There are enough barriers for women in the outdoors, finding gear that fits shouldn’t be one of them.
What we do
Good Design starts with listening.
If you’ve ever struggled to find a pack for backpacking that works for your body, don’t worry! You are not alone. We hear you and we are making a backpack that works for you.
Meet The Symbiosis Team
Sarah / Mellow
Sarah is the heart and soul behind Symbiosis Gear. Before starting her own gear company she’s been a university professor and a web designer. She’s completed the Long Trail, PCT in 2019, and Colorado Trail in 2021. She was inspired to make her own pack company after struggling to find a pack that worked for her while hiking the PCT. Some folks might know her as Mellow on trail, but don’t let that fool you, she’s a crazy fast hiker!
Sam / SIA
Sam is a cool dude fueled off of stoke and Mountain-Dewcha. He likes to ride his bike and hike really far. He’s hiked the PCT in 2019, the CDT in 2021, the Colorado Trail honestly too many times to count and Bikepacked tons of other trails, including across the whole entire United States. Most folks on trail know him as SIA (pronounced PSY) which is just an abbreviation for Sam I am. Sia also may potentially be a wizard. Little-known secret - SIA has an MFA in experimental poetry.
Lauren / Dip
Lauren has tried on many hats in her life, from owning her own photography business to guiding in the Sierra Nevadas. She’s currently pursuing a Biology degree while working on a Search and Rescue team in Colorado. But no matter what hat she puts on, she’ll always be hiker trash! After completing the PCT in 2019 she’s gone on to hike the Sierra High Route in 2021 and is planning many more thru-hikes in the future. Depending on what trail she’s on, people may know her as Dip, The Juicer, or Sarge.
About Our Company
We make a range of products for women, making the outdoors more accessible to women. We were inspired to start this company after struggling to find backpacks that fit us for our own thru-hikes. After surveying hundreds of women, we realized this isn’t just a personal issue, it is an industry issue.
We’re here to change that!
Our Story
In 2019 I hiked the 2650 mile Pacific Crest Trail, which took 5 months and 5 days. Several years prior, I was hospitalized twice for a bulging disc in my low back. At that time, I worried that I would never walk again. I definitely was not thinking about putting on a heavy backpack and walking thousands of miles. Ironically, at the time my back went out I was in the process of writing a Master's thesis on walking. This exhibition draws on the research of my graduate studies and my experience hiking the PCT.
In 2014, still working through back issues, I visited my brother in Vermont and went hiking by myself. I was nervous about hiking alone, but faced my fear and went out for a few hours at a time. Along several trails, I saw signs for the ‘Vermont Long Trail’, which piqued my curiosity. I discovered that the Vermont Long Trail is a 273-mile trail that runs from the southern border of Vermont to the Canada border. The idea of hiking it was tantalizing and seemed impossible given my back pain. I thought maybe I could do it if I had a boyfriend who carried the tent. So, I waited a few years hoping such a person would appear. He did not.
Eventually, I discovered that there were tents much lighter than the one I owned. I had begun to feel stronger and was able to exercise more, so I decided to take the plunge and hike the Long Trail with my dog, Hope, in 2018. My pack was far from ultralight, weighing 44lbs and I was not at all fast. The average person hikes the Long Trail in 19 days. It took me 5 weeks!
On the Long Trail, I spoke with a hiker who had hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. I asked which of the big three was his favorite. He told me, ‘Hands down, the PCT!’. Although the Long Trail was tough and I almost quit in the middle, I was really glad I had done it. I later learned hikers call this ‘type two fun’.
When I got home, I started looking into the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. Both seemed incomprehensibly long and expensive to tackle. On a whim a month after finishing the Long Trail, I submitted an application to hike the PCT. To my surprise, my application was approved for the date I had requested!
After several months of waffling about whether or not to hike the PCT, I committed to doing it in February, which gave me 6 weeks to gather all the gear and financing that I needed. I did a GoFundMe with Released and Restored, a local anti-recidivism non-profit, opened up my apartment on Airbnb and dug into my savings. Step by step it all came together!
After my trip the local paper wrote a front-page article about my journey.
~ Mellow!