I started Bolo-X because I kept skipping the run. Or the hike. Or the weekend trip I'd been looking forward to all week. Not because I didn't want to go, but because by the time I checked my gear, something was missing, worn out, or just never bought in the first place. The stuff that actually worked was priced like it was built for professional guides, not for someone who just wanted to get outside after work. So I started making it myself.
My name is Michael Zebell, and Bolo-X started as a pretty simple idea: outdoor gear should be practical, it should hold up, and it should be something a normal person can actually afford. Not a stripped-down version of "real" gear, but the real thing, just without the markup that comes from a logo everyone's heard of.
That meant testing everything ourselves, in the conditions we actually go out in: real trails, real weather, real mileage. If a jacket can't handle a surprise downpour on a Tuesday morning run, it doesn't matter how good it looks on a shelf. We build for the miles, not the display case.
It also meant thinking hard about what we're leaving behind. Recycled materials, seam-sealed construction that's built to last instead of get replaced every season, gear that respects the places we're using it to explore.
Bolo-X isn't about conquering mountains or running ultras (though if that's your thing, we've got you). It's about making sure gear is never the reason you stay home. Every product we make gets asked the same question: does this help someone get out the door? If the answer's no, it doesn't ship.
We're still a small team, still testing gear on our own runs and hikes and weekend trips, still trying to make outdoor gear a little more practical and a little more fun for everybody, no matter where "outdoors" means for you.
Thanks for being part of it.
-Michael Zebell, Founder
What We Stand For
"We test every jacket, board and wetsuit ourselves — on the mountains and coastlines we grew up on."
— Michael Zebell