GoLite’s History & the Lightweight Revolution

A Look Back

There come moments in all of our lives when we realize that there just has to be a better way. For Kim and Coup, this was one such moment.

Fast forward several years and dozens of mountaineering expeditions and hiking adventures around the world later. For each trip, Kim and Coup earnestly tried to cut weight: they trimmed map corners, cut toothbrush handles in half, sliced off straps, and left behind their creature comforts. But their noblest efforts barely moved the needle. Their suffering persisted because their core items – their packs, sleeping bags, shelters, and clothing – were way over-built and over-engineered (read: HEAVY) for even their toughest "big mountain" trips. For example, when Kim and Coup completed their bid to climb the highest peak in all 50 U.S. states by summiting Mt. McKinley in 1997, they hauled 60-lb packs on their backs and 100-lb sleds behind them!

 
Kim + Coup before going lite: winter camping in New Hampshire

Then in 1998 they picked up a copy of a book by a well-known outdoor adventurer that outlined some pretty radical ideas about how to "lighten up"; and it even provided directions on how to make your own lite-weight gear. Kim and Coup saw it as a handbook for revolutionaries – gear revolutionaries! They personally wanted these lighter products but didn’t have the time or training to actually sew them by themselves. Figuring that other people would also want high quality lite-weight gear but wouldn’t have the time to make it themselves, they launched GoLite in July 1998, and they’ve never looked back.

Kim + Coup after going lite: on approach hike to summit 22,831 ft Cerro Aconcagua in Argentina

After an initial introduction of an integrated system of 12 ultra-lite backpacking products in 1999, GoLite now offers a full range of clothing, equipment, and footwear for adventure racers, backpackers, hikers, trail runners, back- and cross-country skiers, snowshoers, cyclists, alpinists, and even elite military personnel. GoLite has remained true to its roots with one primary obsession: to bring to market unique, technologically superior products that provide maximum performance for minimum weight.

GoLite sparks the "Lite-Weight Revolution”

GoLite’s arrival on the outdoor gear scene and its contrarian message caused quite a stir in 1999. In the early years, Kim and Coup stuck to their guns despite the snickers, stares and even outright insults of traditionalists, some of whom even wrote articles about how little time it would take for the ‘go lite’ crowd to go away! Today, the company is widely viewed as the single driving force that sparked an industry-wide shift towards lighter and more functional gear. GoLite is extremely proud to have created, and to continue to fuel, this "Lite-Weight Revolution" that has enabled ever more people around the world to benefit from the freedom and joy of going lite in their chosen adventures.

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." – Mahatma Ghandi

The media has recognized GoLite as the driving force behind the outdoor industry’s shift towards lighter and more functional gear.

"No backpack company embraces the fast-and-light movement more evangelically than GoLite." National Geographic Adventure, March 2002

"…GoLite has grown into one of the industry’s leaders…." Outdoor Edge, January 2003

"With a name that defines the direction of the outdoors market, GoLite continues to make its mark in the category." Outdoor Edge Magazine, January 2003

"…GoLite, the company often recognized for spearheading the ultralight campaign." Inside Outdoor Magazine (UK), February 2003

"…the small Boulder, Colo., company with a big name..." USA Today, December 2003

"…Coupounas and Jordan, regarded as the ‘wizards of ultralight backpacking,’ are leading a revolution that strips conventional hiking down to its sparest essentials, enabling adherents to go further, faster, and reportedly with more joy in their stride than their modern counterparts." The Christian Science Monitor, September 2004

"Over the past several years, the trend towards ultralight camping gear has gone mainstream…Now even traditional gear companies have jumped on board…" The New York Times, July 2005

"The main trend coming from hardgoods companies is the transformation of lite-weight gear from a trend or a niche category into an established, almost mainstream category that was first envisioned by brands like GoLite." The B.O.S.S. Report, August 2005

"After...GoLite emerged seven years ago by making gear exclusively designed for fastpacking, the larger gear manufacturers – MSR, Salomon, North Face, Marmot, and Mountain Hardwear – have since followed suit with their own "fast and light" line of products." U.S. Airways Attaché Magazine, October 2005

Timeline

• GoLite co-founders, Kim & Demetri (Coup) Coupounas climb Kilimanjaro for their honeymoon
• Kim & Coup climb the highest peak in all 50 U.S. states, including Mt. McKinley where they hauled 60-lb packs

1998

• Kim & Coup launch GoLite in Boulder, Colorado

1999

• GoLite launches its first 12 products at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market (the "Tornado Show")

2001

• I.Q. Award for Innovation in Outdoor Sports Products, Boulder County Business Journal

2002

• Team GoLite is born
• Family Business Award, Denver Business Journal
• Crystal Bowl Award for Innovation, Outdoor Writer's Guild (UK), first American company to win this award
• Backpacker names Den 2 the "Tent of the Future"

2003

• I.Q. Award for Innovation in Outdoor Sports Products, Boulder County Business Journal (only company ever to receive this award twice)
• 1999 Outside magazine article "Wonk on the Wild Side" included in Outside 25, a commemorative book featuring the best articles of Outside’s first 25 years
• Polartec’s Apex Award for Product Excellence
• 2004 Backpacker's Editors Choice Award for the Kinetic Jacket
• AmericanTri Magazine's Editor's Pick Award for Fruita Pack
• Coup hikes the John Muir Trail, Long Trail, and Colorado Trail all without resupply, a.k.a. "alpine style"

2005

• Backpacking Light Magazine's Lightitude Award for the Momentum Jacket
• GoLite co-founder, Kim Coupounas, elected Chairman of the Outdoor Industry Association Board of Directors
• Team GoLite fastpacker Andrew Skurka becomes first person to hike the entire 7,800-mile Sea-to-Sea Route and is named Backpacker Magazine's "Person of the Year"
• Backpacker's Editors Choice Award for the Xirtam Jacket

2006

• Team GoLite takes 2nd place in Subaru Primal Quest
• Backpacker’s Reader’s Choice Award for "Favorite Ultralight Pack"
• GoLite owners/founders sell GoLite trademark to The Timberland Company
• GoLite Footwear launched at Outdoor Retailer Summer Market
• National Geographic Society’s "Best of Adventure Gear" (Sun Dragon trail running shoe and the Chrome Dome hiking umbrella)

2007

• Backpacker's "Ultralight Pick" for backpacks: the GoLite Lite-Speed
• Team GoLite athlete Andrew Skurka becomes first person to complete the 6,875-mile "Great Western Loop" passing through 12 national parks and over 75 wilderness areas
• Outside "Green Gear of the Year" for DriMove Cocona tops
• Outside "Killer Value" award for Gamut Jacket
• Outside "The Goods" for ultrarunning: GoLite Mesh Cap
• Outside "Overachiever" for weekend hiking packs: GoLite Pursuit Pack
• GoLite DriMove Sleeveless Women's Top noted in "Hiking Essentials"
• Outside "Most Versatile" backpack: GoLite Lite-Speed
• National Geographic Adventure "The Trend Setter" for Trail: GoLite Wisp Wind Shirt
• TGO (The Great Outdoors)
• Team GoLite athlete Andrew Skurka awards "Adventurer of the Year" by National Geographic Adventure
• The Great Outdoors Magazine (TGO) (UK) names GoLite Pinnacle Pack "Best Buy"

2008

• Backpacker "Editor's Choice Award" for GoLite Adrenaline sleeping bags
• GoLite Rush pack noted as 1 of 4 "Top Daypacks", Backpacker Magazine