WE ALL TRAVEL FOR DIFFERENT REASONS
Whether it's the adventure of the unknown, the feeling of connection, or the experiences that make us who we are...
Sometimes we find what we’re looking for, or maybe we discover it was the pursuit itself that mattered all along. Either way, we always return with something more.
At Matador, we make travel gear for the curious, the open-minded, the bold. We travel for different reasons, but we're all in pursuit of experiencing the world unfiltered, first-hand, without limits.
Matador—For the Travelers.
OUR HISTORY IS INSEPERABLE FROM UNCONSTRAINED TRAVEL
Founded in 2014, Matador emerged from a desire for gear that perfectly matched our fast-and-light, flexible approach to travel.
It all started in the Bay Area of California, when Chris, our founder, designed a wallet-sized park blanket he could stash in a coat pocket for his motorcycle commutes. The Pocket Blanket was lightweight, space-saving, and freedom-enabling—and the response was overwhelming. When hundreds of orders poured in overnight, the message was clear: we weren’t the only ones craving gear that could keep up.
We relocated to Colorado in a converted camper van, got a warehouse, and got to work. We’ve evolved a lot since then, but the essence of our first product—radically simple, innovative design that enables unconstrained travel—still permeates everything we make, nearly a decade later.
Today, as an employee-owned company with zero outside investment, our small and hard-working team relishes our ability to move nimbly, accelerate boldly through the turns, and put our unbridled creativity to work.
DESIGN ETHOS: TAKE RISKS, FAIL FAST, REPEAT
We reject the notion that the conventional way is the only way. In an industry largely content with disguising the same old products beneath an overflow of unnecessary features, we’re keeping the dying art of ground-up design alive—because we’re confident that superior equipment emerges from smarter, simpler, problem-solving design.
At our in-house design studio, we begin with a travel problem. From there, our master designers and materials experts sketch, sew, prototype, and test a range of solutions. We iterate daily—taking risks, failing fast, and returning to the drawing board to try again.
The products that result are of the highest quality, but they’re also elegantly simple: they do exactly what they’re designed to do, have everything you need, and, just as importantly, nothing you don’t.
EXPLORATION IS IN OUR DNA
Terminal to trailhead, urban to off-grid: We’re moved by ventures that blend travel with rugged exploration—and we’re energized by fresh experiences, unfamiliar locales, and the sense of connection that comes with frequent escapes among dirt, rock, and sky.
With years of deep experience in both the travel and outdoor industries, we leverage our expertise to build streamlined, durable gear that not only thrives in the demanding environments we seek out, but inspires each of us to get out there, and explore more.
SUSTAINABILITY SHAPES OUR VISION
For us, sustainability isn’t just a marketing tactic—it’s a non-negotiable responsibility.
We’re guided by a desire to ensure the wonders of the world we never tire of exploring will endure for future generations. We know it’s always possible to do better, which is why we’re resolutely focused on improving, expanding and evolving our sustainability practices, today and every day.
Our Commitments:
- We increasingly build our products with recycled materials and/or materials that meet Bluesign® criteria
- Since 2019, we’ve offset all carbon emissions on shipments from manufacturers to our U.S. distribution network through our relationship with CarbonFund.org.
- Our headquarters are powered by WindSource® renewable wind energy and certified by Green-e Energy.
- We upcycle materials at our design studio and build products to be long-lasting and repairable — and our in-house repair program breathes new life into used gear.
- All Matador® products are fully PFC free — way ahead of our 2025 goal.
WE’RE ROOTED IN THE MOUNTAINS + READY FOR TRAVEL ANYWHERE
We thrive where there’s room to breathe and terrain that inspires. Surrounded by mountains and vast open spaces, our Boulder, Colorado headquarters is the perfect place for us to work hard, play hard, and travel hard.
The varied environments just beyond our doorstep motivate our work-week grind, and serve up ample terrain for product testing. Come the weekend, we pop off the radar and into the mountains to recharge—or use them as our launching point for travels further afield.