GoLite

Specialties

Golite is the premier global manufacturer of lightweight, high performance, sustainable apparel and equipment for outdoor adventures and travel. It started with a simple idea. That experiencing nature would be better with less. Less weight, less fuss, less waste… more fun. It’s a philosophy that drives us to make simple, beautiful high performance gear that’s light on the planet. Because, like you, we are athletes who thrive on the trail.

History

Established in 1998.

It was August 1994. GoLite founders Kim and Demetri (Coup) Coupounas had found their first opportunity in years to escape the paper-​pushing, fluorescent-​lit bustle of city life. A fun-​filled backpacking trip in New England — alleluia! A float plane deposited them and their humongous backpacks at a lake near Monson, Maine, at the southern end of the Appalachian Trail’s One Hundred Mile Wilderness.

To return to the real world in time to keep their jobs, they needed to hike just ten miles per day. Their back-​breaking loads had turned their desperately-​needed holiday into a nightmare. There come moments in life when you realize that there just has to be a better way. For Kim and Coup, this was that moment.

They launched GoLite in July 1998, and after an initial introduction of an integrated system of 12 ultra-​lite backpacking products, GoLite now offers a full range of lightweight, innovative and sustainable apparel and equipment designed specifically for outdoor athletes.