Osprey Packs sold to Helen of Troy
https://coloradosun.com/2021/12/10/s...tdoor-company/
Sold for $414 million! For some reason I thought Osprey was worth way more.. Well, another one bites the dust!
Umm... if it was sold then it didn't "bite the dust" - it will still be in existence. Not like a company just closing up totally.
But!
Will the Forever Warranty be continued?
My granddaughter certainly appreciated the NEW replacement backpack when here original backpack developed a problem with the original materials.
Time will tell.
Wayne
Thats not quite what I meant.. just that another private company swallowed by CorpWold... quality might suffer even more.. who knows what will happen..Originally Posted by BillyGr
They also own PUR & Hydroflask. Remember Cabelas? 'They' went to BassPro to offer to sell because they were losing millions on their 'forever warranty' and now NO XPG line, product and warranty now gone. That was the only legal way out after what happened to LLBean and their famous pacboots-nasty lawsuit. In order to warranty forever, you have to use heavy materials, which suck up lots of water, and will become sun-weakened after a few years. I opt for garage grown, light weight gear and replace virtually everything in 5 or so years. Technology means better performance and lighter weight. Just my opinion after my favorite all time backpack weighed 10 pounds wet and empty . Dyneema cannot absorb water. Several local shops do fantastic sew repairs as well.
Osprey lost its way years ago… mediocre at best. Perhaps the new ownership will infuse new life? But I doubt it…
I'm a fan of Osprey packs and have several of them for different uses. Unfortunately, it's rare a corporate holding company makes anything better among the companies it purchases, typically it will use the brands it purchases to buoy it's own image and/or to enter a different product market which I suspect Helen of Troy is doing given their product lines are mostly in consumer brand name health, housewares, and beauty products. I will be curious how a consumer level brand name holding company will do in the world of backpacking, hopefully they don't run it into the ground.
Hey!! OXO makes good products! dont knock it! ��
All I can think is "the face that launched 1,000 ships".
Odds are production heads offshore if its not already there.
Happy I am a ULA guy (just got a new Circuit for Christmas). Have a Talon 22 for day hikes and when I was traversing thru the huts in the Whites. For actual backpacking always considered Osprey too heavy, although they do help keep the sweat off your back.
You’re a little out of step… Osprey has made its packs offshore (Vietnam) for nearly 20 years. The Vietnamese construction quality isn’t the issue…
I'm a ULA fan for life. There's not much to a backpack, but the things that matter ULA does above and beyond.
Another fan here, but I'd disagree "there's not much to a backpack"... the best builds are deceptively simple, while being anything but simple. ULA gets most it right. While I currently have one only ULA, we've had at least five at our house, and I plan on adding two more this coming year. A great Co. that hasn't bowed to the "set it and forget it" dumbed-down, hybridized, trampoline style packs made by the likes of Osprey. Those certainly have their place, but a tune-able frame is what I need. ULA has that.
Yeah, I think back to Moss Tents selling to REI, which then went to MSR who used a lot of Bill Moss's designs in their tents. Not that MSR tents are bad, but they paled in construction quality to Moss. And a similar story when Dana Designs sold to Marmot. I know there are many more similar stories - companies get to to a certain market size and the founders or owners lock in their profits and move on to other things, while the purchaser tries to capitalize on the design and reputation. It's an evolution. Companies start small, often hand making products, then hire employees and make stuff here in the US, then move manufacturing overseas, then sell it all to some bigger fish. Just the way of the world.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
Dana Designs sold to K2, not to Marmot. But your point is well made.
Well, actually, if you dig deeper, it's a little more complicated than just that. Lots of name/branding changes along the way (Dana > Anthony Industries > K2 > Marmot) until it all ended with "kinda Dana" stuff being branded Marmot. Here's the full history: http://www.outdoorinov8.com/danadesi...0to%20K2%20Inc.
Last edited by 4eyedbuzzard; 01-02-2022 at 14:04.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
it’s fairly straightforward actually, and no, Marmot didn’t buy Dana, K2 did as I previously said.
Irregardless if Anthony industries changed its name to K2, Marmot didn’t buy Dana.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
