Crash Pad art

So we've been messing around with a few new things on the Crash Pads. For years, we've had a small rubber logo on the side of the Pads, but with the current production run, we have a larger silk-screened logo on the side.

Another option that hit me this summer is vinyl banners. We had a big one made for this summer's OR show, and it got me thinking. Since this is a sew-able material, we could use it on some of our products. I made a sample backpack, which didn't really come out perfect, but you get the idea...


But there is a lot of crazy shit we could do with this. The only problem is that it's way more expensive than our standard fabrics. But it may be worth it, especially if we did a line of Crash Pads with Playboy centerfolds...
Note the Revolution tattoo on Miss February's ass. Really classy, huh?

End of Upholstery, End of an Era

So we have some bad news for you: The shoe-cleaning upholstery fabrics that have been a staple of Cordless and Revolution Crash Pads for the last 14 years will be going away. Don't worry, it won't happen for another six months or so, but it's going to happen.



Here's the problem: Almost all of the mills that make this material in the USA are moving, or have moved production to Asia. We used Automobile upholstery, the same stuff that covers the seats in your kick-ass Buick LeSabre.



But the US Auto industry is in a swan dive, so the domestic demand has fallen off. It's kind of an ugly way to learn about economics, huh?

So the only way we could have a consistent, inexpensive supply of this fabric is if we purchased a boat container quantity of fabric rolls. And that would cost us about $150,000. In other words, it ain't going to happen anytime soon.

But we have another idea to remedy this situation: The little Ammo Rugs. These small rugs are easily available for us now and in the future.


Plus, it makes more sense to have a separate shoe-cleaning utensil that's not built into the Pad: The area where you need to place a Crash Pad is not always at the base of the boulder problem, where you would need a rug.

So when we run out of Upholstery, we will be including the rugs with our Crash Pads. So it's not really bad news, just a little change.

Commando Part 3

Just in case you have no idea of what "Commando Part 3" means, I am not suggesting that there is a sequel to that Schwarzenegger film, although it would be totally bitchen' if there was.



No, this is a sequel to my little spray session about the Commando Crash Pad.

We're doing a little production run of the Commandos right now, about 60 of them. The total amount of fabric needed for these Pads is 1845 square feet, if you include the new shoulder strap. That's 171 square meters, for you guys on the metric system. And the amount of waste is a mere 1200 square inches (.77 square meters), which looks like this...



Think about that. 1845 square feet of fabric. That is roughly the same area as a three-bedroom house. And all the waste can be held in your hands. All the materials are sourced in North America and all the production is done right here in Salt Lake.

That's why I call the Commando the most efficient Pad we have ever made. Possibly the most efficient Crash Pad, period.

And if that ain't enough, we're doing this run of Commandos in Black and Camo fabric, in honor of Schwarzenegger and his goofy-ass films.




"Ja, now I am totally zee Gofenor of Cullyfonia, so Fack Yoo."