Motivated to create ‘absolutely’ reliable traction footwear keeps the company on its toes.
Whether scaling an icy spire, hiking in a snowstorm or running into a grocery store on a wintry Flagstaff day, Kahtoola has been providing packable traction of varying degrees to help outdoor enthusiasts stick their steps. The Flagstaff-based company, famous for MICROspikes and known worldwide for its “stretch-on traction” products, is marking 25 years in business this month and founder/inventor Danny Giovale is every bit as excited as the day he saw his KTS Hiking Crampons displayed in Mountain Sports.
I just love that we have been able to help make people more capable by the products we create, to enable people to do things in the outdoors they couldn’t have done otherwise,” he said. “That runs the gamut from walking your dog or running in the Grand Canyon in winter to setting the speed record on Mt. Everest. I also like to think that the added safety that our traction products provide has saved some people from injury or worse.”
In addition to the KTS Hiking Crampons, the stretch-on traction products, designed to slip over shoes and boots, go through rigorous testing in the shop and on the feet of Kahtoola associates.
“Danny is definitely our best product tester,” said Chris Bunch, head of research and development. “That hasn’t changed. He loves to destroy prototypes and find things that don’t work throughout the design process. The accident that started the whole thing has left a lasting impression on him, so he wants to make sure that anything we make and sell can be absolutely relied upon.”
‘Designed by Disaster’ Film Shares Kahtoola Story
“The accident” also has left a lasting impression on all those around Danny, especially Mike Giovale, who was climbing with him and thought he lost his brother. Danny’s 1993 harrowing icy slip in the Dolomites – famous for sky-scraping vertical walls, terrifyingly sheer cliffs and long, deep, snow-covered valleys – inspired the documentary “Designed by Disaster.”
“Danny was always testing his limits, always, you know, ‘how high can I jump? How far can I jump?’” said his mom, Ginger Giovale, in the film.
“When Danny said he was going to climb the Dolomites and he was going to take his brother, Mike, with him, I had no idea what the Dolomites were,” added his dad, John Giovale, in the documentary. “I think if I’d had a picture of the Dolomites before he left on the trip, I would have been very critical of that trip.”
Filmmaker James Q Martin traces Danny’s near-fatal steps and heart-stopping slide, which ultimately landed him in his garage at his Utah workbench where he was determined to pound out better mountain climbing footwear.
The film also follows Danny back to face the northern Italian Alps, 30 years later, to ascend the peak that changed his life and became the impetus for Kahtoola.
A Team-Oriented Company of Product Testers
“All of our products are designed, not because of accidents, but with the spirit of adventure in mind,” said Bunch. “People are empowered to get outdoors and exercise or explore. We also hire people who are engaged in the same outdoor adventures and active lifestyles as our customers. They rely on the products that they buy and use, and all the things they do that matter to do them. That results in making stuff that has to really work.”
Unique to Kahtoola, associates in every department of the organization are encouraged to add their thoughts about the design and are all too happy to be product testers, like Rory in shipping.
“Rory [McGivern] doesn’t have anything to do with the design, but he’s a Grand Canyon hiking guide and a great source for pressure testing. He has used a lot of gear and seen others use a lot of gear,” said Bunch. “He’s an expert and excellent for feedback about what people will actually use and what feature they’ll appreciate most.”
The shop itself is situated in brutal terrain, strewn with sharp lava rocks and made more challenging by steep slopes, just footsteps from the Flagstaff Urban Trails System and the Arizona Trail. “That makes for really amazing stress-testing,” said Bunch. “We can build a prototype in the morning, test it out by noon and have a new prototype before the end of the day.”
“Our team-oriented company culture is something I’m really proud of,” said Giovale. “We have such a talented team and we’ve been able to create an environment that draws on that talent in a really nice way. There is an underlying sense of purpose and responsibility in what we do and that shows up in a number of ways, like how we give back.”
Kahtoola supports a number of environmental causes and helps Indigenous cultures around the world through efforts like bringing clean water to remote villages in the Himalayans through the Flagstaff-based organization, Elevate Nepal, for example.
It Never Gets Old
“Thanks to the Lamberson family, who employed me during high school, the first Kahtoola products were offered for sale in their large store on South Milton in December 2000,” said Danny. “Later, seeing our products in specialty shops in Colorado and beyond and eventually REI where I could be anonymous was really fun! I could ask about the products and see what interesting things salespeople would say.”
Launching MICROspikes in 2006 kicked off an era of growth that built a larger customer base. MICROspikes is still Kahtoola’s best-selling product, but plenty of people, like Cat Mellum, a Kahtoola associate in warranty and repair, keep more than one pair of spikes in their closet.
“I use MICROspikes on winter hikes and EXOspikes for cruising around town – they are designed to go over running shoes and to be used on urban road surfaces,” she said. “The EXOspikes are not as aggressive as the MICROspikes.”
During the pandemic, Mellum learned how important a role the outdoors plays in keeping people calm.
“I was on the frontline communicating with Kahtoola customers during COVID-19. I heard one lady say, ‘I had no intention of going outside in winter, but when my husband died from COVID and I was so isolated and scared, friends told me I needed to get outside. I found your company. I bought your spikes. I went outside.’ Stories like that are inspirational,” said Mellum. “People got healthier because they were outside. That was a pivotal moment for me, when you consider our most important goal is to make the outdoors accessible to everybody.”
Meanwhile, Danny continues to be thrilled each time he sees Kahtoola products on the trail. “It’s even better than seeing them in stores. That’s where the magic happens. I’m sort of a footprint-tracking expert. I love to look at people’s tracks and see what traction device or gaiter they were wearing. When we launched the EXOspikes several years ago, at first it was only the tracks from prototypes a few of us were testing that could be found. After it launched in stores, I remember seeing the first tracks from the production model on the Elden Lookout Trail. That was a super fun moment.”
Kahtoola Europe and Beyond
Within the last five years, the company formed a Kahtoola Europe arm to support climbers there and make it easier for them to purchase products.
“We are continuing to expand both geographically and with our product offerings,” said Danny. “We are the leader in the U.S. for winter traction products and we want to be sure to maintain that.”
In addition, Kahtoola’s gaiter line has been refined in recent years and has helped the company diversify and grow. “We are also developing ideas in other categories where we have insight and expertise, which is energizing,” said Danny. “We hope they will result in some meaningful breakthroughs in new product categories in the coming years.” FBN
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN
The Flagstaff premier of the 26-minute film, “Designed by Disaster,” is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7, in Northern Arizona University’s Prochnow Auditorium during the Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival.
Photo by V. Ronnie Tierney, Fresh Focuses Photography: Those around him say Kahtoola founder Danny Giovale was relentless in his pursuit to invent traction footwear that he and others could rely on.