Past

Projects

I'm Mike Cecot-Scherer, owner and operator of Inkling. I've been employed in the specialty outdoor industry since 1976 and I've designed professionally since 1985.

Since I was a kid, I've hiked & skied & backpacked & climbed and biked and made stuff for those activities. My sensibilities for evaluating and improving gear are strongly biased by personal use, knowledge of how stuff works (a degree in Physics from UC Berkeley has been helpful) and how people relate to, use, and buy their stuff based on 10 years in retail, 16 years as the in-house designer for Kelty, and now 11 years of freelance design. Tempering my natural opinionatedness is a large and ever-growing respect of the ingenious and self-consistent systems that other users have developed; proving that no matter how great a product is, there is no perfect product for everyone.

As a resumé of sorts, here's the simple list of what I've worked on* but please note that these products come to market tasked with specific requirements that embody the vision, sensibilities and immediate needs of their respective brands and the employees who manage and sell them. That's what being a professional product designer is about — helping the client fulfill THEIR vision. As a rule, for every product that was made, there were other options - from conservative to radical - that were considered behind the scenes. Here's what came to market.

TENTS

Novel Technologies:
EYE-pole tents
Continuous sleeve intersections
Vaulted and X-Sleeves
FlyBoy™
WebForce™
Photochromatic PU window
Triptease LightLine™
StakeTape™
Artful prebending
Dual diameter poles
Dual material poles
Close/wide tent clip
Enforced warp hub
Twist clips
Halo structure

Patents:
7,997,292 (Sugar Shack structure)
7,766,023 (EYE pole)
6,866,055 (X-truss sleeves):
6,470,901 (FlyBoy)
5,080,119 (sewn joint)
4,827,958
4,745,936 (LeverLock)

GoLite:
Imogene 2 & 3
Wolf Creek 2 & 3

THE NORTH FACE:
Aguila 23, 33
Kings Canyon 2, 3 & 4
Tadpole FL 2
Talus (2014) 2, 3, 4

MOUNTAIN HARDWEAR:
Meridian 2
SuperMegaUL 2
Archer 2

MARMOT:
EOS 1, 2
EarlyLight
Twilight 2, 3
Halo 4, 6
Pulsar 1 & 2
Eclipse 2 & 3

TICLA:
Teahouse 2, 3
Tortuga 3, 4
Mojave 4


Easton:
Cache 4 & 6
Cache annex 4, 6
Kilo Carbon 2 2014
Kinetic Carbon 3
Si2 Cuben

5 Owls:
Ranger
Solo Shelter

MARMOT:
EOS 1, 2
EarlyLight
Twilight 2, 3
Halo 4, 6
Pulsar 1 & 2
Eclipse 2 & 3

SIERRA DESIGNS:
Stretch Domocile
Clip Flashlight
Snow Dragon
S-Dome Expedition Rainfly
Night Owl & Net Owl
Crystal Dome
Mountain Hut
Meteor Light
Comet
Basecamp
AeroSpace
MeteorLight 2, 3, 4, 6, shelter
VaporLight 1 & 2
Lightning 1, 2, 3 & 4
Wu-Hu 4 & 6
Wu-Hu Annex 4 & 6
Mountain Meteor 2 & 3
Lightning Strike 2
Veranda 2 & 3
KELTY:
Windfoil II & III
Jetstream
Windfoil Light & Breeze
Triple Crown
New Wave
Taj Mahal
Microfoil
Windfoil Ultralight
Aerie
Nautilus
Conness 4
Switchback 2 & 4
Domolite, 2, 4, 6 (2 generations)
Quattro, 2, 4 & 6 (3 generations)
Ridge Rock 9, 12
Sunshade + mini, maxi, big Al
Castle Rock 4 & 6
Magic Wand
Double Fork
Kingston
Expedition 2
Zen
Big Bend 6
Vortex 2, 4, 6
Typhoon 2, 3
Cyclone 2, 3
Streamside 2, 4
Paradise 2, 4
Ruby 2, 4
Canyon Ridge 2, 4
Campsite 2, 4
Kashmir 2, 4
Yellowstone 7, 8, 10
Grand Canyon 9, 11
Jetstream II
Riverbend 2 & 4
Assault
Aero 2
Dart 1, 2
Trail Dome 2, 4
Tao 2
Ledge
Mantra 2, 3, 5, 6, 7
Valhalla 5, 7
Nirvana 4
Raptor 2
Clark Tent
Ledge 2
X-1, X-2
Crestone 1, 2
Gunnison 2, 4
Sage 2
Silver Moon
Quartz 1, 2, 4
Radiant 2, 3
Orb 2, 3
Pagoda 4, 6
Stick 1
Sawtooth 2
Ridge 2
Pagosa 2, 4
Corrie 1, 2
Ouray 2, 3
Shiro 4 & 6
Eve 2 & 3
Presidio 6
Palisade 4, 6
Eden 4

BHA:
eVENT eTent

EMS:
Star 2
Eclipse 2
Escape 2 & 4
Switch Shelter System
Pallas 4 & 6
Velocity 1, 2 & 3
Alpin 2
Sugar Shack 2 & 3

BLACK DIAMOND:
Vista
Mesa
Mirage
Oasis
Stormtrack 2 & 3

SylvanSport:
Go (tent)

Brooks-Range:
Rocket
Invasion
Propel
Propel 2D
Foray

Exxel:
Bristlecone
Sequoia
Pinion 2, 3

PACKS

Novel Technologies:
Lockdown adjustment system
Levitators
LightBeam stay
EVAporator suspension parts
CloudLock adjustable suspension
molded foams and fabrics
Rams' Horn perimeter frame
LiteRail adjustment system

Patents:
6,378,176 (zipper track)
5,704,530 (modular & Levitator)
5,465,886 "Scherer Cinch"
4,842,173 (radial frame)

GoLite:
Quest Packs 50, 65, 80L, M & W

MARK PACK WORKS:
Ski Mountaineer

KELTY:
Pod Packs TL & PL
Ski Mountaineer
Alpinist, 2 generations
Megaton
Track Pack
Tawnee, 2 generations
Red Cloud, 2 generations
Arapaho, 2 generations
STF 3000, 4000, 5000
Adjustable 4000, 5000
White Phantom, 2 generations
White Cloud
Radial Sherpa XLT
Radial Light XLT
Women's Radial Light XLT
Renegade
Cragger
SlickRock (BACKPACKER design award)
Zuni
Telluride
Silverton
Mesa Grande
LaSal
Durango
Dune
White Rim
Poacher
Yo-Yo
Coyote
Junior Coyote
Appalachian
Cheyenne
Continental Divide
WayBack
Cheyenne
Ute
Montauk
Outback
Lunch Sack
Voyager
Trailhead
Zip-Zaps
Collegiate
Vagabond
Wyndham
Melbourne
Brisbane
Arete
CarryOn
Garment Bag
Metro
Deluxe duffel
Trans Cart
Wheelie Carry-On
Shuttle
Big Rolling Duffel
Radial Series, 3 generations
Cirque
Rubber Ducky
Lightwing
Bigfoot
West Coast
Pacific Crest
Super Tioga
Flight
50th Anniversary (BACKPACKER design award)
Haiku
Satori (OUTSIDE design award)

Norrøna:
Consulting on Synkron Packs

>

SLEEPING BAGS

Novel Technologies:
Molten warmth construction (down)
SoftTouch construction (synthetic)
Paisley Wrap Construction

Patents:
4,884,303 (Soft Touch construction, the very first stretch bag patent)

KELTY:
Soft Touch Series (synthetic), 3 generations
Evolution series (down)
Genesis (down)
Serrano series (synthetic)




Something Completely Different:

GSI Outdoors:
Ultralight Drip Coffee Maker

Brollies:
Unique Umbrella

Obviously I've done a crazy number of tents. My current lifetime total is 244 and more are in the works.
Other products I've worked on include: injection molded parts (quite a few); a water meter for hydration bladders; a lightweight stove system; battery powered LED Christmas lights (AKA Twinklers); two high-end pens; boots and insoles; snowshoes; gloves and the new "FlowFit" foam technology being that was used in the new 2007 Patagonia life vests (pat. appl. #20080038969).

* "Worked on" means anything from patterning to engineering the structure, to styling, to troubleshooting; most usually ALL the stuff that gets lumped under the name "design".

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