Name: Nash Calvin
Position at HMG: Technical Pattern Designer
Years with HMG: Under a year
Products you’ve worked on: Elevate 22, Crux 40… Spring 24?
What’s your background prior to working here?
Prior to working here, I was completing my undergraduate degree at Utah State University. The degree was in Outdoor Product Design and Development, so the role I am in now seems fitting.
The courses where basically designed around a traditional industrial design degree: sketching, some 3-D modeling… However, we were also required to take some basic sewing courses that progressed depending on whether you were pursuing hardgoods or soft goods.
The school and degree suited my passions well. Positioned right at the mouth of an amazing canyon and trail system, it was great to take products I made and thought up in class out into the backcountry early on.
From this experience I worked free-lance and did some basic remote product design for Parks Project in LA. I was always more interested in the technical but minimal side of the backpacking world though. This led me to complete a hike of the Uinta Highline Trail in Utah and a south-bound A.T. thru hike.
While I was on the Appalachian Trail, a job recruiter reached out to me because I was featured in a Garage Grown Gear article my buddy wrote. It was surreal to have a preliminary job-screening while I was filtering water at a shelter in the Smokies.
What’s your primary role in R&D?
My primary role in R&D is sketching concepts and then translating those into pattern pieces that we can further develop and critique with the sample sewing team.
What do you enjoy most about being in R&D?
I enjoy the creative freedom we are given. Plus, it doesn’t suck to have every machine you can dream of from a sewing perspective. Right now, as we continue to push ourselves as a company to develop new products, there is something oddly motivating about having a creative fire under us.
What design / design solution are you most proud of thus far?
The design solution I am most proud of is the Elevate 22. When I started the team tasked me with redesigning some of the finer details of the pack and making it an easier product to manufacture overall. I was able to come up with some solutions that made the bag what it is now. Also, I am just excited that I was part of the Crux 40 project at all. The lid shape/system was something I worked on for a long time with the sample department coming up with countless prototypes until we finally landed on something we were all stoked on.
Where do you see ultralight backpacking and multisport heading in terms of gear?
That’s top secret stuff.
What’s your number one tip for getting the most out of a piece of gear?
My number one tip for getting the most out of your gear, specifically packs, is to take care of it like you would your home or room. Treat it with the care and respect it deserves, and it will last however long you want it to.
Favorite outdoors related quote?
The goal at the end of the journey should always be perfection. The cool thing is whenever you realize you’ll never get there the journey itself becomes all the grander and more beautiful.
