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.


Being Green...

Granite Gear is all about building gear that will last. When you consider how much energy and resources it takes to replace a product, it’s clear this is the most important thing we can do to lighten our footprint. We’re proud to have one of the lowest warranty return rates out there.

All of our products are PVC free. Packaging is minimized, most being made from 85% post consumer recycled cardstock, with no glue. Our Airline products are packaged in reusable jars made from 100% recycled plastic. Our catalog is printed on 100% recycled paper.

We use renewable energy at our homes and headquarters. Our CEO and designer Jeff Knight and his family have powered their home with solar energy for 16 years.

We support environmental causes. In 2008 we’ve introduced tote bags with environmental themes and we’ll donate 10% of the sales to Save our Wild Salmon or Globalwarming101.com.