Alpine Luddites' Analog Approach: An Interview with John Campbell

At some point during his adventures, Campbell noticed a steep drop off in quality of American goods. “In the 1970s there were all these small outdoor brands in the US that built products that people took all over the world,” recalled Campbell. “Everything was built to a higher standard than it was today. Materials may be more advanced today. They might be lighter. But all that old gear really worked.” The mass production of gear also means people aren’t always able to find products that suit their body type. Or specific mission needs. So, in 2013, Campbell started to design durable, customizable adventure packs for people who couldn’t find what they needed off the shelf. Thus, Alpine Luddites was born.

Campbell quickly found a large audience for his custom packs, especially among women who had struggled to find backpacks from mainstream brands that actually fit. Soon, he was also making expedition luggage and bikepacking bags that were being used all over the world. His gear has proven time and again that it can stand the test of time, and of place. There’s a reason the waitlist for an Alpine Luddite backpack is two years long.

To learn more about Campbell’s old school approach, I met with him at the old post office in St. Johnsbury and got him to (briefly) pause the sewing machine to share his story. The following is just that.

Your experience in the outdoor industry has taken you all over the world. What was the wildest place you’ve adventured?

When I was 17 I did my first climbing trip in South America. I went to Lima, Peru, and they declared martial law there because the Shining Path was fighting the government. If you were up between midnight and 5 AM you were shot on sight. We then flew to Bolivia to climb the Cordillera Real but we couldn’t fly out because all the pilots were on strike.

I had never been outside the US so going to South America at 17 was an awakening because I realized how poor the world was. That lesson has never left me.

I also worked in California guiding mountaineering trips in the Sierras and in the winter I guided ice climbing in Bozeman. There were no certifications and to go ice climbing in Bozeman you had to park at the reservoir and walk five miles to get in, climb, and then you had to walk five miles back out to your car. I would see Alex Lowe in his Nikes jogging back at seven in the morning saying, “I just climbed Cleopatra’s Needle! Gotta go make breakfast.”

What was the sketchiest moment you had while climbing?

When I was in high school I would go solo short 40-50 foot frozen highway cuts after school. I had a brand new Cassin ice tool, and my Lowe hummingbird. About 30 feet up the pick on the new Cassin tool snapped off. I had to climb down with a straight angled pick tool.

When did you start Alpine Luddites?

I started it in 2013. I left the outdoor industry and went back to carpentry to fund it. It became full time in 2017, but I’d been committed to the idea since 2006. I have packs and clothing drawings from that time.

Who is the typical Alpine Luddites customer?

People who just can’t get the right fit off the shelf. People can’t always find what they want in the marketplace. Everything I make can be custom fit.

I think a lot of brands in the outdoor industry have gotten caught up chasing trends that align with popular culture as opposed to trends that keep people outside. I’ll be the first to admit when I was a sales rep it was all about how much money I could make, because we were all paid on commission. Everyone that works in the outdoor industry has some responsibility for the deprivation of the outdoors. But I don’t want any part of that. I don’t want to be part of creating trends because it all ends up in the garbage. What I want to do is build somebody a pack that can last for 20 years.

How do you think technology is changing our relationship to nature?

I think a lot of our emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual ills are because people don't spend enough time outside interacting with nature. So many people would be surprised how the world really works, what it’s really like to be outside for 24 hours straight. It wasn't that long ago when people would garden their own gardens.

We want to buy product X because we think it will make our life easier. I still fall for it. I work really hard to get my bike totally primed. Now you’re out there and by day two you’re so fucking covered in mud and in pain that all that perceived benefit of X is always gone. You’re just in it. I’m not in it to look at my bike or for the Instagram photo. I always tell people, I'm in it for the experience.

What do you think people can learn from building something?

It gives them confidence. None of this is rocket science. This used to be commonplace in the US, whether it's building backpacks or making pants or making shoes or building your own house or growing your own food—that was not an uncommon thing. Now it's revolutionary.

We've given up way too much as a society. If it's uncomfortable and hard, that's probably good for you. We don't have enough hard things in our life.

What is the weirdest feature someone has requested on a custom backpack?

The EDC crowd has the most strict feature set, often combining multiple features from different packs put into one. And if I don't agree, I don't make it.

What is your all time favorite piece of gear?

It’s a tie between my Trangia stove and my original Patagonia pile jacket from the mid 80's. I wore that jacket for 20 years.

What is next for you?

I get the most grumpy when I have a lot of ideas in my head. I have the urge to just design. I want to do the 30-day creative challenge. If you’re a maker or a really creative person, stop for 30 days and create stuff for yourself. You need to let the creative process work out instead of doing stuff for other people all the time. Some of my best work is not intentional, it just happens.

Do you have a bucket list adventure that you haven’t gotten to yet?

The Chinese side of the Karakoram. There are more mountains to climb in Southwestern China than in all of Pakistan and Nepal. Scores of unclimbed peaks between 5000 and 7000 meters.

I took a lot of time off [climbing] after my kids were born, but I knew someday I would go back. Nothing makes me feel as good as a good day climbing. There’s nothing that compares.

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