We launched HODR Gear on 25 October 2023 after years of bumping into the same field hassles all thru-hikers know—glare that nukes your night vision, sacks that wet-out, hardware that ices-up. As long-time UL backpackers we stopped waiting for big brands to fix them and opened our own micro-lab inside Chongqing’s multilevel “cyber-punk” skyline.

Our design language borrows what we love from Hyperlite Mountain Gear and Zpacks, then pushes the spec: where they run mostly 1.0–1.2 oz DCF laminates for shelters and sacks, we up-armor to 1.6 oz for greater puncture and abrasion margin—yet ship at lower prices thanks to China’s production-cost edge. Every roll of Dyneema® comes straight from Avient USA with lot numbers we can trace to the mill.