The backpack company with a controversial name, Douchebags

How a good product can even overcome a silly name

Photo by Nate Johnston on Unsplash

In 2012 the Swedish freeskier Jon Olsson and the Norwegian product designer Truls Brataas founded Douchebags. You may wonder why anyone would found a brand with that name, but if it is anything, it is a catchy name.

The company‘s mission is to make better journeys through smarter travel gear. One might say that this goal isn’t very unique, I‘d guess almost every company manufacturing travel gear has a similar goal. But douchebags approach is what makes them extraordinary.

The very first product they launched was a ski-carrying bag called „the Douchebag“. Not only did it win multiple awards but it set the tone of what the company wants to be. They want to merge their active, urban lifestyle, rooted in their experiences in the action sports, into their luggage products. The „Douchebag“ combined a light and sleek design with a length adjustability system and toughness. When empty, the Snowroller can be rolled together in a very small package, taking up much less space than a conventional ski bag. This allowed skiers to have a reliable carrying option for their skis and a sleek package to store away. Since the introduction of the original Douchebag, several additions have been made to their lineup, lifestyle as well as sports-oriented models. But what really separates Douchebags from the competition are two things.

The „cool“ camera bags

First of all, Douchebags manages to find niches and make a fitting product for that niche. A really good example of this are Douchebag’s camera bags.

With social media filmmaking and photography got really into the spotlight. Jon Olsson picked that up quite fast and he is a famous YouTuber. When you Vlog, you want to have somewhere to put your gear, preferably somewhere where it doesn’t break. Camera bags have been around longer than YouTube has but their problem is that a „normal“ camera bag does not fit the image a YouTuber is trying to produce. It isn’t a very stylish bag. So Douchebags simply made one of their own. It’s called „The Backpack“ and in addition to it, you can get the „CIA“ camera insert. This duo is a match made in heaven for any videographer. Not only do you get a fancy looking backpack but the insert protects your gear perfectly. Quite recently (in 2019) they also added the „Backpack Pro“ and „CIA Pro“ to their camera bag lineup. The pro models are just a bit bigger than their predecessors so they also allow an SLR camera to fit comfortably. But it isn’t just to coolness which makes these camera bags. They are also very functional. They allow you to bring all your gear, including lenses, drones, and even a laptop, while still managing to protect the gear. What more can you want from a camera bag?

A complete Douche

The second thing Douchebags excels at, is providing the customer with a complete package. The company manufactures every kind of luggage, from big roller bags over daypacks and duffles to just school and lifestyle backpacks. Not only are the sole products amazing and very functional, but together they build a complete package. Douchebags has a hook-up system that allows you to hook your backpack to a roller bag. And you can continue that, for example you can hook-up the camera insert to your backpack, then hook-up this to your Skiroller and again hook it up to your big roller bag. This diversity makes it easier for Douchebags to sell their products to customers. Instead of having to market a newer version of a backpack, Douchebags can provide its customer with a completely different product.

A lasting appeal

So it’s safe to say that Douchebags is quite an extraordinary company. But even though they have a name it takes some time to get used to, their products are amazing. They are functional and last you a very long time. And it‘s not just me that is saying that. There are a lot of people who really like the Douchebags and it shows. The company says that they delivered a 200% revenue growth from year to year (via douchebags linkedIn) and in my opinion there are worse things than growing revenue like this with a douchebag.