EP 182: Ridge Reaper with Travis Gessley of UA

We're going to announce a promo code for 40% off Under Armour. We could leverage all of the Under Armour technology and really build the best hunting and fishing apparel and equipment in the market. Anything to do with Western big game.

Welcome to the Epic Outdoors podcast, powered by Under Armour. Hey everybody, Jason Carter, Adam Bronson. Of course we got the infamous Wyatt here with us as well. How you doing Wyatt? Doing good. One and only. We love Wyatt. He's been doing good. Chris? Doing good. All right, everybody. Been a while since we've been on the podcast. You know, of course, as always, we want to thank Under Armour, although this podcast is going to be with Under Armour. We do want to thank them for their support here at Epic Outdoors. They're the main sponsor of this podcast and a lot of what we do here at Epic Outdoors. They support us in every part of our business. And so, anyway, we want to thank them for that. A little announcement today. We'd like to tee it up here at the first.

But towards the end of the podcast, we're going to do a, I guess you can call it a giveaway, but it's really going to be, we're going to announce a promo code for 40% off Under Armour. Discount code that you can use at Under Armour or UA.com. But we're going to announce that towards the end of this podcast today, so stay tuned for that. We'll give you the details of how to go onto our website at EpicOutdoors.com, what to do and when. So, hope you enjoy the rest of the podcast. What an incredible season it's been, you fellas. Huh? What? Yeah. You've laid some stuff down Bronson? That wasn't what I heard from you the other day. No, I'm crying. You've been chewing nonstop on tags. I know. I'm choking. Choking. Choking. Eating tags like it's your job. A guy asked me on my Instagram, he's like, hey, you know, how do you get them to taste decent?

I said, you just chew hard and fast and swish with monster. White monster. So, anyway. It's still, we've got a little bit left. Well, as we jump into this podcast, this one's going to be with Under Armour. We've got Travis. Travis, you on with us? Yeah. Hey, guys. Jason, the boys. How you guys doing? Doing well. Doing good. Doing good. Tell us, I guess what we want to do is just kind of go through a little bit of history of Under Armour and then some of the different products that we've been using that we're super impressed with and the different thought processes with Under Armour and why they develop certain line items as well as the kits and different things. But anyway, give us a little bit of background with your affiliation with Under Armour and kind of where the Ridge Reaper line is today and how we got there. Perfect. Sounds great. Yeah.

So, I've been with the brand, you know, Travis Guestley, category manager over hunt and fish with Under Armour Outdoor. And I've been with the brand almost 10 years. So, in 2021, it'd be 10 years. And, you know, most specific to what you all use every day is our Ridge Reaper line and collection assortment. And, you know, it started back in, you know, ideation was probably around 2011 or 2012 when we first got products on you guys. And you guys are wear testing and beating it up and making sure it's market ready. So, I believe you guys used it in 2012 and 2013. And then, I believe it first came to market, you know, in a limited assortment, limited distribution in 2014. So, we've had a long run with it. It's got a ton of momentum, a lot of success. We're super happy with it. But, yeah. And, you know, couldn't thank you guys enough for the support and the feedback.

Well, it has been a long time. 2012, we went and started basically filming the Ridge Reaper TV show. And, you know, like you said, we've definitely worn the products ever since. What's that that's going on? Eight years, you know, of nonstop, you know, product testing and, of course, gearing up and, you know, basically innovation, helping innovate and develop new products and whatnot. But it's come a long ways. I'm just going to tell you, it's come a long ways. When we first got going, just like, and not to say that it was bad or terrible or anything like that, I just, I do want to say what y'all got going on right now is very impressive. It works well. It's just come a long way. It's been awesome to watch the innovation and the growth in that particular category. A lot of feedback from people using it, too. I mean, that's how you get there is a performance apparel brand.

I guess that's what most people think of as Under Armour as. It's what was born, an athletic, you know, performance wear apparel. And then you get into the hunting, which is different in a lot of ways. Similar in some ways, especially the earlier season stuff, but different when you start talking about the layering and insulation and all that. But, yeah, Carter, you were involved to the, you were a guinea pig. I was a product tester that almost died in several sites. I'm just teasing. It wasn't, never liked that. But there was some products. I still have guys hitting me. Travis and guys are probably hitting you guys, too. But, like, we did some little stalking, you know, where, stalkers, let's call them. You know, some little, where you get in tight archery range. And we never, those are just products that never did see the light of day. They were just, that's just all they made.

Under Armour was nonstop doing prototypes, nonstop. And, Travis, you remember a lot of those items, I'm sure. Yeah, you know, I love seeing, you know, the system and the kits evolve from the beginning. You know, I couldn't agree with you more. I love where we're at, but we're not going to stop where we're at. We're just going to continue to innovate and, you know, be a leader in this space. But, you know, to provide products to this specific athlete, you know, isn't easy. What you guys do out west with the climate changes, you know, throughout the day and just the terrain, you guys are at the pinnacle of, you know, beating this stuff up. And it's got to perform. So it's got to have that trusted innovation, you know, whether it's stretch, whether it's lightweight, breathable, weather protection, whether it be wind or rain or even, you know, the heat. So it's got to encompass all of that.

And it's got to work as a system. So that way you can easily transform, you know, from one condition to the next, whether it be, you know, an early morning where it's, you know, bitterly cold. And then you're all of a sudden, you know, climbing a big peak where you're building all this heat. You need to be able to adapt to all those, you know, conditions. So it's an awesome collection. It's been a challenge, but, you know, it's what I do. I love building product. And, you know, I'm happy with where we're at, but we're not stopping right here. That's awesome. And to speak to that point a little bit, you know, it's a crazy environment we're at in the 2020 is a crazy year. Okay. And we're all just going to admit that right here, right now. And anyway, I've had a few people say, well, where does Under Armour fit in this?

And are they going to continue down the hunting road and all of these kinds of things? And I'm like, oh, yeah, you guys are not stopping. And I just wanted you to kind of address that concern that maybe some people are like, you know, are they going to be around forever? And I'm like, oh, they're a significant part. This is the hunt category or the outdoor category is significant within the Under Armour brand. Yeah, for sure. You know, like we're one of the most exciting end uses within the brand. And, you know, we have, you know, we're an athletic brand. So whether it be, you know, professional football players or baseball or basketball, you know, when they're not in seasons, a lot of those guys like to hunt.

So when they come in to look at the new footwear or the new apparel or new batting gloves or, you know, whatever they're going to be using for their professional sport, they always want to check out the hunt room. Like what's going on in the hunt room, you know, because that's one benefit to them is that we supply that and, you know, they have access to it. So, you know, we're a staple in the organization and for sure we're in it for the long haul. That's awesome. Yep, I agree 100%. And so with that, you know, as we jump in here, I want to, I kind of want to start off, I guess, with the Baron Camo. You know, basically when we were cranking in 2011, 2012, 2013, we, meaning Under Armour, Ridge Reaper TV, that we worked with Realtree and a lot of different brands and had different patterns that we were wearing.

And then it came to where, you know, we developed the Baron pattern, the Baron Camo. And it's been a huge success, very popular. It's an incredible pattern. And I just kind of wanted you to address that. And then maybe we'll jump into some of these different lines of product. Yeah, sure. So, you know, UA was one of the early adopters of an abstract camo, you know, a non-traditional, you know, stick and leaf camo. You know, so what really the intention was is we wanted to create depth and we wanted to create disruption to where it actually broke up your silhouette. So instead of seeing a silhouette, the depth and the color and the way that the camo and the layers are built is you actually see through the pattern. So it's almost like you're not there and, you know, the animal or whoever is looking at you is almost seeing through the pattern versus seeing something flat.

So not only that, but the color of Baron is super appealing. You know, it's just a cool visual to see the coloration of that camo as well. So it's effectiveness in the actual terrain on the mountain in the woods. But then also, you know, out of the woods, it's a pretty cool pattern as well. Well, they did. They basically started off with more of a kind of a more of a bland brown desert western pattern and then and then added the forest to it. And it just created a lot more options there. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And we have forest all season just coming to market now in fall 20. And that's really to really satisfy anywhere where it's more green versus tan. You know, you go to Idaho or some of those other western states where it's predominantly green. So we felt like we needed to fill that void. So we have Baron that's mainly tan based.

And then we have forest all season, which is more of a greener based camo for different situations. Just works great. It's awesome. Yep. So what made what made you guys decide? I mean, I was around as well watching Carter help, you know, go through some of the other UA gear that used Realtree and different things like that. But what takes you briefly that process of why did you start to make a make a new pattern, you know, versus work with partners that you probably already been, you know, well established with and things like that. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, we're still great partners with Realtree. We carry their patterns and, you know, really we've segmented our lines and we focused our lines into really two categories. So we have a whitetail line, which is, you know, is more still hunting. And I would say, you know, without stereotyping, it's more eastern hunting.

So that's where you find our Realtree edge collection. And then we have our western, which is where we focused our barren and our forest all season patterns. So we really just, depending on the type of hunter you are, whether it's, you know, actively moving or sitting still, we feel like we have the best camos for that certain hunter. Yeah, you can do a little bit of everything. Tell us about the Ridge Reaper line of product, you know, how kind of why you created that line and maybe a few of the aspects of that line. Yeah. So Ridge Reaper, I mean, you know, I think this was a brainchild of, you know, Kit Falks, who was one of the co-founders of Under Armour. And you had Kobe and Brian Offit and, you know, a lot of the original hunt guys.

They just thought that there was this void and, you know, to really satisfy the western hunter that's actively moving, that's athletic, that's built for speed, built for motion, you know, built for all that western different, you know, climates and terrain, whether it's elevation, whether it's temperature fluctuations, whether it's accumulating heat, really all the conditions. It's really built for anybody who's western hunting in that active hunting scenario. Yeah. You know, I was back in the day when we worked with that, you know, Kit Falks and Colby and Brian Offit, and those guys were pretty hardcore. They were a lot of fun to work with. And, you know, with Kit, I mean, I'm sure, as you know, you dealt with Kit quite a bit in different aspects of UA and where you were in the different divisions.

But very aggressive, very aggressive, basically one of the co-founders, and there was no stopping him. He was continually thinking outside the box, and there was nobody, there was no red tape, so to speak. And so, I mean, just a super aggressive personality. And then along with his brother, Kobe, and Brian, who was outdoor marketing at the time, just did a fantastic job of basically bringing it from nothing up to the Ridge Reaper line of product. Yeah. And you know what? It's awesome that Kit had the background of hunting, you know, Kit, Kobe, and Brian, and those guys, to actually think and say, you know what? This big powerhouse brand, we could actually get into this space, and we could leverage all of the Under Armour technologies. We could leverage this big brand and really build the best, you know, hunting and fishing apparel and equipment in the market.

So, and, you know, the legacy still lives to today, and we're continuing to even get better with that. So, it's awesome that, you know, we're really the only big brand, athletic brand, in the hunting and fishing space. Yeah, and that's what I was just saying. It wouldn't have happened if you wouldn't have guys like that that were hunters that liked to hunt, that wanted to take their, you know, parent company, their employer to the next level. Instead of just have hunting clothing that they could wear and have the UA emblem on them, they wanted to actually drive it. Well, he was responsible for that portion of the business. Yeah, but he wanted to actually drive it. Like, let's make some good stuff. Without the hunters, the hunter background there, like you said, coming from a performance and athletic brand, it wouldn't have taken it to the next level. Right.

No, I remember Brian, we sent him on a brown bear hunt up there in Alaska. And, I mean, he's doing some R&D. And anyway, he's like, dude, I about froze to death. We've got to make some changes. And I think it's with those experiences, you know, I know that was years ago, years and years ago. But, I mean, it's those experiences that have helped bring it to where we are today. Just incredible, the kits that are incredible. I mean, Wyatt, you've been, some of that new stuff, it's just, it's something you're proud to wear. Like, it's awesome. Yeah, there are new layering systems. Should we jump into where we are now, I guess? I guess. Are we good, Travis? We should jump right in. Yeah, we can start getting technical and start talking about some kits and products for sure. Yeah. Yeah, let's talk about the layering system that you guys have come out with now.

I believe there's the Raider, the Infill, and the Alpine Ops kit. Yeah, I mean, those are our main ones. So, the Raider kit, Infill, the Alpine Ops, we have our Gore-Tex, our Gore-Pro. And then we have our Merino wool base layer. And then we also have ISO-Chill. And, you know, I can just, you know, divest into each one. But, really, Raider and ISO-Chill are for your, you know, warmest conditions. So, more of your early season, scouting, you know, July, August. But, you know, you know how it gets real, you know, western quick out there is, you know, it could be 85 or 90 degrees, you know, in September, October as well. So, really, the Raider kit is extremely lightweight. It's got tons of, you know, four-way stretch. Its breathability is incredible. It's built with a moto knee construction. So, when you see the knee of it, it actually, it almost looks like an accordion on there.

And what that allows you to do is it allows very extreme mobility with your legs without bringing the bottom of your leg cuff up over your boot. So, the bottom of your pan actually stays in place and your knee actually fluctuates with that stretch and movement. Bronson, you've got a pair of these on. I was just demonstrating to these guys exactly what you were saying, Travis, as you were describing it, because I've got a pair of them on right now. He does. He's got the accordion. So, he's over there. Yeah. And it doesn't, yeah, perfect. Not moving up. No. Not riding up. Well, they're so comfortable. That's what I like about these Raiders is, you know, I've got the salt pair of solids on. I mean, I don't wear camo to work usually, but I wouldn't be frowned upon. But these are just a gray, I don't know the technical term, but they're solid colors. And they're awesome. Yeah.

Charcoal type gray. Yeah. And, you know, you bring up a great point with solids is, you know, the Raider kit, it is available. And solids and camo, you know, the trend out there is solid bottoms is, you know, the way to go right now. So, in both the Raider and the infill, which I believe we'll get to next, it's available in both solid and camo bottoms. It's nice. It's nice to not. People like to not wear camo. Well, in certain times, scouting or things, you just, you draw attention. And say, hey, why are you hunting? I don't want to talk to you right now. A beach in Hawaii. I don't know. I'm hunting a place where I can be left alone right now. And I don't want to talk about what deer I'm looking for right now. So, if I'm in gray and a t-shirt, you know, nobody stops me, talks to me. The gas station pumping up.

If you're pumping up in camo in July, you're going to turn some heads because they're going to wonder, what are you doing that I'm not doing? So, everybody that's listening, Bronson is not very social, so he needs to work on his social skills. If you see him out there, make sure you stop and say hello. No. I'm not antisocial. I just. Chris. There's certain times you're in certain places. Chris, you're antisocial. I'm not antisocial. Chris, we've been on a mountain before and a dude's been up there and you have what? Well. Ignored him. I didn't ignore. Just, I'm trying to be quiet.

Well, anyway. No, it's true, though. It is nice to be, though. You're not wearing camo all the time. Sometimes it's not needed. I just got done with a rifle hunt in Colorado. And I have to wear Hunter Orange. Camo isn't necessarily going to make a difference. So, I wore what you're wearing, Bronson. I wore the charcoal pants. It's nice. Which, by the way, I saw the post on the Colorado hunt and that was pretty sweet. It's pretty awesome. Those mule deer were pretty incredible. Well, and I mean, and Ashley, so my one son, so Sean, let's just say. Sean's 18 years old and he realizes Ashley's going to smash two bucks this year. And he's like, Ashley, this will be really nice. This will be your third buck. Ashley's like, no, Sean, it's going to be my fourth. And he's like, what? He's like, well, I've only killed five. He's 18. And she's 13. And he's done hunting for the year, I think.

Oh, he's, well, he's got the extended archery. Okay. So, he's got hope. Yeah, he's got hope. Hope and prayer. Hope. But she's got a rifle tag. Two rifle tags back to back. And Chris crushed two four points. Oh, yeah, she did. And she's, anyway, she is, she's addicted. She's asking me about his eye guards right before she pulled the trigger. She's like, Dad, how big are her eyes? How big is his eye guards? I'm like, oh, what are we teaching these kids? I don't know. I didn't even look at that. I'm like, I don't know, Ash. I think they're an inch and a half. That's incredible. She's like, all right, at least he's got them. You know? I'm like, geez. He is. That's all that matters. And so, anyway, and then my wife killed a heavy buck. Just not great genetics, but old, heavy, you know, 28-inch or so. Anyway, all of which we were, I mean, it was, you know, 10 degrees, 14 degrees, you know,

in the mornings, and then it'd warm up to, you know, a balmy 41 degrees. I don't know. But, anyway, all of which we were layering up, layering down, you know, depending on the time of day, depending on where we were at, the wind. There was a lot going on. And speaking of which, the jacket that they have, what's that called? The wind stopper. That's right. It's got the wind stopper in it. Unbelievable. If you throw a puffy under that, and we'll get into these, but if you throw a puffy with a wind stopper jacket over top, it's going to smoke you out. It's unbelievable. But, so let's talk about that a little bit. You know, I guess we can kind of finish out the Raider kit. You're talking about the Raider, the ISO chill. It's more for the warmer conditions. And, you know, honestly, some of this stuff, Bronson, we're hunting the desert sheep and somebody's desert mule deer at 100 degrees.

And our scouting take place in the hottest, you know, July and August, too, even when you're not hunting. And you're out there running cameras or hiking a glass. You've got an hour in the morning to glass and, you know, beat the heat. And so you've got to rock and roll before, you know, the heat sets in and chases you off the mountain when it's 105 or 10. And so, yeah, we've used those a lot in the summer. Very technical. Like you said, Travis, allow a lot of freedom of movement in terms of when you're, you know, you're not bulky at all. They, you know, form fitting. I guess that's my terminology. I don't know if you guys call them that. But they're just, they move with you really well and lightweight. If you ever do sweat your guts out, which you do that time where they dry fast, too. So, let's see, wide variety of temperature ranges there.

Of course, you know, there's some layering there because you do have, as it's moving into September, October, there's some changes in the weather and whatnot. Just an incredible, the Raider kit, I think, was the, it just felt like it was a new level. You guys took everything to a new level when you came out with the Raider kit. But we were, Wyatt, we were sending stuff out to our outfitter program. The outfitters and guides were raving over it. It just felt like it was next level. Yeah, we get a lot of good reviews off even the Raider jacket. That's super lightweight jacket to throw on in the early summer scouting truck, you know, really lightweight. Throw it on for, you know, 45 minutes in the morning when it warms up to 100 degrees. Take it off and it's almost like you're packing nothing as well. I've loved all of them, especially the pants. They've been a game changer.

The way that Bronson said they move with you, they do. And it's, I used to dread walking through like wet sage and stuff and you'd get your pants wet and you feel like you can't take another step because your pants are all wet. Well, the Raider pants don't do that. And that's the thing that I love about the Raiders. Yeah, they breathe, they beat up, and yet they drive fast. So, I mean, it's just, I get, I'm addicted to that little accordion thing. I'll be driving down the road, rubbing my kneecap.

Well, the accordion, I'm telling you, tell me I'm wrong. No, you catch yourself doing it all the time. Wear out the accordion portion of your pants. All right. So, anyway, so as we move forward, let's jump into the infill kit. Yeah, so the infill is kind of the next level up as far as the weather starts to turn and starts to get steadily cooler. It's got the Gore-Tex wind stopper in it. And basically, it's a little bit heavier weight. It is storm treated. It does have the accordion knee as well. That's almost kind of our signature, almost like our trademark now on the Ridge Reaper collection. In fact, you know, people, when they see that, oh, that's the Under Armour pant, just because they notice that accordion on both the radar and the infill. But, you know, it's hard to beat just because it provides enough weight and warmth without being real restrictive. So, there is stretch in there.

But it does have that trusted and true Gore-Tex brand name in it that, you know, everybody can associate with. And, you know, you're getting quality when you have a company, you know, that Gore-Tex built into your product as well. Yeah, it is incredible. And, you know, there's some products, like you mentioned, the Merino wool, the Gore-Tex. You know, there's some features and materials that are just incredible, and you've got to use them. Incorporate them into the line, yeah, because they're proven, like you said. Yeah. And, you know, the material itself, it's very soft. It's very quiet. You know, it's out west. You don't have to necessarily be as quiet as you do when you're hunting whitetail, but still quiet and, you know, moisture management and, you know, wind and rain protection is super important.

And especially, you know, if you're not going back home, you know, for the night and you're staying out, you've got to have trusted technology that, you know, the last thing you want to worry about is your apparel when you're out hunting. So we just wanted to make sure that when you buy Under Armour Ridge Reaper that, you know, you trust it and you don't have to worry about it when you're out there. Yeah, 100%. 100%. Well, yep, pretty incredible. Good stuff. The Alpine Ops? Yeah, so Alpine Ops, this is really just, it's made for glassing. So when, it's almost like a sleeping bag. So it's got 800 fill, 100% pure goose down in it. So it's the warmest insulation you could have, but it's super packable. So it's really sized to fit over everything.

So, you know, if you're hunting in your infill kit and you want to stop in glass, you know, on the side of a mountain where, you know, the temperatures are starting to drop, it comes in both a jacket and a pant or a parka and a pant. And the pant itself has full leg zips. So that way you can actually take them on and take them off while you're sitting down or without having to stand up. So it's really easy to take on and off, but it does provide almost the ultimate warmth of what you need while on the mountain. And a lot of these guys, they end up sleeping in it too. So, like I said, it's built like a sleeping bag. So it's just built into, you know, an apparel silhouette of a pant and a parka. Well, we can attest that it is a game changer. We call it a puffy jacket, just a puffy jacket. And I'm telling you, it's unbelievable. This isn't something you would be bushwhacking with.

Like it's the material, it's a real lightweight jacket that's the warmest thing you've ever had on. But, you know, but it does, I would say it would tear easy. It's not like you're going to bushwhack with it, like say with the wind stopper jacket. But to sit down in glass or to just, I mean, truck or whatever, I mean, incredible stuff. I think the pants would smoke you out. I've used them once or twice there. I mean, with that and the jacket on, you'd be smoking hot. You know, it'd be for real cold weather applications sitting down in snow in Colorado right now. You'd want a pair. Yeah. I used them all on my hunt, especially like we're sitting in the side-by-side driving, and it's blizzard, freezing, freezing cold. And I put my girlfriend in the Alpine Ops pant. I thought you were going to say you put her in the back seat. No. No. Okay, go ahead.

I put her in the Alpine Ops pant and parka, and that's a game changer. It really is. Then she wanted to stay out there longer than you did. Yeah. So she didn't even have a tag. Well, it backfired on you. It just makes it bearable out there. You know, it was negative five the one day, and we were able to just sit there and drive. We didn't have an enclosed cab or anything, but it stayed warm. Wow. That was in that little Jeep thing you got. Yep. What is that thing? It's a Roxer. It's pretty legit. Yeah, it's fun. A little diesel? It goes good. Did you let her drive or no? A little bit. Oh, all right. She drives pretty good. That's code word for no. I let her kick it on in the drive. All right. All right. Well, anyway, that Alpine op. Did you want to add something on that? Yeah, I was just going to say that puffy there. It's among the favorite of the outfitters.

We can have them test this product for sure. Well, the nice thing is, I don't know, Travis, if you know off the top of your head what it weighs, but it comes with a little stuffable. It's attached to it, but a stuffable pouch. I keep it in the bottom of my pack all the time. Just throw it in the bottom. It's so light. Yeah, it stuffs into a sack that it's really not noticeable. I mean, you can put it in the bottom of your pack and just pull it out when you need it. But for all the listeners who are interested and may purchase or hopefully purchase this after this call or after listening to this, I wanted to really quickly touch base on the sizing of it. So we build this all as a system. So if you buy a large in everything you wear, so if you have the large infill kit, you still want to buy the large Alpine Ops jacket

because it's purposely designed to go over the top of that, so you don't need to size up. So actually… My XL is big. Oh, I'm an XL in some things. I could wear a medium in this if I don't have layers underneath. I do wear a medium in it, and I normally wear a large and everything else, but… Yeah. But that's by design. That's what you're saying. They make it big to fit over two or three other layers, yeah. Yeah, it is oversized by design because it's supposed to fit over, you know, your base layers and even your outer layers. So I just wanted to mention that. Don't upsize by one like a lot of us do. You know, we're kind of trained that way to your outer layer, upsize one, just so it fits over everything. You're saying don't need to do that here. Go ahead. You guys also have those two down kits, the Raider down jacket, which is the new one he came out with this year.

That's kind of made normal size to go underneath. It's a lighter weight. It's like this puffy but toned down. I used it a ton in Colorado. I used it a ton. Yeah, what's awesome about that is what we realized is, you know, Jason, you mentioned you're not going to go trekking or you're not actually going to really be moving in the alpine kit. But so what we decided to do is to make a down hoodie. And that's more of like your layering piece. So it's the same material. So it's that ultra lightweight face material with still 800 fill down, but you can use it as a layering piece just for those extra cold days when you're still going to be actively moving, but you're not going to have the bulkiness to where it's going to be in the way. Yeah. Yeah. Makes sense. It's a nice lightweight little jacket for sure.

That's the one you were talking about earlier when you were talking about putting under the wind stopper jacket. That's what I've been doing also. Yeah. You couldn't fit that big one. You couldn't fit under it. I've done it. The big one? Well, medium. Okay. It's small. I throw on a medium so it fits normal and then throw on the wind stopper, you know, but I'm not telling everybody else to do it. That's just my layering, what I did for a minute. I got one question for you, Travis. Yep. You mentioned it was goose down. Like how many geese does it take to make one of those big puffy jackets?

Hunters want to know that stuff. I want to know how many geese I need to thank for why I'm so young. All right. That's a great question. Who knows, right? Who knows? Incredible, incredible kit. Definitely has its place. It's something we have in our trucks all fall long. All right. The Ridge Reaper Gore-Tex. It's super impressive with this. One thing, when we were starting the Ridge Reaper TV show, we did some hunts in the Yukon, Alaska, different things. And it was, I mean, this was before the Gore-Tex Pro, you know, came out. And we got, we, it felt like, okay, it would rain outside and we felt like it was raining inside. When this came out, it was a game changer. Travis, go ahead and talk to us a little bit about it. Yeah. So we decided to use Gore-Tex.

We decided to use Gore-Pro just because we wanted the most bulletproof weather protective when it's just super nasty out and it's just raining sideways and it's cold. So we went with Gore-Pro just because, you know, when you're out there, like I said earlier, you may not be coming back home for a couple of days. So you need to make sure you stay warm and dry. So we didn't cut any corners. We went with the best, the best technology. So the material itself is Gore-Pro, but it has so many different awesome pocket solutions to where they're easily accessible. So to where you can still hunt when it, you know, is raining and you need to, you know, still have accessible storage in your jacket without having to get down to your, you know, an underneath layer. So, again, it's the best you can get for those most extreme, you know, rain and windy conditions. Yeah. It's unbelievable.

You guys have any personal experiences with the Pro, Gore-Tex Pro? It's incredible. I mean, I've used it on. We live in Utah and Nevada. It's where we hunt. We do. What are those two states? We do. The two driest. They are. Thankfully. I mean, I. But. But I did. Yeah. But I just got back from Colorado. It was raining. I had the Gore-Tex, or I call it the Gore-Tex Pro, but anyway, the Pro shell under my seat, pull it out, throw it in my pack. Like, you can sit down. It's unbelievable. Jumping out, throwing on your tire chains on four tires. Okay. That did happen. That did happen. Yeah. Were you getting dripped on all over by your own truck? No. I mean, I've used it in Alaska. We've used it in the Yukon. Like, it's an unbelievable. Did you end up taking this on your moose hunt? We did take it on our moose hunt. I've taken it on those caribou hunts up there as well.

Did you need any other rain gear? No. Or did you feel like you were 100% set up? 100% covered and dry. I mean, never had any problems with anything. It is. It's not cheap. The stuff's not cheap, but it's not made cheap either. It's incredible. And when you buy it, you only have to buy one unless somebody steals it from you, which could happen. Who knows? This day and age, you never know, Travis. That's right. But anyway, just an incredible lineup. Anything else you want to add on that one there, Travis? I don't think so. I think we covered it. Yeah, I think we're in great shape. So when we started talking about this, you guys said you weren't going to stop. You're going to continue to innovate. Is there anything you can share with us on what we might be able to look forward to 2021 coming up? Yeah. So, I mean, we're already starting to work on 2022. 2022.

So 2021 is, you know, it's baked and it's in process.

Yeah, we have some exciting stuff coming that, you know, when I mentioned early with the early season, it talks about heat management and heat dumping options. So that's coming, especially in the early season and even the infill kit. So there's heat dump solutions coming in that just, you know, because heat causes fatigue. And if you start overheating, that just slows you down and makes you tired. So that was one insight that, you know, you and your team really brought to us last year. And so we integrated that into next year's line, which I know you're going to be more than happy when you receive the samples and start using them. And I was very passionate, let's just say. There was a few heated exchanges at times, no pun intended. But I think when we're out there, it's 100, 100 plus degrees. And while everything, I mean, you've got some great kits.

It could even be, let's call it lighter. Let's let the heat dumping options. And so anyway, super excited for that to come out. Yeah. So on top of that, you know, so we did improve the Raider and the info for 21 with heat dump. But then with your insight, along with Remy Warren's, we actually have a new pant coming that's even lighter than the Raider. So for that extreme heat condition. So it utilizes the Under Armour air vent technology, which is really the most breathable material that you can find on the market. So it's going to be awesome. That's right. Good deal. Good deal. Well, we want to talk about some discount codes. Everybody that's out there listening, we do have some 40% discount codes. Wyatt, why don't you walk us through that? Yeah. So we're going to launch those right after this podcast airs. We're going to launch those codes available on our website.

If you go to our website, it'll just be right there on the homepage. There'll be little information. You're going to fill out your name and email, I believe. And then enter the code EPICUA, E-P-I-C-U-A, and that'll deliver a code to you. Email. No one knew, Wyatt. You probably made it to where we have to do like uppercase, lowercase, uppercase, lowercase, uppercase. Just EPICUA, any case. It works. Okay. EPICUA. And that made it simple. That's on our website at EPICOUTDOORS.com. They'll be easy to find right there on the homepage, right, Wyatt? They will be, yes. Okay. So EPICOUTDOORS.com, there's going to be a place in there where you can enter your name, your email. EPICUA would be the code. It's going to spit out a discount code for 40% off. Are we going to have a limit on that? Is there going to be an expiration? Do we know that yet?

So the expiration is going to be the end of the year. December 31st. December 31st. On UA.com. Yep. UA.com. UA.com. And we'll go one per person. So one per person. If you've got a family of 14, why, you might be able to get 14 codes. We'll see. Huh? Huh? I don't know. Hey. Until they run out. With the stimulus package coming up, a guy might be able to buy some stuff. Is something coming up? I think so. That crazy Joe's got cooking. I just want another check with Trump's name on it. Huh? You're going to frame that one? I might. It might be your last one you ever get. Well, I'm going to frame a photocopy, but I'm cashing it. Okay. So anyway, discount codes are available on EPICOUTDOORS.com. 40% off. It's significant. It's awesome. Anybody can go on there. If you're listening to this podcast, enter EPIC UA. Nothing special there. No spaces, spaces, whatever.

You'll accept EPIC UA, and you'll be able to buy into some of these things. The Ridge Reaper line will be on there. The Raider Kits Info Kit. The Alpine Ops Kit. The Gore-Tex Pro. Even some boots and stuff. Travis, I don't know if we want to bring up footwear or anything like that. You know, I'm primarily focused on apparel, but of course we have a whole collection or a whole assortment that would include boots and accessories. So they're all on the website. Okay. And all of it's good with the 40% off codes, right? Yep. Awesome. Well, we've got Christmas coming up and whatnot. This might be something. Anyway, but no. Anything else you want to talk about here, Travis, with us here today at the Epic Outdoors podcast? I mean, I'm not sure how much time we have, if you want to call it a wrap, or any recent

hunting experiences, or any other product feedback, or just anything hunting in general. Because with working from home, it was awesome. With my teammates, Jed Larkin and Alex and Steven, some of the best part about working in the office was kind of sneakily getting out, killing something, and getting back to the office and trading stories about it. So that's one thing I miss, you know. Hitting the 12 noon Zoom meeting after you had blood on your hands already. Right? Exactly. Larkin's good at sneaking around and killing stuff, and he had an incredible year. He did. And that's the thing. Back when we were in the office, all of a sudden we noticed Jed's gone, and where'd Jed go? And a couple days later, he'd come back in the office, and we'd see everything he killed. So.

Yeah. No, it's incredible. Well, I'm just wondering, what do you think Larkin's doing right now? You think we should give him a cold call? In the trees? Could he be hunting? You guys are Easterners. Is it whitetail, Maryland going on? Whitetail season going right now? Or is it brutal cold? Or what's going on right now? Well, actually, today it is dumping rain in buckets, but it's full rut right now. So, I mean, it's, the bucks are going crazy. Jeez, you shouldn't even be here. You shouldn't even be talking to us. Let me just see if, let me just see if Larkin will answer. We're going to give him some grief. Hold on just a minute, Travis.

No way. He's scrambling in his tree stand. He forgot to turn the volume off, and it's spooking deer right now. He's in traffic.

Damn. Not going to get lucky. Hi, here's Jed Larkin. We'll have to try him here in a little bit, so maybe when we get off. You know, he does head up our Freedom Program, and with it being Veterans Day, I know that he did have a few presentations with veterans and kind of give back programs and stuff, so he might be tied up with that. Oh, that's awesome. I mean, that was kind of a, peed up nicely, I guess, being Veterans Day. Tell us just a little bit more from what you know, what you're doing there. Is that something where local in Baltimore is doing that, or where at? Well, it's a nationwide program called Freedom, and it's really a give-back program to where each purchase by the consumer with the Freedom products goes back to the community. You know, and it's not pinned into one specific organization. It's just giving back to, you know, those in need.

So with it being Veterans Day, it ties in great with our Freedom Program. So I know there's a lot going on with that and our brand today. So it's incredible. You guys support, you guys support, you know, police and firemen and all kinds of things. I mean, you know, that's, I mean, it's just been apparent ever since I've worked with Under Armour. Maybe you can talk to that a little bit. Yeah, for sure. I mean, you know, we're encouraged to give back. You know, we're allowed, you know, so many days off and so many hours with your organization just to take time to give back to the community every year. So it's super important to the brand. It's a big thing that, you know, Kevin Plank and the executive leadership team really wants us to do is just, you know, be a staple in the community and to be giving and, you know, just to give back to those in need. Well, we appreciate it.

I know there's a lot of guys that do, and it's very admirable that Under Armour does that and takes an active part in that. Always have, probably always will. It's incredible. So anyway, well, we appreciate you being on the podcast and covering everything that you guys are doing out there at Under Armour. We appreciate you guys' support. Of course, you know, we've worked indirectly and sometimes directly over the course of the years, and of course, appreciate that relationship with you as well. You know, I love the relationship. Thanks for everything you guys do. The feedback, it only, you know, makes us better. I can't wait for you guys to get the new stuff and start beating that up. I'm pretty sure you'll be happy. But yeah, looking forward to keeping this thing going and, you know, next time I see you. So hopefully sometime soon once this COVID thing gets over. I know.

We're tired of COVID. Are you guys tired of COVID back there? Oh my gosh. It's done. It's over. And you guys are locked back down, aren't you? From what I was understanding, I mean, just kind of locked in a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. As of, I think, five o'clock today, they kind of regressed and went back. Like, restaurants and stuff are back to 50% capacity. So it's not good. Yeah. It's not good. Time to go get in a tree stand, Travis. That's what I'm hearing. That's right. That's what I'm hearing.

Get a tree stand and isolate. Can't argue that. That's right. All right. Good luck on everything for the rest of the year. Again, we appreciate your time. And we'll go from there, buddy. Thanks, Travis. Sounds great. Thanks, guys. All right. Talk to you later. Okay, bye. Bye.