Looking Back: Five Unexpected Moments from 2025
Happy New Year from our little corner!
January tends to be a quieter month for us—fewer events, fewer miles logged, more time to look back and take stock. Instead of rushing into the next thing, we wanted to share a few moments from 2025 that caught us off guard, made us laugh, or reminded us why we’re doing this in the first place.
Here are 5 unexpected moments from last year, straight from behind the scenes:
1. Kicking Things Off, Even After the Sun Clocked Out
Running around the city for three hours with a school of bladers and boarders in the middle of the night (SF Friday Night Skate) wasn’t exactly in the original shot list — but that’s how the B-CAP lifestyle photos came to life and how we kicked off last Spring. 12 miles in length & equal parts chaos, joy, and sore legs.
2. Singer Machine Mod
Out of necessity (and curiosity), Ian chopped up our old Singer sewing machine that was just sitting in our storage and rewired it to run off a screw-gun battery. Suddenly, our sewing setup could go anywhere. Not the prettiest, but sooo handy at our events. It allows us to offer free color swaps for the reflective paracord as well as closing off the ponytail/ vent hole on L-CAP.
3. Pant-less Individuals at Our Booth
Although it was our first time participating at PCT Days, we thought a fun addition to our little booth would be assisting the passing PCT hikers with free sew repair service! (we also saw it as a small break from talking all day) What we didn’t expect was that there would be far more holey pants than holey backpacks. At times, one side of our booth was filled with curious visitors asking about our offers, while the other side… well, a backpacker might be taking their pants off — or already pant-less — just having a casual moment catching up with their friends while we patch things up.
4. Pacific Northwest Got Us Good
The road trip to PCT Days was so good we decided to extend our stay a few extra days. It was the people, the urban outdoor scenery, and even the animals at the Hipcamp site that made it unforgettable. Somehow we made it home with everything we brought — plus not one, but three unicycles. Blame the irresistible Facebook Marketplace finds and too many “Muni” (mountain unicycling) videos.
5. Second Summer with REI’s Local Buy Program
Every now and then, as we were resetting the display, someone would lean in and whisper, “Parapack is better than REI,” right inside the store. It always makes us flustered. But the reality of running a small business means exploring different channels, meeting people where they already are, and being willing to test and learn.
REI was a big part of our own early outdoor experience, and even as the co-op evolves, it’s still where a lot of people catch the outdoorsy bug and start picking up gear that helps them spend more time outside. During our second summer in REI’s Local Buyer Program, we had countless spontaneous conversations and brainstorm sessions with local customers and enthusiastic store staff. We’ve been taking notes—and letting those lessons shape how we approach 2026.
Thanks for following along, whether you’ve been here since the early days or just recently crossed paths with us. We’re grateful you’re part of this journey — especially in the quieter moments.
Here’s to moving thoughtfully into the year ahead.
With appreciation,
Jai-Yu & Ian
