Written by  Greg Williams, Chief Executive Officer

Immediately upon reporting to my first duty station, I was assigned to the Battalion Headquarters Company, Recon Platoon. I was 19 years old. I'd just arrived as a run-of-the-mill infantryman, and they were throwing me into some platoon that, apparently, I had to "try out" for.

Fast-forward a few weeks, and it turns out the Recon platoon wasn't all that special—just a niche assignment for regular infantry guys that came with a few small perks. One of those perks was the ability to wear personal gear, and our 7-man sniper section all elected to carry Eberlestock Gunslingers. The guys could carry their M4 carbines in hand as we established observation positions, then transition to their long guns (usually an M110 or XM2010) once we were set in place. Our sniper section received different orders than the rest of us when we went to Afghanistan, so I never got to see those guys carry an Eberlestock pack in combat, but it was impossible to forget how much they valued their Gunslingers.

In a very condensed story, that's how I came to know the brand—long before I worked here.

I wasn't reminded of Eberlestock until one day, well after I'd gotten out of the Army, when I was bear hunting with a friend who mentioned Eberlestock HQ was right here in Boise. I hadn't even heard the name Eberlestock since leaving that platoon, and I definitely didn't know they (we) made hunting gear. As I stood on the side of a hill, questioning whether he knew the difference between a ruck and a hunting pack—and simultaneously fumbling with the rifle slung on my shoulder—I thought about how nice it would be to have that "sleeve, pouch, pocket - thing" the guys used to throw their long-guns into. Not only did I go home and look up Eberlestock for a new pack, but I also ended up submitting a resume and an internship application.

In a further condensed story, that's how I came to work for the brand—long before we developed many of the packs you see today.

I'd love to BS everyone and say that I remembered the quality of the stitching, the intentional placement of pockets, the comfort of the frames, etc. The truth is, I was a young private just trying to keep up, stay out of trouble, and maybe look cool. I didn't have the time to notice all of that, but there was no way to forget the original defining feature that made Eberlestock undeniable - the scabbard.

Since 2003, Eberlestock has owned the rifle-carry space. We've had dozens of packs with integrated scabbards, like the original Just One, which started it all, or the original Gunslinger (GS05), which brought the scabbard to the battlefield. We've had legacy versions of the scabbard, like the Tactical Weapon Carrier, which worked as a modular scabbard for Mission packs, and the Bolt Action Scabbard, which still works with new packs like the Brute Series and Hunt EMOD frames.

Just recently, we've introduced both the A.R.C., which serves the Mission EMOD series, and the R.A.I.D. (patent pending), which was introduced as a feature of the Spectre and accommodates larger modern battlefield weapon systems. Our legacy and heritage live on through continued innovation and the timeless utility of our purpose-built designs. Every variation of a scabbard Eberlestock has ever created served unique and effective purposes within the systems they were part of.

That is who we are, and that is our DNA - to build packs intentionally and to build them well. The quality of the stitching, the deliberate placement of pockets, the comfort of the frames, and, especially, the scabbard - all exist to build the most High-Performance Gear.