About us
My name is Gatis, the company is called, quite simply, Gatis Outdoor Gear.
I have been a fisherman since I was maybe 5 years old. My friends introduced me to fly fishing in 2011 and we started going on annual trips to Northern Sweden, which involved hiking, camping in the woods, catching trout, and sometimes also river boating.
In 2015 I read about ultralight hiking and wanted to try that. We were used to carrying 25 kg packs and this idea that you could hike with a 6 kg pack intrigued me. I also read that some hikers do "make your own gear" (MYOG).
I didn't have any sewing skills, so I made the first hammock down underquilt using Dyneema fabric and bonding tape. I liked the process a lot - all the down loft and baffle calculations, geometry, reinforcements, testing it out. Encouraged, I bought a sewing machine and started to learn. I read a few books but mostly watched Youtube. As you can imagine, the first results were sketchy, but it got better with practice. Later that year I also took a 6 month Burda sewing course after work, sewed a few skirts and shirts, and learned a lot about garment construction. In 2018 I crafted a Dyneema composite frameless backpack, a down top quilt, rain pants, a tarp for the hammock, and various stuff sacks, and hiked a section of the Appalachian Trail in the US using this gear. In 2019 we did another section of the AT with my son and a few friends.
Around that time I decided that I wanted a down beanie. For me it made sense - I would have a down jacket and separately a down beanie. It would be used as an insulating mid-layer (hikers would use layered clothing instead of one big warm jacket with a hood). When hiking, I would use base layer clothes and a light merino beanie or a fishing cap depending on the conditions. When I reach camp or it gets cold, I would wear the down beanie with or without a layer underneath.
It took me around 18 months to get the beanie to the current model. At some point, I added a sewn-in shock cord and a cord lock which makes this beanie adjustable, and I also have not seen this feature used in other puffy beanies.
In 2019 I decided to start a company that would manufacture high-quality goose down beanies and other products related to ultralight hiking and hammock camping. My dear fishing friend and tennis partner created the professional GOG logotype, and one of my sons, who studies graphic design, created the sewn-in care tag and hang tag drawings.
The beanies are proudly handsewn in Latvia by a professional seamstress, while I work on the prototypes of the next GOG products.
I have been a fisherman since I was maybe 5 years old. My friends introduced me to fly fishing in 2011 and we started going on annual trips to Northern Sweden, which involved hiking, camping in the woods, catching trout, and sometimes also river boating.
In 2015 I read about ultralight hiking and wanted to try that. We were used to carrying 25 kg packs and this idea that you could hike with a 6 kg pack intrigued me. I also read that some hikers do "make your own gear" (MYOG).
I didn't have any sewing skills, so I made the first hammock down underquilt using Dyneema fabric and bonding tape. I liked the process a lot - all the down loft and baffle calculations, geometry, reinforcements, testing it out. Encouraged, I bought a sewing machine and started to learn. I read a few books but mostly watched Youtube. As you can imagine, the first results were sketchy, but it got better with practice. Later that year I also took a 6 month Burda sewing course after work, sewed a few skirts and shirts, and learned a lot about garment construction. In 2018 I crafted a Dyneema composite frameless backpack, a down top quilt, rain pants, a tarp for the hammock, and various stuff sacks, and hiked a section of the Appalachian Trail in the US using this gear. In 2019 we did another section of the AT with my son and a few friends.
Around that time I decided that I wanted a down beanie. For me it made sense - I would have a down jacket and separately a down beanie. It would be used as an insulating mid-layer (hikers would use layered clothing instead of one big warm jacket with a hood). When hiking, I would use base layer clothes and a light merino beanie or a fishing cap depending on the conditions. When I reach camp or it gets cold, I would wear the down beanie with or without a layer underneath.
It took me around 18 months to get the beanie to the current model. At some point, I added a sewn-in shock cord and a cord lock which makes this beanie adjustable, and I also have not seen this feature used in other puffy beanies.
In 2019 I decided to start a company that would manufacture high-quality goose down beanies and other products related to ultralight hiking and hammock camping. My dear fishing friend and tennis partner created the professional GOG logotype, and one of my sons, who studies graphic design, created the sewn-in care tag and hang tag drawings.
The beanies are proudly handsewn in Latvia by a professional seamstress, while I work on the prototypes of the next GOG products.
