The Evolution of Kulkea's Elite Ski & Adventure Gear
Published by Allie Hochman
History In Motion
Kulkea was founded in 2009 by two New Englanders who reimagined adventure carry. Raised by a Finnish mother who survived the Winter War to venture the world, they learned the artistry of details, the value of perseverance, and to eat-sleep-breathe adventure. Lo and behold, founder David Abramowitz’s evolution from a single idea to an entire product line, with a goal of freeing the adventurous spirit within all of us.
2009: The Chairlift Ride that Led to Kulkea’s Purpose
“Around 2009, I was actually up in Vermont skiing with some old buddies of mine from UVM. And I had a moment of frustration trying to get to the mountain with my friends, as the bags weren’t really cutting it,” David recalled. “I’d been working with a lot of engineers and designers in my background in the telecom and high-tech industry, so I went back, and on the weekends I started specing out work, and that’s what eventually became the Boot Trekker model - that’s how it kicked in.”
2012-2013: Behold, the Long-Awaited Boot Trekker
“When what was then basically the final prototype showed up, I said wow! What we have here is leaps and bounds beyond anything else on the market.”
2014-2015: Powder Trekker and Speed Pack Entered the Chat
“So the next extension was the Powder Trekker, and that is really designed for women,” David explained. “We said hey, what does a female skier want out of a bag? For example, the shoulder strap and support system are different in the Powder Trekker, because women’s bodies are different, their shoulders are different, and so they’re more slender and softer and form-fitting for women [the bag], and how it’s featured is different too.”
2015-2016: Time to Get the Kids Involved - The Speed Star
“Everyone that I was talking to always said, ‘Just give your kids a bag, throw it in there, and they’ll carry it themselves.’ But it doesn’t work that way!” David shared. “I have three children, and I had been taking them to ski on a regular basis, so my knowing what I needed as a parent and what they needed as a child was invaluable.”
2017-2018: Heated Things up With the Thermal Trekker
“We had the Boot Trekker, we had the Powder Trekker, plus some other products like the Speed Pack, but we were hearing from our retailers and sales reps out west, particularly in Colorado, California, and the Utah area, they were saying, ‘Hey you need to have a heated boot bag.’ And the light bulb went off.”
2020-2021: Launched the Iconic Travel Solution - The Käydä 44L Travel Backpack
“When developing the Kayda, I took my own person experience and said, when I travel to ski, what do I need when I’m going over to Europe or going out to the Rockies,” David explained. “So we designed the Kayda bag with the mindset that we were developing and designing for people an all around, an all year travel backpack which would be a perfect travel solution but it can also perfectly carry all of your ski boots and all other necessities for skiing that you need to carry.”
2023-2024: Kantaja Single Roller Made Transportation to the Mountain Simpler Than Ever
“We came up with something completely innovative where people should be/ want to be traveling with one pair of skis, one pair of ski poles, and apparel in the bag, and don’t want to carry a huge, gargantuan bag. So if couples are going, each picking up one, or if it’s single travelers going themselves, they get the single roller too.”
2025-2026: Expanding the Travel Line With the 36L Käydä Backpack
“We had a number of people who were probably in the 5’5 range and smaller, saying, ‘I love this bag, if you made one slightly smaller, like a little bit shorter in height and a little bit narrower, it would fit my body perfectly,’” David revealed. “The 36L allows for people who are slightly smaller to have a more ergonomic fit and still have that great product.”