World-renowned snow and motorcycle apparel company based in eastern Idaho marks 25 years
Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
After 25 years of operation, Klim is a world-renowned brand
Klim headquarters at 3753 East County Line Road in Jefferson County. | Courtesy Klim
RIGBY – Teton Outfitters was just a small shop that provided high-end gear for ski patrol and search and rescue personnel when Justin Summers opened it on the third floor of what is now Journeys at 111 East Main Street in Rigby in the mid-1990s.
Today, it’s a world-renowned brand called Klim. It’s headquartered in a 16,000-square-foot building at 3753 East County Line Road with three separate distribution centers in Ohio, Canada and the Netherlands. The company provides ski, snowmobile, motorcycle and lifestyle apparel for customers across the globe.
It is celebrating its 25th year of operation, and company President Paul Hepworth tells EastIdahoNews.com it’s a thrill to reach this milestone.
“I remember when we hit 20 years. We thought we had the world by the tail. Looking back over the last five years coming through COVID and all the disruptions in the supply chain, we’ve had a lot of challenges. Here we are at 25 years, and we’re even better than we were at 20,” Hepworth says.
To still be experiencing growth after a quarter century of operation “reinforces the power of the brand,” Hepworth says, and he’s grateful to industry partners and customers who have brought them to this point.
Summers was a college student at the University of Utah when he founded Klim. He built it from the ground up, getting all his initial funding from credit cards and student loans. In a video about the company’s beginnings, Summers recalls staying home with his wife on Friday nights doing quality control on Klim gear while all their friends were out having fun.
“I didn’t have the financial means to not deliver,” Summers explains. “One of the most important things in starting a business is … refusing to lose.”
Refusing to lose was his mantra from the beginning, and it remains an important part of the company’s culture today.
After graduating from college, the Summers moved back to Rigby and changed the name to Klim. It refers to Summers’ enjoyment of climbing a mountain for skiing or snowmobiling, and its unique spelling is based on marketing principles he learned in college.
The appeal of the logo is that it’s concise and it stands out, Hepworth says.
After all these years, Klim’s most popular product is the snow boot.
“Having wet feet when you snowmobile is one of the easiest pain points that people experience. Your boots have to work. They’re right next to a hot motor, lots of powder splashing up on them and it turns to moisture instantly,” says Hepworth.
Gloves are popular as well. See how some of the products are made in the video above.
Klim launched a new lifestyle clothing segment last fall and will be launching several new products soon.
Lifestyle apparel in the showroom at Klim in Rigby. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Many competing companies are actively working to close motorized access to trails, Hepworth says, and Klim customers can be confident their money is being used to support access to public lands. Klim works with the Bureau of Land Management and other agencies to remove trash and debris from outdoor trails and recreational sites.
After 25 years, Hepworth says they feel like they’ve got the recipe for success figured out, and he’s looking forward to more global expansion in the future.
“We understand the customer and the reason we do is because … we ride,” he says. “We ride bikes, we ride snowmobiles. We know what the demands are, and we feel like we’ve got the right recipe. It’s our mission to enhance the rider’s experience.”