Patagonia

In 1957, Yvon Chouinard taught himself the craft of a blacksmith in order to forge his own pitons for climbing in Yosemite. After years of climbing, surfing, and traveling with his forging gear in the back of his car, Yvon was doing brisk business with other climbers who valued the quality of what he built.

However, Yvon believed there was a better way to climb that would reduce the damage to the rock that pounding pitons in with hammers caused. He introduced aluminum chocks that could be wedged by hand rather than hammered into the stone. They were first introduced in the Chouinard Equipment catalog in 1972, and were immediately seen as a preferred, more ethical method of climbing safety.

Fast forward to the 80s and 90s, Yvon transformed his company into a performance clothing powerhouse that embraced bright teal, fire red, seafoam and other bold colors while others in the outdoor industry stayed with tan and brown. Yvon's new Patagonia label soared in popularity, and before long it was a recognizable favorite from remote crags to hidden creeks.

Today, Patagonia is known as much for their environmental activism and voice for good as they are for their bomb-proof outdoor gear. They have brilliantly extended their technological innovations from equipping the most hard-core athlete to serving those of us who just want great gear that works for what we need.