Here at Guide Gear®, our passion is bringing you outstanding outdoor gear and apparel that enhances your adventures in the great outdoors. Since our founding over 25 years ago, we’ve been committed to providing quality products at affordable prices so you can spend more time enjoying nature and less time worrying about your equipment.

Our Story

It all started in a small shop in Wisconsin in the early 1990s. Avid outdoorsman Mark Smith had a dream of making reliable camping gear accessible to everyone. He began designing and hand-making his own unique products, focusing on practicality, durability, and comfort for life in the wilderness.

The demand for Mark’s creations quickly took off among his fellow outdoor enthusiasts. In 1995, he officially launched Guide Gear® to share his designs with the world. Our original backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags were an instant hit, and we rapidly expanded our catalog to include a wide array of hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking gear.

Today, Guide Gear® is a leading brand in recreational and sporting goods, offering everything from apparel and footwear to shelters, cookware, and accessories. But our small-business roots are still at the heart of who we are. We maintain a hands-on approach to product design, working closely with our customers to create gear that enables your favorite outdoor activities. Your passion is our purpose.

Our Values

At Guide Gear®, we live by a few key values that drive our business decisions and product development:

• Quality: We use premium materials and meticulous craftsmanship to ensure our products will withstand rugged outdoor use. We stand behind all our gear with strong warranties and excellent customer service.
• Performance: Every item we make is extensively field tested by our staff and product testers. We won’t bring a product to market until it meets our stringent performance standards for its intended activity.
• Value: Providing high-quality gear at a fair price is our commitment. We want to make your adventures more accessible.
• Simplicity: Our products embrace “less is more” design. We avoid unnecessary bells and whistles, instead focusing on practical features that enhance utility in real-world conditions.
• Sustainability: We aim to minimize our environmental impact through responsible material sourcing, efficient manufacturing, and corporate partnerships that protect wild spaces.

Our valuesinform every choice we make as a company, from the materials we use to the suppliers we work with. You can count on Guide Gear® products to enable your outdoor passion while reflecting our commitment to quality, performance, value, simplicity, and sustainability.

OurCapabilities

From day one, Guide Gear® has been dedicated to taking your gear to the next level. We have extensive in-house capabilities that allow us to truly control and refine the product experience:

• Research and development lab: Our R&D experts rigorously test materials, textiles, hardware, and construction methods to identify optimal selections for each product line. This $3 million state-of-the-art facility enables us to perfect every technical specification.
• Design team: Our talented industrial designers carefully craft each piece to balance form and function. Using the latest modeling software and prototyping equipment, they bring our product visions to reality.
• Manufacturing: We operate two U.S.-based factories totaling over 600,000 square feet of production space. Highly skilled workers cut and sew textiles, mold composite parts, and assemble gear, giving us quality control over the entire process.
• Sourcing: We maintain direct partnerships with top textile mills, hardware foundries, and material suppliers around the world. This enables us to procure premium components while still meeting our affordability commitments.
• Testing: Before any product launch, our quality assurance experts put samples through torturous testing to ensure flawless performance. We abuse zippers, rip seams, freeze water bottles, and push gear to its limits so you don’t have to.

By keeping key capabilities under our own roof, Guide Gear® delivers an exceptional level of innovation, craftsmanship, and value. We are truly engineering modern classics built for the outdoors.

Our Products

With over 2,000 unique products across seven major categories, Guide Gear® has you covered for every outdoor pursuit. Our expansive selection includes:

Boots and Footwear

Whether you’re hiking rocky trails, stalking through wetlands, or scaling icy peaks, we have durable and comfortable boots for the job. Choose from a wide range of options including:

• Hiking boots: Lightweight yet supportive boots offering traction and ankle stability for trail miles
• Work boots: Tough, waterproof boots with safety toes and slip-resistant soles for the worksite
• Hunting boots: Silent, insulated boots for stealthy stalking in extreme terrain
• Winter boots: Heavy-duty pac boots with deep lugs and ThinsulateTM insulation to conquer the cold
• Rubber boots: 100% waterproof boots for sloshing through marshes, creeks, and mud

And more including trail runners, waders, pack boots, and casual shoes for everyday wear.

Camp Furniture

Make your basecamp more cozy and comfortable with our portable furniture built for the rigors of the outdoors.

• Cots: Lightweight cots that fold up compactly and provide sleeping comfort off the hard ground
• Chairs: From basic camp chairs to deluxe padded models with coolers and lumbar support for all-day relaxation
• Cots: Folding cots in military and oversize models to create a sturdy field bed
• Tables: Side tables, 4-person dining tables, and multi-purpose tables for food prep, games, and gathering around
• Hammocks: Soft parachute nylon hammocks with integrated stands so you can hang out anywhere

Camp Kitchen and Cookware

Fuel up for your adventures with our outstanding selection of outdoor cooking equipment. We offer:

• Stoves: Propane, liquid fuel, and wood-burning camp stoves for boiling water and cooking meals fast
• Cookware: Lightweight pots, pans, kettles, and percolators made of aluminum, steel, and titanium
• Grills: Portable charcoal and propane grills ideal for camping, tailgating, picnics, and more
• Food prep: Cutting boards, dining sets, utensils, and other tools for outdoor cooking convenience

And all the accessories including pots, burners, cooktops, oven kits, and weather protection to create a fully functioning outdoor kitchen.

Shelters and Tents

Get protection from the elements without adding excess weight using our extensive range of outdoor shelters designed for 3-season backpacking, extended trekking, and emergency preparedness:

• Backpacking tents: Light, compact, and quick to pitch 1-2 person tents for thru-hiking and fastpacking
• Camping tents: Spacious cabin and dome tents with room to stand up and extra storage pockets
• Cold weather tents: Winter mountaineering tents built to withstand high winds, snow loads, and freezing temps
• Emergency tents: Durable tube tents and bivy sacks providing basic lightweight shelter in a pinch

We use premium waterproof fabrics, sturdy poles, and superior construction to create tents and tarps that stand up to the rigors of the wilderness.

Sleeping Gear

Stay warm, dry, and cozy as you rest up for the next day’s adventure with Guide Gear® sleeping gear:

• Sleeping bags: Temperature-rated mummy, rectangular, and hybrid bags with quality insulation
• Sleeping pads: Closed and open cell foam pads, self-inflating mattresses, and cots for cushioning and insulation
• Pillows: Lightweight and compressible pillows that add comfort without bulk
• Hammocks: Single and double hammock systems designed for sleeping overnight

Our innovative designs balance weight savings, temperature control, compression size, and comfort whether car camping or thru-hiking.

Packs and Bags

Haul all your gear safely and comfortably for miles down the trail with Guide Gear® backpacks and bags. We specialize in:

• Backpacks: Lightweight frame packs, daypacks, hydration packs, and summit packs built for hiking and camping
• Duffel bags: Heavy-duty duffels in multiple sizes to transport camping, hunting, or military gear
• Coolers: Hard-sided, soft-sided, and 12V coolers designed to keep food fresh and drinks cold for days
• Dry bags: 100% waterproof vinyl dry bags that float if dropped in water and protect sensitive items

We use the most durable fabrics and stable harness systems to haul heavy loads over long distances in rough terrain.

Hunting Gear

Take your hunt to the next level with Guide Gear®’s extensive lineup of hunting equipment and accessories:

• Tree stands: Lightweight and portable ladder stands, hang-on stands, and climbing stands for game scouting
• Blinds: Pop-up blinds, hub blinds, and bale blinds to stay concealed from prey
• Packs: Quiet, low-profile game haulers, turkey vest packs, and rifle slings
• Waterfowl gear: Waders, landing nets, decoys, calls, and other waterfowl hunting essentials
• Cleaning supplies: Skinning knives, meat bags, hatchets, hooks, and other butchering tools

Our gear helps you stalk, stay hidden, and haul out your harvest more effectively. We also offer hunting apparel, optics, safety harnesses, sent control, and much more.

Our Commitment

Whether this is your first camping trip or 1,000th summit attempt, we believe quality gear should be accessible to all outdoor enthusiasts. We founded Guide Gear® to share our own passion for escaping to nature, and that founding spirit still motivates us today.

Our commitment is to continue innovating, evolving, and bringing you the best outdoor products at the best value for your adventures. We promise to keep improving and refining our gear through nonstop research, testing, and customer feedback. Your satisfaction is our top priority.

We also take seriously our obligation as an outdoor brand to help protect our wild places for the future. We partner with organizations like the National Parks Foundation, donate a portion of sales to trail maintenance and conservation efforts, and take steps to minimize our environmental impact.

Thank you for choosing Guide Gear®. We can’t wait to help you unlock your next adventure!