastics, simpler injection molding processes, and mass global economics, manufacturing became cheap and fast. So cheap in fact, that lately,...

It's the time of year for ghoulish and ghastly tales of water woe! Last year we asked you to send us the stories of the most disgusting water you've ever had to drink in the backcountry and you did not disappoint us. We got feces-laden cow ponds, dead deer, thick brown sludge, snails, and fortresses of poison ivy. Read the winning stories from last year and the runner-ups. We're doing it again in 2019. To enter our Hydration Horror Stories contest, submit your true story to digital@cnocoutdoors.com until October 30th with the headline "Hydration Horror Stories competition.” We prefer entries with photographs. Sharing your masterpiece with the world? Use #HydrationHorrorStories....

This spring we sent Cnoc trekking pole prototypes out with some hikers that we knew would put them through very rough use. Along the way, they found some problems with our poles and we went into a problem-solving mode to get them into peak condition for our Kickstarter backers. One of our testers was Artemis who used our three-segment telescopic poles on the Arizona Trail, using the poles for climbs, fording, stability, descending steeply graded trail, and for pitching her tarp shelter. Here's what she had to say about the trail conditions. Testing on the Arizona Trail "The Arizona National Trail is...

Our Cnoc Trekking Poles  were fully funded on Kickstarter in nine hours (and a few minutes). These fully repairable trekking poles are officially happening. We're sold out of some of our early bird prices, so pledge as soon as possible to get the best price on your poles. Our Kickstarter was featured in Forbes, proving that tiny, determined businesses with good ideas can become major national players. It's not over yet. Our Kickstarter ends October 31. We're thinking about stretch goals. Have a feature you'd like to see? Let us know. Have you pledged yet? Here's what Darwin on the Trail,...