Herschel Expands into Outdoor Technical Bags for Snow, Surf Channels
Herschel is best known for its stylish backpacks and travel gear that work in the city.
But co-founders and co-owners Lyndon and Jamie Cormack are also avid snowboarders and surfers, and have now launched a technical outdoor bag collection that can be used off the pavement as well.
“We live and breathe outdoor,” Jamie Cormack told SES in an interview. “We live in Vancouver, at the base of the mountains and on the ocean. Whistler is an hour and 45 minutes away. That’s why we live here, and we grew up in the mountains, it’s in our blood.
“It’s where we spend majority of our time when we’re not in the office, it’s together in a helicopter, out touring, or in a cat – all our travels are to snowboard or surf.”
The brothers always wanted to make bags that had the clean Herschel aesthetic, but could hold up to the rigors of backcountry snowboard trips.
Photo courtesy of Herschel Supply Co.
300 Days of Testing in Tough Conditions
It took several years for the Outdoor Equipment Collection to come to fruition, including over 300 days of testing at cat skiing resorts, heli resorts, and tapping mountain guides who repeatedly used the gear and brought back feedback to the Herschel team, Cormack said.
Herschel co-founder Jamie Cormack. Photo courtesy of Herschel.
The 14-piece line includes two categories – the All Season Range and the Ultralight Range. The Ultralight Range is made with an extra light fabric and is designed for quick hikes and other more casual outdoor activities but still includes features such as waist and sternum straps, hydration systems, and rescue whistles. The range includes two backpacks and a crossbody style.
The All Season Range includes two backpacks, two duffle bags, two tote bags, two roller bags, and three different sizes of snowboard bags. Hershel is using the “all season” moniker because the materials and features work both in the summer and winter – the materials help manage moisture from snow, and have air pods and breathability for the heat, Cormack said.
One of the big gear totes has a double-layered bottom that can function as a changing mat as well – so you can stand in it and stay warm and dry when you put on your snow boots.
Prices for the new outdoor collection range from $40-$375.
“Now you can walk into one of our accounts and you can buy something perfect for the city, but also buy things that are perfect for the outdoors – so it’s an ‘and’ not an ‘or’“ Cormack said. “It’s really an extension of who Lyndon and I are.”
Photo courtesy of Herschel.
Herschel Signs Snowboarder Arthur Longo
Snowboarder Arthur Longo is the face of the new outdoor collection.
“He’s basically every snowboarder’s favorite snowboarder,” Cormack said. “From everything he’s done in his career, even his side projects – we want to partner with people with multiple layers. He travels, he’s an artist, he does the best films, he has the best style.”
While mainline Herschel backpacks and bags are carried in specialty shops as well as in department stores, the new outdoor collection just launched in snow and surf shops.
Cormack said great accounts have picked it up, which was gratifying – especially since the Cormack brothers’ roots are in the core action sports channel.
“All the best shops picked it up,” he said, including stores like evo in the Pacific Northwest, Boardroom, Empire and The Circle in Canada, and Val Surf in Los Angeles.
Steven Settles, a buyer at high-volume industry account evo, said he liked how Hershel started with introducing Arthur Longo to the team as well as supporting Dustbox’s new project the Spirit video.
“Travel will continue to be a focus for us at evo,” Settles said. “The clean aesthetic, durable materials, and the modular functionality of the All Season collection made it an easy choice to include in our assortment.”
Val Surf in Los Angeles is still awaiting its delivery of the new line, but buyer Nate Kaufman said it should appeal to a wide range of people.
Since Herschel is known more for its urban-focused backpacks and travel offering, I asked Cormack if he was surprised so many retailers are bringing the new outdoor collection in, given there are longtime industry companies already in the space.
“The thing is, I think the industry needs a bit of shake up,” Jamie Cormack said. “I think there are some amazing people that are doing good things, and I want to compliment everybody that’s been doing an outdoor (line), but I think we’re just approaching it a little bit differently. I think you’re going to see that with the way we’re going to market, the way we’re looking at it, the way we’re designing it, all the features that are there, but we are also just bringing a really clean aesthetic on a really technical product.”
