Fort Collins, Colorado · By skiers, for skiers
Who are we?
Backpacks aren't built for chairlifts. So we built a chest pack that is.
Our Team.
The people behind the pack.
Colt Salerno
Colt focuses on CHAIR1’s overall vision, strategic partnerships, and go-to-market strategy. His background competing in ultramarathons shaped his mindset around performance, durability, and thoughtful product design. Those experiences continue to influence how he approaches product decisions at CHAIR1. He is focused on building gear that improves performance and the overall outdoor experience without compromising affordability or sustainability.
Chip Whiteside
Chip leads product at CHAIR1, focused on building gear that actually makes time on the mountain better, not more complicated. As a software developer, he's wired to think through how things work, break, and get better over time, which tends to carry over into how he builds products.
Alongside his cofounders, he's currently pursuing his MBA at Colorado State University, continuing to sharpen his approach to product, users, and building something people genuinely want.
Being a skier since he was 4, he's spent years dealing with the same problems that brought you here, which now directly shapes how he approaches product decisions at CHAIR1. He's responsible for making sure the product doesn't suck, so if something's off, blame him.
Austin Miller
Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Austin has always been drawn to the outdoors. Spending nearly 4 years travelling across North America in a self-converted school bus allowed him and his wife to chase new adventures and experience some incredible people and places. Today he spends as much time as he can hitting the gym, hiking, camping, visiting breweries, attending music festivals, and building projects that combine creativity with his love for the outdoors.
Where it started.
Two skiers, one MBA program.
Colt saw the problem, and the opportunity first, years before Chair1 had a name. Every lift ride was a wrestling match with a backpack that was never built to sit down. So, he started prototyping a fix, working off a runner's vest at first.
A year later, Colt and Chip met in the MBA program at Colorado State University. Two skiers/snowboarders in the same cohort, talking about ski season before class. Same complaints, same lift rides, same backpacks not meant for the slopes.
Eventually Colt showed Chip what he'd been building. It was a bit rough. Fixing the chairlift problem, but not quite yet something you'd choose for your day on the mountain. But the idea there, and Chip saw the vision, what it could become. So, the two partnered up to build it.
That's Chair1. Simply a problem two skiers/snowboarders couldn't stop thinking about, and a prototype good enough to bet on.
The Story.
Why CHAIR1 exists.
The problem nobody was fixing
We started by noticing a specific problem: backpacks aren't built for chairlifts. Traditional backpacks dig into your back, shift around, and make something as simple as sitting down feel awkward and unsafe when you're dangling 50 feet over the snow. The alternatives we found weren't much better. Vests offered limited storage, awkward fits, and didn't hold up over full days in the mountains. As skiers, we were constantly choosing between comfort and capability, and neither option really worked.
So we built something that does both
This is a company by skiers & boarders, for skiers & boarders. We focused on solving these problems through thoughtful design. Every decision comes back to how it feels and performs on your body. It should be stable when you're carving, comfortable (and safe) on the lift, and durable enough to handle real, seasons-long use. We're not adding features for the sake of it; rather, we're building gear that strives to earn its place on your back. We take a long-term approach to everything we make, scrutinizing our materials, construction, and product life. Sustainability is not something we will figure out later. It is built into how we design from the start.
Small team, tight ship
We operate close to the conditions we design for: early mornings, both bluebird and whiteout weather, and long days chasing the powder. We keep things intentionally tight to limit waste, with a small team, fast and productive iteration, and products that are shaped by real use and feedback from actual users of the product.
The goal is simple: make gear that works the way it should, holds up longer than it needs to, and leaves less behind.
Our Values.
What every decision comes back to.
Home Grown Colorado
We're born in the foothills of Northern Colorado, we build gear that respects the mountains we ride. We use recycled materials because we want to be skiing for years to come. That means protecting our mountains. We're not perfect, but we're paying attention, and we're always learning.
Built Honest. Backed by us.
Durable gear and honest business. We stand behind what we build because we actually use it. If something goes wrong, we make it right. People before profits, is our focus and goal.
Pull Up A Chair
We're skiers and snowboarders like you who saw a problem and decided to fix it. Chair1 was born from this community and it's how we plan to keep building. The best ideas come from the people on the mountain. Yours is vital too, so pull up a chair.
Every Feature Earns Its Place
We don't build things to check boxes. We build them because they solve a real problem. If it doesn't serve a purpose, it doesn't belong.