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The new Golite went live today
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Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › The new Golite went live today
- This topic has 70 replies, 43 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 7 months ago by HiLight.
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May 26, 2016 at 4:27 pm #3404886
Was their first customer today. Stuff looks good.
May 26, 2016 at 4:29 pm #3404887Yeah, just got the email too. Looks like they brought back the sl5, sl3, jam, umbrella and a few other odds and ends.
Though…I think their names are dumb….instead of the jam its called the “backpack light 50”?….and instead of Shangri la 3…they call it the pyramid 3 shelter?
What awful generic names…seems it would be hard to market such generic naming conventions?
May 26, 2016 at 4:50 pm #3404894holy cow! Â you’re not kidding on the names – poncho. Â tent 2, tent 3. Â chrome umbrella. Â backpack light.
WTF?
May 26, 2016 at 5:23 pm #3404902I got the “Golite” poncho and Zpacks one after all the poncho talk. Love the green color on the Golite one. We’ll see how it works.
May 26, 2016 at 5:26 pm #3404903you’re not kidding on the names – poncho.  tent 2, tent 3.
May 26, 2016 at 5:27 pm #3404904Wow, I’m not a fan of the website design at all. GIANT photos that feed on their own and way too much scrolling needed to get the info you need.
I hope they can improve on that asap.
May 26, 2016 at 7:21 pm #3404915At that price I’m seriously thinking about taking a punt finally on a GoLite Poncho.
May 26, 2016 at 7:48 pm #3404925Ok, so I’m a noob. I’ve only been backpacking for about three years. I’ve heard lots of stories about Golite and I was excited to see their products but now that I see them I fail to see what is so exciting about their product line. They don’t have any shelters or backpacks that seem particularly compelling compared to similar products at similar pricepoints from Gossamer Gear, MLD or SMD.
What makes Golite so great?
May 26, 2016 at 8:19 pm #3404928Anyone recall if the Jam 50 was frameless? I’m wondering why this new version weights more than an HMG 2400 WR pack, aluminum stays and all. Â It seems like if the Jam has stays it might explain why it weighs 2lbs.
May 26, 2016 at 8:45 pm #3404932The Jam 50 had a framesheet of dense (and thus relatively heavy) foam.
The Jam was standard setting a decade ago, but even in 2012 was getting long in the tooth, mainly because the suspension upgrades over the year had a problematic gain per ounce ratio. The design and feature set of the Jam 50/70 was excellent, and if they ditched the framesheet and heavy 3D mesh for stays and a lightly padded hipbelt they’d have a winner for sure.
May 26, 2016 at 9:05 pm #3404939heard lots of stories… their products
On packs, the difference is some like that zippered front pocket (ex-Jam, Mytrail now) some I know like.
May 26, 2016 at 11:25 pm #3404955I ordered the poncho. I *think* I was their 3rd customer :)
(not the greatest bragging rights, but still..)May 27, 2016 at 4:41 am #3404982The LT70 pack is already out of stock, due back July 7th.
I’ve never owned one but I remember looking at them and what attacted me was the low price, you routinely could get them on sale for $99. Â Since then there has been a lot of new competition. Â They are still nice looking packs.
May 27, 2016 at 8:36 am #3405004Yeah I think golite was a big deal way back when….and at the beginning their prices were super low. I bought my first quilt from them and I don’t think I even paid $100…and it was a fantastic quilt.
Now?  I’m a little sad that MyTrailCo appears to be simply a rebrand, possibly to get out of having to pay debtors???  At some point you’d think there would be at least SOME innovation…i mean, GoLite sold these products before (or at least they listed them as for sale…not sure they ever actually were in stock and shipped) and went under.  Why would selling the same products, only this time at higher prices, be a better business model?
[Can you tell I need to get out for a hike?]
May 27, 2016 at 8:57 am #3405008GoLite initially was a hit because they were selling gear that was loosely associated with Ray Jardine’s ideas. Â It’s hard to say how instrumental Ray’s “The PCT Hiker’s Handbook” book (and later revisions) was to lightweight backpacking, but he clearly was one of the people who popularized the idea. Â GoLite took some of Ray’s ideas (at first with Ray’s blessing) and made them available to those who did not want to sew their own gear. Â They were one of the first companies that catered to the lightweight backpacking crowd.
Over time, the gear got heavier and started to look more mainstream, Jardine withdrew his blessing, and the company was forced to change their business model after they had opened and closed several retail locations, and went to a direct-to-consumer model.
May 27, 2016 at 9:34 am #3405015I don’t understand some of this GoLite hate. As mentioned above, they indeed did indulge in a bit of feature creep on some products, which increased the weight ( the Jam packs come to mind). However, some of their early offerings were products that performed well, were comparatively lightweight, and were not expensive. The Shangri-la tent line comes to mind here.
There were also some unique products that became rather iconic–the Reed WP/B pants for one, the Ion pack, and the Bitterroot parka. We here in Boulder enjoyed the luxury of scoring their equipment and clothing at rock bottom prices during their semi-annual warehouse sales, which taints my opinion a bit. I also got to know some of the employees, and it was a fun group of people.
The only problems I have had with the company were (1) they went cutesy toward the end with their casual apparel line, and (2) Coup had an impenetrable ego where he wouldn’t listen to any suggestions relating to product improvement, or ideas for new products to consider. One time he told me, with a wry smirk on his face, “Oh, we already have it all figured out.” Well, that was obviously not at all true. Time will tell whether they can make the new company work. I hope they do, but I won’t bet on it.
May 27, 2016 at 9:37 am #3405016. Â Why would selling the same products, only this time at higher prices, be a better business model?
Having said that, not sure what GoLite 2.0’s market is currently.
We’ll see…
May 27, 2016 at 10:14 am #3405024Those product names belong to the GoLite creditors now — corporate assets I’m sure.
Glad to see the poncho available. I was surprised that no one really stepped into that part of the market. The distinctions being that it is very light and the back is longer to cover your pack and still protect your backside. Good value too.
May 27, 2016 at 10:49 am #3405028I imagine MTC will come up with actual product names at some point. If they can make this business viable hopefully they can start some innovation too. I’m sure right now they can’t afford to redesign stuff.
May 27, 2016 at 11:09 am #3405033From @paulmags blog post: “If GoLite can rediscover an earlier ideal of “champagne gear at beer prices“, (as opposed to “good white wine at expensive craft beer prices”) with perhaps some good innovations, they may regain their footing.” – I think this describes perfectly why I’m so underwhelmed by what I see on the 2.0 website. That and the sour taste in my mouth from the creditor mess Coup left behind.
It’s a subset of the same old same old, at higher prices. No doubt he had to pay the contract manufacturer up front for the launch order. Perhaps he has to pay a license fee to use the designs. Which were good, once upon a time. But the material choices worsened over time. These specs look identical to the last generation that GoLite and then Big Agnes sold.
May 27, 2016 at 11:32 am #3405039The products seem pretty Neanderthal. Nothing light about them, either.
“Ugh, me make bad website. Ugh, me make tent. Ugh, me call them tent 1, tent 2, tent 3.
ugh…
May 27, 2016 at 11:50 am #3405043Too bad, really. There is a market for good, solid and affordable lighter gear. Something in between the cottage stuff and the heaiver, more mainstream gear. Â Doesn’t have to be cutting edge or the lightest, just has to be what I call “bread and butter” gear: Simple, functional, affordable.
The *old* Jam, the Bitterroot when it was on sale, the Shngri-La, the Reed pants and so on.
If this was any other company launching gear it would be even more “Meh” than it is now. The only reason why there is any interest is because GoLite, a well known and once-influential company, is trying to pull a Lazarus and rise back from the dead.
May 27, 2016 at 11:51 am #3405044“That and the sour taste in my mouth from the creditor mess Coup left behind.”
I do not remember the details, but it is hard for me to give business to Golite after how things went down. Bad business practices. But what do I know. Poncho sounds nice…
May 27, 2016 at 11:58 am #3405046if they can mass produce an updated (lighter) version of their quilts and price em within 10% or so of EEs prices … which they should be able to do if they make em overseas, sell direct, and with the low price of down bags these days …
with no wait times …
they could be selling em like UL marmot flavored hotcakes
they should also have updated and brought back the SL 1/2 …
;)
May 27, 2016 at 12:12 pm #3405049Yeah, it’s all pretty strange. Coup has an MBA, and then he let this happen. I have trouble respecting him after the way he stiffed his creditors, but I’m glad that I stockpiled some gear when I could buy it cheaply. The 2009 Jam 2, when they added hip belt pockets (and to which I extensively modified to add an external titanium rod frame and did other hacks), is still my favorite pack at 1# 13 oz. Then there’s the SL-3, the Reed pants, my “de-ionized” Ion, and the beloved Bitterroot parka–all great stuff.
We’ll just have to see whether they can come up with anything better that is functional, light, and cheap. The market is there, newer materials exist, and simpler products are popular (e.g. HMG). It will be interesting to see if MyTrail can return to its roots.
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