In this episode of Beyond the Trailhead, I sit down with Mateo Favero, Director of Marketing and Design at Zpacks. Mateo has been with Zpacks since 2010, back when the company was still being run out of a garage. He started by learning how to sew from scratch and has now been part of Zpacks for more than 16 years, helping shape the brand’s marketing, product design, and ultralight gear development. Zpacks was founded by Joe Valesko in 2005 after he started making his own gear for an Appalachian Trail thru-hike. He wanted gear that was lighter, simpler, and more functional than what was available at the time. Other hikers started asking him to make gear for them, and the company slowly grew from apartment sewing, to after-work orders, to a full-time ultralight backpacking brand. We also dive into: • How Zpacks started from Joe Valesko’s Appalachian Trail gear experiments • How Mateo joined after asking Joe and Cheryl out to lunch • Why Zpacks ended up based in Florida • What it was like sewing in the garage in the early days • Why Zpacks was an early adopter of DCF, formerly called Cuben Fiber • The learning curve of working with Dyneema Composite Fabric • Why ultralight gear is performance gear, not bombproof forever gear • Mateo’s “race car tire vs Toyota Corolla” analogy • Why premium ultralight gear costs more • How Zpacks keeps looking for new fabrics, clips, buckles, and design ideas • Why most innovation comes from small details, not reinventing the wheel • The problem with people yelling “ripoff” in the outdoor industry • Why enthusiasm matters more than trade secrets • How Zpacks’ South Korea fan community started organically • Why Zpacks gives back to trail organizations and public land access groups One of my favorite parts of this conversation is Mateo’s advice for people with big ideas: the only difference between a dream and a plan is putting it on your calendar. If you’ve ever wondered why ultralight gear costs what it does, why DCF is so widely used, or what it takes to build gear that helps people go farther with less weight, this one is for you. Connect with Zpacks Website: https://zpacks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zpacks YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@zpacksofficial Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zpacks
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