About Kulkea

KULKEA (Cool-kee-ah) is a developer of breakthrough ski and snow sport gear, accessories and apparel. We create high-quality innovative ski products that improve the ski experience. We keep skiers going with novel solutions and highly featured products, such as the Ski Trekker ski and boot backpack and Boot Trekker ski boot backpack.

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How it All Began…
2009 Sugarbush, Lincoln Peak (a/k/a “Sugarbush South”) –

Kulkea’s founder, Dave, spent Friday before the trip north pulling all his gear together. Saturday at the mountain he schlepped his skis and other gear from the car to the lodge and dug in his bags for goggles and gloves. His bags were torn. He checked out the local shops.

He saw ski and boot bags emblazoned with known brands, flashy colors and “interesting” shapes. They weren’t much more than basic duffle bags. Most were made from fairly low grade polyesters. The few made from nylons offered little more than larger storage volume.

He explored the technical packs. These bags were designed for backcountry needs. They had exterior straps for carrying skis, but attaching skis to the pack was time consuming.

Dave realized that the pack he was looking for didn’t exist. It was a smartly designed premium pack that would keep gear, apparel and other “stuff” organized at home and on the mountain. It was a solution to help carry everything on those 5-15 minute treks from parking lot to lodge, especially for parents. He decided to design this pack.

After the weekend he researched everything from the gear skiers carry to the obstacles they encounter to the changes in ski technology. He spoke with racers, recreational skiers, backcountry skiers, telemark skiers, men, women, kids, mature skiers, and just about any skier he could to identify their needs and experiences. He started sketching.

He knew he was on to something when he drew a ski boot backpack that held skis vertically within an internal central compartment. This solution would allow for quick loading and unloading of skis. Combined with an innovative packing system and quality materials this backpack would be unrivaled.

It took three years and the help of designers, engineers, prototyping professionals and countless skiers, but that crude sketch made its way from Dave’s white board to become the Ski Trekker – the all-in-one ski and boot backpack.

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