5 Things You Should Know About Caribou Gear
Did you know that Caribou Gear is a locally owned, Colorado company? Or that each set of game bags is inspected, hand-folded and packaged by the team here in Parker, Colorado?
Caribou Gear Outdoor Equipment Company was born out of a passion for hunting and fishing adventures right here in Colorado. Moreover, the need for flawless product design and development was illuminated on DIY trips to Alaska, where conditions are notorious for chewing up and spitting out equipment.
From design concepts to final products, here’s what you should know about Caribou Gear, the product designs and the mission:
1. Located in Parker, Colorado
Caribou Gear is a U.S. company through and through. Our main warehouse is located in Parker, Colorado on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.
Here at Caribou Gear HQ on any given day, chances are you would find team hand-folding game bags, or meticulously inspecting final products before they are shipped off to retailers or individual customers. There is immense pride in every product and it shows. Every time you open a set of Caribou Gear game bags, you’ll find that they’ve been inspected, individually folded and packaged by our crew right here in Colorado.
2. Born on Colorado’s Public Lands and Waters
When Caribou Gear founder, Ted Ramirez Sr., and his wife Sharon were raising their young family, hunting and fishing was literally a means of putting food on the table. From the very beginning, meat care was more than an afterthought. It was the reason for hunting.
To this day, the entire Caribou Gear team shares that passion for Colorado’s public lands and waters. For all of us, these wild places serve as the backdrop for our adventures and the source of healthy protein in our freezers.
In getting to know Ted, his family and the Caribou Gear mission, it becomes clear where the passion comes from – and why now, Caribou Gear produces the best game bags available. They are the only game bags to receive a patent in the U.S. and Canada.
3. Alaska Inspired and Tested
While Colorado is home, it was Alaska that inspired much of the product design and testing. Alaska is the ultimate proving ground for any outdoor equipment. If you’re looking for a weakness, a multi-week float trip down an Alaskan river will reveal it.
If you’ve met Ted, you know how much he loves hunting in Alaska. After multiple DIY hunting trips for moose and caribou, it’s clear that he’s hooked. In fact, Ted even teaches classes on how to pull off a DIY Alaskan hunt. The logistics can be mind-boggling. But for those who are interested and committed, he’ll tell you that it’s entirely do-able.
The next time you see the Caribou Gear team at a tradeshow or event, ask Ted to tell you some of the stories that inspired the game bags, as well as the rest of the Caribou Gear product line. From his very first trip to Alaska when wolves were howling around the moose meat, to later trips and prototype testing, these adventures are at the core of each product.
4. Focus on Product Design and Development
Whether we’re hunting in Colorado, Alaska, or anywhere along the Rocky Mountains, one thing is always consistent – and that is the Caribou Gear commitment to flawless product design and development.
Interesting fact: it took more than seven years to design the Caribou Gear game bags from concept to finished product. Ted spent years researching fabric chemical composition, stitching techniques and refining features that would eventually become the world’s first and only patented game bag. And it doesn’t stop there. There’s a constant effort to re-evaluate and find ways to improve. Just this year, we updated the bags with a new drawstring and lock loops. That might seem small – but no opportunity is overlooked.
See this article for more details on how the proprietary game bag fabric was developed and what makes it unique.
That same care and attention to detail goes into the rest of the Caribou Gear product lineup, and even new products currently in the works. In a day and age when companies can slap their logo on pre-fab factory products, Caribou Gear has set out to be something different.
Every product, including the all new Caribou Gear WXRifle Shield (Rifle Cover), Ditty Bags, Hunter’s Tarp, Tactical Belts, GPS/Phone Holster, Bullet Wallets, Lanyards and our brand Koyukon Gear Waterproof Duffels and Roll-tops are painstakingly designed right here in Colorado. We go through prototype and testing processes for as long as it takes to get it right. We won’t rush to meet a deadline. A product isn’t ready until it’s ready.
Designed by hunters, for hunters, Caribou Gear Outdoor Equipment Company is committed to creating gear that’s functional and driven by performance in the field.
5. Thanks to the Caribou Gear Customer Family
The best thing about working in the hunting industry is spending time with hunters. We love our customers and we work hard to incorporate customer feedback into the product design process. After releasing the blaze orange Hunter’s Tarp, we received customer requests for a more subtle, earth-toned color. So we were thrilled to introduce the green Hunter’s Tarp.
Operating as an independent, locally owned business allows us to maintain a close eye on customer service. And it gives us the flexibility to work with our customers to create products that meet the needs of hunters.
To all those who have purchased products and become a part of the Caribou Gear family – we thank you! It’s a privilege to see you carrying these products on your adventures. We don’t take it for granted when we receive photos from customers or when we’re tagged in photos on social media. We’re thrilled that we can play a part in your hunts and in the subsequent wild game meals that you enjoy with friends and family!
Keep in touch. You can contact us or tag us in your memories. Find us on Facebook or @caribougear on Instagram.
We’d love to meet you and learn more about your own hunting adventures. If there’s anything we can do to help you get ready for that next hunting trip, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Again I am fortunate to have elk quarters aging in Caribou game bags while hanging in my garage.
Finally, the best game bags. After 48 years of harvesting large animals in Colorado, Wyoming, British Columbia and Alaska I used my Caribou game bags for the first time last season when I was able to harvest a large cow elk near my home. After laying quarters, backstraps, heart and liver on a regular tarp I placed them into the game bags, took my meat home to clean while washing the game bags. The quarters hung in my garage for a few days enclosed in the Caribou game bags before taking them to the processor near Granby. The previous year they refused an elk I had placed in plastic trash bags for just an hour. Lesson learned. My game bags have been washed again, returned to the original bag and are ready for this year’s harvest, I hope.
In years past myself and others have packed moose on horses then driven straight home from British Columbia for processing. We have carried caribou in rafts for several days in Alaska and packed out deer and elk in Colorado. I have never before felt so confident about preserving our meat as I now do with my Caribou Game Bags.
This year I will also be using my hunters tarp. This would be a perfect addition to any pack used by members of the Colorado Mountain Club during one or multi day outings. Those situations are stories for another day.
I didn’t realize you are a Colorado Company. You have my support and I’ll be down for a visit.
ArvadafireLt, Arvada, Co
Great bags. Purchased my first set, Carnivore III, back in 2019 for my very first, and successful, Wyoming pronghorn hunt.