We used design-thinking in creating the Caprock 35: what’s really needed for the product, learn from extreme users, prototype early and often, and fail fast.

Design thinking has revolutionized product and business innovation – who are we to argue with the same people that suggested putting wine, chocolate, and board games in emergency preparedness kits (to keep the parents sane when dealing with kids for days on end without electricity).

In the fall of 2017, the spark for the Caprock 35 was growing … how can we create a pack that organizes all the modern tech a hunter takes into the field for a day of hunting in a traditional looking pack using advanced textiles that is tough as nails … such was our challenge.

We laid out all the gear that we could possibly think ‘might’ be needed for a day’s hunt – well before sunup to well after sunset. The regular stuff was there – water, ammo, license, tags, binos, but there was also an external battery charger, a laptop/tablet, two sandwiches, protein bars, rain gear, extra hand warmers, thermos with coffee, toilet paper, and a journal for recording the days events. Yep –lots of stuff.

Hunters love their gear and need a pack that not only organizes and protects their gear, but also is easily accessible, comfortable, and looks so damn good you are proud to carry it anywhere.

Enter the Caprock 35.

When we were done with design, we thought we might have a pack that checks all these boxes (and then some). Yet, the Caprock was on paper – it had not seen a tree, or back of a quad, or worked at 10,000 feet.

We kept asking ourselves: Is this thing really going to work?

So, we made one – the ‘Frankenstein Prototype’ and it went on a bear hunt. Worked pretty well, but what was most valuable to learn was where it sucked. There were some major issues that had to be fixed (e.g., zipper teeth that looked awesome, but let in too much dirt).

Frankenstein v2 went on an antelope hunt, a deer hunt, 6 plane rides, was a soccer coaching bag, toured Disneyland, saw time as a weight-loss pack with a 40-pound dumbbell shoved in it, and was dragged behind a few trucks for a combined 100 miles. Same learning curve – where did the pack fail … found some new issues and fixed them. Learned a lot and felt like we were getting pretty close

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We were at the ledge now – time to move forward or kill the project.

We jumped and made a dozen Caprock 35s– no more Frankenstein versions. These packs were as close to the final product as we could possibly get them (Timber Fog versions). We decided to go with a waxed poly canvas for the main exterior of the pack and Ballistic nylon for the bottom (darn near bombproof!). We sent Caprock 35s to a small set of hunters scouring the globe on work-class adventures – from Sonora and Canada, to Mongolia and Kansas, to Botswana and Argentina. We had to know how the Caprock performed in the field. It did not disappoint.

We collected user data for most of 2018-2019. The analytics were amazing – overall, the Caprock scored a 4.89 out of 5.0 for overall use and functionality, 4.94 for appearance, and 97% of our testers reported they would purchase the Caprock to replace their current daypack. Can’t please everyone, but those analytics are amazing – boom!

Sigh of relief, but also a smack of reality across our face – we might have a pack that actually meets our demands.

Our extreme users did note a few improvements they would like to see – like a quick release strap for the gun sling/harness. Really good suggestions, all of them, so we made the changes, and sent in our first PO.

2 years, 9 months, 13 days in the making and logged over 36,000 miles in testing. Result: 1 awesome technical hunting pack that’s tough as nails, historically rooted, crafted from advanced materials, and exceeds the demands of extreme hunters: Kanjera’s Caprock 35.

Order your Founder’s Edition Today – we only made 644 of them.

Modern | Traditional |Tough

PS: We like transparency, and, in that spirit, we can report we did the same thing with our Scree bino-bivy. However, it did not test as well … it was sent back to design-thinking land. We will only offer a product that exceeds the demands of our extreme testers. After round 2 of testing the Scree did make it and is now in stock and ready to ship! BTW: The Scree can be used by itself or can be attached to the Caprock 35 (really cool feature).