Skip the plastic and neoprene outdoor accoutrements. You'll blend into your surroundings much better with cutting-edge adventure gear crafted from all-natural materials.
Bamboo is plentiful, requires little water, regenerates quickly, and makes for killer bike frames. It's also naturally shock-absorbing, offering a cushy ride. California boutique frame-maker CALFEE sells hemp-and-flax-lugged Bamboo Adventure Bike frames starting at $3,000. However, with Calfee's new DIY kit—which comes with tubes, frame hardware, and tools for road, mountain, cross, and BMX frames—you can build a mostly natural bike for much less. $800, calfeedesign.com
Trekking/skiing poles were commonly made from bamboo before aluminum and carbon supplanted it. Given bamboo's high strength-to-weight ratio, it's a welcome throwback. Musician and ski-pole maven Bryon Friedman's Soul Poles, handmade in Park City, Utah, offer pleasing heft and ergo grips and feature steel-tipped ferrules to protect the shafts. Come winter, attach baskets (provided) and pair the poles with skis sporting bamboo cores. $135, soulpoles.com
RivrStyx founder Jim Snyder, a member of the International Whitewater Hall of Fame, was the first apprentice of legendary paddle-builder Keith Backlund. Snyder has been shaping bespoke river sticks—reliable tools that double as artwork—since 1975, using hardwoods he harvests himself. The Smithy, his most popular paddle, features a low swing weight and high strength, a sassafras and northern white ash shaft, and blades made from black willow, basswood, curly maple, and tochi. $650, rivrstyx.com
PATAGONIA has partnered with sustainable-rubber manufacturer Yulex to reengineer its wetsuits using the natural milky latex emulsion of hevea trees rather than petroleum-based neoprene. Yulex works with a Guatemalan hevea plantation certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance. Every Patagonia wetsuit, including the Lite Yulex Long John, now boasts 85 percent natural rubber. $169, patagonia.com
French knife-maker OPINEL has been stamping blades in the Savoie region since 1890. Its No. 8 folder is slim enough to live inconspicuously in a pocket, and its 3.25-inch Inox stainless steel edge deftly slices everything from saucisson to climbing cordage—making it a trusty companion for any adventurer. Opinel manufactures the No. 8 with a variety of handles, including a fine-grained burled olive wood. $22, opinel-usa.com
This article appeared in the March/April 2017 edition with the headline "Natural Selection."
Brad Rassler has written about the confluence of culture, sustainability and adventure for publications such as Ascent, Climbing, Alpinist, Tahoe Quarterly, Powder, Sea Kayaker, and others. See more of Brad’s work at Sustainable Play, and find him on Twitter: @sustainableplay.
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