DAKINE

By 1986, windsurfing’s center of gravity had shifted to Hood River, Oregon. While Dakine would keep a presence on Maui, its headquarters moved to the mainland. Hood River also sat at the base of Mount Hood, where snowboarders and skiers from all over the world trained in the summer. Now, not only were we talking to some of the world’s best surfers and windsurfers, but we also had world-class snowboarders and skiers coming in and out of the office too. It was one of those snowboarders that led us to the first Heli Pack. He had come off the mountain and wandered into Dakine with a request: He needed an essentials-only pack for his heli trips to Alaska. Dakine created a custom pack that had everything he wanted and nothing more. That favor for a friend eventually turned into one of our most iconic products ever.