Here at Goodland we believe adventure is for everyone.
It’s why we do what we do. We’ve been lucky for sure – we’ve had some great adventures so far. A lot of those happened here, growing up on the Isle of Wight. Like many islanders, we spent some years away – but it’s where we’ve returned to. Being here makes us buzz, makes us grateful; we rely on the island to show us the way. It’s where the Goodland story starts, and why our packs exist at all.
Our journey began like all the best adventures, with… sausages! Sausages, a box of matches, and a healthy dose of inspiration from some classic eighties Chris Columbus movies. Yep – back then it was all just simpler, when a five-bar gate was our mountain and the local angry goose our dragon.
Small moments then but big memories today… stories.
At Goodland, we simply want to help you keep writing those stories. Whether it’s catching the Northern Lights or the Northern Line, our packs will have your back so you’re always prepared to make the most of those moments – wherever and whenever.
That’s where Goodland comes in – because any great adventure is as much about having the right gear as having a good idea.
And if there’s one thing we love more than our Island (and sausages), it’s the humble backpack. To us they are nothing less than the physical manifestation of adventure. Nothing says you’re going somewhere more than a pack and, once you’re going, that’s when the magic happens.
Goodland never started with a mission to re-invent the backpack as we know it – Sorry but s***ing miracles is something even we can’t do!
Nope, when it comes to design we made the decision right from the start to stick with those basic no-brainers, quality not quantity, longevity over landfill and the idea that function will always be in fashion. Pretty traditional right? But then so’s the wheel and the wheel works right? It hasn’t let us down yet.
The goal? To keep the fun in functional, to use materials that deliver and perform and don’t just cause a buzz. To create designs that nod to the past and look to the future. We want to make packs to hold your adventures, to inspire more stories – epic tales to be retold when you’re ready to hand your Goodland pack over to your next generation. That’s right – check mate wheel!
It’s about making something we’re proud of, our Island’s proud of and you’re proud of.
Lofty ambitions for sure, but we’re confident because if there’s one thing we love more than bags, its making them. It’s the only work we’ve ever done that doesn’t feel like a job. We eat it, breath it, sleep it and, well, every now and then even lose sleep over it. We like to think we’re pretty easy going here at Goodland, we’re more a collective than a company, but when it comes to our packs there are no compromises.
If there were, we would have given up years ago. Nope we’ll never be about making more faster – that’s just not our bag! (excuse the pun?) It’s about making something we’re proud of, our Island’s proud of and you’re proud of.
So yep, that’s it, that’s the story, that’s Goodland – just a rag tag bunch of misfits with a penchant for sewing machines and sausages, who refuse to grow up and start taking adventure so seriously. No experts here, and definitely no athletes, we’re not interested in being the first across the finish line or setting records, because we’d rather be explorers.