By focusing on product lifecycles, reducing consumption behaviour and harbouring a repair and reuse culture, we can go a long way to reducing the environmental footprint of our products.
Constant Forward Progress
Material Choices
We work directly with leading manufacturing partners (or textile mills) to develop our own materials, produced locally to our manufacturing partners, and designed to our exacting requirements for durability and low environmental impact. This gives us greater control and confidence over the lifecycle of our products and the impact of the materials used to make them. We also challenge industry conventions and use technology to further reduce material wastage, using computerised cutting and pattern optimisation.
Low Impact Shipping
We do everything we can to reduce the distance raw materials and our packs must travel. From sourcing raw materials created locally to our factories, to shipping by sea and carefully managing stock levels between our warehouses so packs can be shipped to customers by rail and road. We believe our packs should travel further with you than they do in transit to you.
Built to Last
Designing packs that are Built to Last and promoting long product lifecycles is key to ensuring the materials and resources that go into them are used to their full potential. Packs that are Built to Last start at the source, creating raw materials to our exacting specifications and carries through to working with talented craftspeople using advanced construction methods to create technical and refined products that are designed with longevity in mind.
Built to Repair
Much like a bike, even the best packs sometimes need upkeep and maintenance to keep them working well. With this in mind, we design our packs to be easily repaired, preserving the history and stories etched into the material though use whilst simultaneously reducing the environmental impact of your bikepacking.
Our field repair guides will help keep you on the road should the worst happen; even the most damaged packs can be put back in service by our talented local repairs teams in Europe and Canada.
Repurposed Through Revive
Packs, left over from testing and development represent resources – fabric, time, and energy – no longer in use but still useful. By investing in getting these packs back into circulation through our Revive Program, we can reduce unnecessary waste and extend the useful lifecycle of idle packs.
FAQ
We’re on a mission to create the best possible technical products that solve problems you and other adventure cyclists face, so you can make the most of experiencing the world by bike.
When was Apidura founded?
Apidura was founded in 2013 by Tori Fahey and Pierre Coeffe. Frustrated by the lack of technical gear available compared to other areas of cycling, Tori decided to bridge the gap herself by applying a ‘precision-crafted’ approach to bikepacking luggage. This focus on function and working with advanced tools and materials has come to define Apidura and our products.
Where does the name Apidura come from?
Apidura is a portmanteau of two Latin words that represent key elements of our brand. ‘Api’, for bee, and ‘dura’, for durable.
Bees hold personal significance for Tori, who used to race bikes dressed as a bee, but are also a strong symbol for cyclists – able to swarm together or travel alone, and an industrious force for good, which we hope to mirror at Apidura.
‘Dura’ represents our focus on creating packs and a business that are Built to Last.
Where is Apidura based?
We have offices in the UK and France and a supply and distribution chain that spans most continents.
Apidura was founded on the premise of making high-quality bikepacking gear accessible to consumers wherever they are in the world. By focusing on our website, fast international delivery and a global network of partner stores, we aren’t limited to a single location or region.
How do I contact Apidura?
Email [email protected], call us on +44 (0)20 8064 0596 (9am-6pm UK Time Monday-Friday) or find us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Where are Apidura packs made?
We work closely with suppliers around the world, including the USA, Europe and Asia, to source the finest possible materials to support our designs. Our Packs are precision crafted at our factories in China and Philippines, with skilled specialists carrying out cutting, sewing and welding.
Why do you manufacture in Asia?
Manufacturing our packs where we source our raw materials helps us limit their environmental footprint by reducing the distance the constituent parts need to travel. Asia also leads the world in technical manufacturing, and we carefully select partners who share our values and bring new technologies and capabilities that allow us to push boundaries.
The quality, longevity and reputation of our gear stands testament to the quality of our manufacturing partners and their unrivalled expertise.
Do you use any recycled materials?
Ensuring our products are Built to Last drives our materials and design choices, as keeping products in use longer is the single greatest way to reduce their environmental impact.
We use recycled and recyclable materials wherever we are able to do so without compromising product quality and performance. Currently, we use buckles made from recycled nylon on our Packables Series , as well as a composite fabric made with 100% recycled fiber and film in several products in our Backcountry Series. Since 2022, Apidura’s hang tags and packaging materials are made from 100% recycled and recyclable content.
Technology and materials are rapidly evolving, and recycled materials and trims are closing the gap on their virgin counterparts. We hope to be able to incorporate more recycled raw materials into our products as the performance gap closes.
How do I wash Apidura packs?
Wash our packs by hand, using a mild diluted soap if necessary. Afterwards, let it air dry. Do not machine wash, machine dry, or iron.
Are Apidura packs waterproof?
All of our packs (apart from the Food Pouches) are fully waterproof and use waterproof materials, waterproof zips and seam welding to ensure your contents remain dry no matter the conditions.
What is ‘REVIVE’?
Revive is our circular economy second-life marketplace where repaired, refurbished and sample packs are available for purchase.
By purchasing ‘revived’ packs, you give purpose back to idle packs while also helping reduce unnecessary waste and (we hope) reduce demand for new low-cost products with shorter lifecycles.
What are you doing to make your packaging sustainable?
Packaging plays an important role to protect the products we make against moisture and dust as they are stocked, shipped and then delivered. It’s an ongoing balancing act; protecting the product, where most of the environmental impact is contained, and minimizing the environmental cost of the packaging itself (resource intensity to produce, feasibility for reuse/recycling, end-of-life). We evaluate packaging alternatives on an ongoing basis, as technology and infrastructure in this area is advancing. Among the alternatives that we are evaluating on an ongoing basis are the following:
– plant-based plastics
– recycled/recyclable cardboard and paper
– biodegradable plastics and composites
– recyclable plastics
– reusable shipping bags
Since 2022, Apidura’s hang tags, packaging and shipping materials are made from 100% recycled and recyclable content (though you may see alternative options, including reusable shipping bags and compostable options as we continue our journey to minimize our impact on the environment). We also use cardboard boxes and paper packing tape on larger shipments.
If you are interested in learning more about packaging tradeoffs, WRAP is an excellent starting point.
Do you have PFAs or harmful chemicals in your supply chain?
PFAs (also known as PFCs) are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals and are often used in outdoor gear to give water repellency to textiles. The DWR (durable water repellency) treatments in which they are used are helpful to prevent water saturation from rain, which has led to them being widely used in mainstream outdoor products; however, they also have demonstrated bio-accumulative and toxic consequences.
Since its inception, Apidura actively worked to find alternatives to the use of PFAs that would enable users to experience durable waterproof performance without the environmental and health consequences associated with PFAs.
In 2015, Apidura pioneered the transition to the use of TPU coating as an alternative source of water repellency in bikepacking industry and subsequently succeeded to eliminate PFAs from its supply chain entirely.