With most every brand selling direct to consumer often the only reason to visit a larger retailer like REI or Backcountry is for both exclusive product offerings and regularly discounted gear. In recent years the urge to offer exclusive product at accessible prices (while improving on margins) has lead to the rise of in-house labels, with Backcountry leading the charge via a year-long roll out of season-specific collections of tech-driven apparel and outerwear.
The latest to drop under the Backcountry label is the ski and snowboard Touring Collection, co-developed by Flylow and made of Polartec NeoShell, the most breathable waterproof fabric out. And it’s pretty solid.
Though the current initiative is less than a year underway, Backcountry has dabbled in selling product developed at least partially in-house before, though never explicitly under their own name—the Stoic label of outerwear and layering pieces first popped up over a decade ago. With the new strategy, the top name in custom service (with 400+ customer service employees and a stable of celebrated “Gearheads”) will in part leverage the high profile names of some of their top accounts with Backcountry branded collaboration to attract otherwise skeptical shoppers.
The Touring line introduces over a dozen items for men and women—including five products solely labeled Backcountry and ten product collaborations with brands like Black Diamond, Smartwool, Flylow, and DPS skis—ranging from technical ski jacket and bibs to down parkas, leather gloves, wool base layers and even ski touring skins and an avalanche shovel and probe.
With a number of collections already available under the Backcountry label—all of which looking good and reportedly performing well. So, dig in, and don’t forget to use the "Take20November" code for 20% off any product of your choosing.
We’ve had the privilege to see a number of products in person
