In the early 2000s NW Alpine founder Bill Amos found himself dissatisfied with technical clothing options for alpine climbing. In an effort to appeal to the broader public, many outdoor companies were slowly turning away from the needs of their core audience and were becoming more fashion oriented. Bill envisioned a simple, functional and extremely durable apparel line for people who were really out there in the alpine. At the tail end of the 2008 recession Bill was inspired to realize his vision. He believed that the only way we would have a real economic recovery in the U.S. is if we started making things here again. There are not very many companies that make apparel in the U.S., and even fewer who make climbing specific apparel, but Bill thought there would be a lot of people who would support it.
The Beginning
From this spark of an idea, NW Alpine was launched in 2010. The founding mission of the company was to: make clothes for climbing that are simple, functional, light, and of the highest quality; support domestic manufacturing; and provide the best customer service.
Waypoints
2010
Starting Small
We worked with independent designers and local contract manufacturers to produce our first small runs of minimal and tough-as-nails alpine gear, bringing Bill's vision to life.
NW Alpine's first world headquarters.
2013
Product Highlight
An early iteration of the Eyebright jacket, along with the Fast/Light (now Wy'East softshell) are featured in a NW Alpine profile article by Gear Junkie.
"The gear has been through tough conditions such as the ascents of the Northwest Face of Mount Dickey and the 6,400-meter Hispar Sar in Pakistan."
Product Highlight
An early iteration of the Eyebright jacket, along with the Fast/Light (now Wy'East softshell) are featured in a NW Alpine profile article by Gear Junkie.
"The gear has been through tough conditions such as the ascents of the Northwest Face of Mount Dickey and the 6,400-meter Hispar Sar in Pakistan."
Product Highlight
An early iteration of the Eyebright jacket, along with the Fast/Light (now Wy'East softshell) are featured in a NW Alpine profile article by Gear Junkie.
"The gear has been through tough conditions such as the ascents of the Northwest Face of Mount Dickey and the 6,400-meter Hispar Sar in Pakistan."
Steve Su on the first ascent of Hispar Sar back in 2011.
Bill on rare Columbia River Gorge ice in 2013.
2014
KICHATNA apparel manufacturing is founded
One of the biggest hurdles we faced in the early years was getting our gear manufactured when our contractors focused on larger clients. In 2014 we made a big leap and bought out a contract sewing business in Newberg, Oregon. We started our own contract sewing company, Kichatna Apparel Manufacturing LLC, to ensure that we would have guaranteed access to manufacturing and to provide a domestic manufacturing alternative to other apparel companies.
2016
Product Highlight
The Black Spider Hoody is recognized by Outside Online in the article "The Only Winter Clothes You Need"
The Black Spider Hoody gets even more recognition in subsequent years:
In a 2018 gear review article that appeared in Climbing Magazine the reviewer wrote: "I’ve worn the Black Spider Hoody on everything from 5.9 trad romps to at-my-limit redpoints, with multiple other jackets (a hybrid shell and a puffy) layered over it. It never fails to deliver. Warm, light, bomber, quick-to-dry, and with just a dash of style, this is a killer climber’s piece."
The Outside Online Gear Guy recognized the hoody again in 2019 when he named it in a list of his all-time favorite base layers:
"On top of being a star at the ski resort and on the skin track, beneath other layers on both occasions, I found this technical-yet-minimalist top perfect on its own during a 19-mile trail run and a 56-mile road ride."
Product Highlight
The Black Spider Hoody is recognized by Outside Online in the article "The Only Winter Clothes You Need"
The Black Spider Hoody gets even more recognition in subsequent years:
In a 2018 gear review article that appeared in Climbing Magazine the reviewer wrote: "I’ve worn the Black Spider Hoody on everything from 5.9 trad romps to at-my-limit redpoints, with multiple other jackets (a hybrid shell and a puffy) layered over it. It never fails to deliver. Warm, light, bomber, quick-to-dry, and with just a dash of style, this is a killer climber’s piece."
The Outside Online Gear Guy recognized the hoody again in 2019 when he named it in a list of his all-time favorite base layers:
"On top of being a star at the ski resort and on the skin track, beneath other layers on both occasions, I found this technical-yet-minimalist top perfect on its own during a 19-mile trail run and a 56-mile road ride."
Product Highlight
The Black Spider Hoody is recognized by Outside Online in the article "The Only Winter Clothes You Need"
The Black Spider Hoody gets even more recognition in subsequent years:
In a 2018 gear review article that appeared in Climbing Magazine the reviewer wrote: "I’ve worn the Black Spider Hoody on everything from 5.9 trad romps to at-my-limit redpoints, with multiple other jackets (a hybrid shell and a puffy) layered over it. It never fails to deliver. Warm, light, bomber, quick-to-dry, and with just a dash of style, this is a killer climber’s piece."
The Outside Online Gear Guy recognized the hoody again in 2019 when he named it in a list of his all-time favorite base layers:
"On top of being a star at the ski resort and on the skin track, beneath other layers on both occasions, I found this technical-yet-minimalist top perfect on its own during a 19-mile trail run and a 56-mile road ride."
Product Highlight
The Black Spider Hoody is recognized by Outside Online in the article "The Only Winter Clothes You Need"
The Black Spider Hoody gets even more recognition in subsequent years:
In a 2018 gear review article that appeared in Climbing Magazine the reviewer wrote: "I’ve worn the Black Spider Hoody on everything from 5.9 trad romps to at-my-limit redpoints, with multiple other jackets (a hybrid shell and a puffy) layered over it. It never fails to deliver. Warm, light, bomber, quick-to-dry, and with just a dash of style, this is a killer climber’s piece."
The Outside Online Gear Guy recognized the hoody again in 2019 when he named it in a list of his all-time favorite base layers:
"On top of being a star at the ski resort and on the skin track, beneath other layers on both occasions, I found this technical-yet-minimalist top perfect on its own during a 19-mile trail run and a 56-mile road ride."
Product Highlight
The Black Spider Hoody is recognized by Outside Online in the article "The Only Winter Clothes You Need"
The Black Spider Hoody gets even more recognition in subsequent years:
In a 2018 gear review article that appeared in Climbing Magazine the reviewer wrote: "I’ve worn the Black Spider Hoody on everything from 5.9 trad romps to at-my-limit redpoints, with multiple other jackets (a hybrid shell and a puffy) layered over it. It never fails to deliver. Warm, light, bomber, quick-to-dry, and with just a dash of style, this is a killer climber’s piece."
The Outside Online Gear Guy recognized the hoody again in 2019 when he named it in a list of his all-time favorite base layers:
"On top of being a star at the ski resort and on the skin track, beneath other layers on both occasions, I found this technical-yet-minimalist top perfect on its own during a 19-mile trail run and a 56-mile road ride."
Product Highlight
The Black Spider Hoody is recognized by Outside Online in the article "The Only Winter Clothes You Need"
The Black Spider Hoody gets even more recognition in subsequent years:
In a 2018 gear review article that appeared in Climbing Magazine the reviewer wrote: "I’ve worn the Black Spider Hoody on everything from 5.9 trad romps to at-my-limit redpoints, with multiple other jackets (a hybrid shell and a puffy) layered over it. It never fails to deliver. Warm, light, bomber, quick-to-dry, and with just a dash of style, this is a killer climber’s piece."
The Outside Online Gear Guy recognized the hoody again in 2019 when he named it in a list of his all-time favorite base layers:
"On top of being a star at the ski resort and on the skin track, beneath other layers on both occasions, I found this technical-yet-minimalist top perfect on its own during a 19-mile trail run and a 56-mile road ride."
Product Highlight
Our 2016 Belay Jacket is recognized for its versatile durability by Climbing Magazine in their list of the top 5 belay jackets which appeared in the article "Review: Our Top 5 Belay Jackets"
"A high-end, versatile, and warm synthetic puffy that’s trustworthy in any condition with a bargain-basement price. Testers chose it again and again because of its warmth, toughness, and minimal packed size."
Product Highlight
Our 2016 Belay Jacket is recognized for its versatile durability by Climbing Magazine in their list of the top 5 belay jackets which appeared in the article "Review: Our Top 5 Belay Jackets"
"A high-end, versatile, and warm synthetic puffy that’s trustworthy in any condition with a bargain-basement price. Testers chose it again and again because of its warmth, toughness, and minimal packed size." Read full review.
Product Highlight
Our 2016 Belay Jacket is recognized for its versatile durability by Climbing Magazine in their list of the top 5 belay jackets which appeared in the article "Review: Our Top 5 Belay Jackets"
"A high-end, versatile, and warm synthetic puffy that’s trustworthy in any condition with a bargain-basement price. Testers chose it again and again because of its warmth, toughness, and minimal packed size." Read full review.
2017
What a year! So much happened in 2017. It was the year that we experienced the most growth and really started to solidify ourselves as a serious climbing apparel company. The biggest event of the year was our acquisition of and move-in to our own factory outside of Salem, Oregon. We had finally grown too big for our old space in Newberg!
Rebrand
NW Alpine underwent a rebrand and the mountain logo was introduced.
Product Highlight
The now-classic Volo pant was released for the first time as part of our fall 2017 line.
Product Highlight
The now-classic Volo pant was released for the first time as part of our Fall 2017 line.
Product Highlight
The now-classic Volo pant was released for the first time as part of our Fall 2017 line.
Product Highlight
The first iteration of our Spectra® shirts were introduced in late 2017 in collaboration with Honeywell, bringing apparel made with Spectra® fiber to the market for the first time.
2018
The Big Move
The biggest event of the year was moving in to our new factory outside of Salem, Oregon. We had finally grown too big for our old space in Newberg!
Product Highlight
The Eyebright jacket wins a 2018 German Design Award Gold Medal for Excellent Product Design in the category of Sports, Outdoor Activities and Leisure.
"The Eyebright sports jacket combines extreme lightness with a high level of robustness, wearing comfort and water resistance – a perfect item for outdoor sports such as climbing. The well-crafted design does away with all superfluous visual details in favour of focussing 100 % on functionality. A fantastic product that makes perfect use of the latest high-tech fibres."
The Eyebright jacket is included in a list of "The Best Men's Thru-hiking Gear of 2018" by Outside Online
"Reaping the benefits of Dyneema’s legendary strength-to-weight ratio, the Eyebright is 30 percent lighter than other jackets we tested. After a year of roughing it up, it has yet to show any signs of wear."
The Eyebright jacket and NW Alpine is also given recognition by Gear Patrol in the article "This Small Oregon Brand Is Taking Innovation to the Next Level".
"NW Alpine took our favorite material and made a revolutionary jacket out of it."
2019
Product Highlight
Our Fortis Spectra® Hoody and Spectra® Rock Hoody are introduced.
2020
NW Alpine Celebrates 10 years
We had some special things planned for this milestone but everything changed in the Spring of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. Cases rose exponentially in the U.S. and we watched as hospitals filled and the country scrambled to respond to something it hadn’t planned for. Planning was so bad that no one could even ensure the most basic protective equipment for our doctors, nurses, and essential workers. In response, NW Alpine joined the ranks of countless other manufacturers to address the PPE shortage and do our small part to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Even after the pandemic ends we are committed to producing PPE to help the U.S. prepare for the next emergency.
Today, NW Alpine is still going strong. We continue to grow year by year but we remain committed as ever to high quality climbing apparel, domestic manufacturing, and our community.
Today, NW Alpine is still going strong. We continue to grow year by year but we remain committed as ever to high quality climbing apparel, domestic manufacturing, and our community.