Flylow

Flylow got its start when co-founders Greg Steen and Dan Abrams, both Colorado natives and friends since college, couldn’t find a pair of ski pants that could hold up to the kind of skiing they were doing. They were exploring the backcountry, tackling big-mountain terrain, and spending long days in variable weather. The gear they were using was either mountaineering apparel, which was built for light and fast travel but often didn’t fit right and lacked style, or resort-oriented ski apparel, which looked good but couldn’t handle the rigors of demanding terrain or the temperature control you needed when climbing and skiing peaks.

Although the two friends had no real background in clothing design, they were skiers with creative minds, so they figured: Why not try to build better ski clothes? A French girl on the mountain observed them skiing and said, “You don’t ski fast—you fly low.” And the Flylow brand was officially born. Their first products, which debuted in 2005, were the super-tough Cactus Pant and the aptly named Black Coat (which, yes, came in just one color).

In the years since, they’ve built a collection of men’s and women’s outerwear that suits the needs of modern skiers.