In a sunny studio overlooking the bustling streets of Seattle’s Pioneer Square, High Above consists of three craftsmen working to produce the highest quality riding bags on the market. Bathed in beautiful (and rare) late winter sunlight, Kyle, Spencer, and Eric plug away at various sewing machines. A 2D CNC machine hums in the back of the room, making patterns the human hand finds difficult. A blueprint of the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, inspiration for the pattern taking shape on the CNC table, hangs on the wall. This all sounds very serious, but please know that the industrial-looking CNC machine has googly eyes. This is High Above, and they produce nothing but quality.

My experience with High Above is personal. Many years ago, I heard about the brand when a YouTuber praised their hip pack’s simple, durable, working nature. It piqued my interest, as I, too, value utilitarian workability over questionable, feature-laden designs. A few years later, I moved to Bellingham, Washington, where High Above was based. I had fallen deeply in love with mountain biking and wanted to move closer to it after graduating from college. At this time in my life, photography was simply a hobby.

I took a photo of a friend shortly after moving to Bellingham. Someone at High Above saw it and purchased the photo from me. It was my first time selling a photo and my entrance into making money from photography. It turned out that High Above was looking for another person to join the sewing team. I applied, and was soon learning how to sew. I spent most of my time assembling some of the accessory pouches that High Above offers, like the Hot Pocket and Trail First Aid Kit. Humourously, it became clear that my skills as a sewer were more in the hobbyist category than the economically profitable category. It was a mutual decision that I should just take photos of the packs instead of trying to make them. I stayed close to the folks at High Above and helped with some photography work.

In 2024, High Above’s founder, JC Canfield, sold the company to Kyle Thackray and Spencer Kadas. After learning the ropes, the two moved the shop from Bellingham back to its birthplace in Seattle. Helping Kyle and Spencer is Eric Wilkins, who previously spent time as the production manager of Swift Industries.

High Above prides itself on its durable and functional design. A testament to this ethos was the decade-old hip pack that Kyle still rides with. He bought it on Craigslist from the original owner. The zipper had been replaced once, but the pack is still as good as it was when it left JC’s original studio. If anything, the patina it’s earned since then has only made it cooler. The team aims to keep this repairable and timeless legacy at the core of the business as they continue to evolve the brand; no gimmicks, no compromises.

The Supernatural Vest Pack is the first product they’ve released under their new ownership. It’s a departure for the traditionally hip-pack-only brand, and they’ve done a stellar job integrating the core traits High Above is known for. Read our review of the pack; you’ll see that it uses durable fabrics and utilitarian design to stand the test of time. The final form came after 50 prototypes. Along the way, they landed on a pattern for the pack’s body inspired by the faceted aesthetic of the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, a stealth aircraft developed by Lockheed’s secretive Skunk Works divisions throughout the 1970s.

The plane’s exterior uses flat panels arranged to reduce the reflection of radio waves back to the radar detector and reduce the aircraft’s radar cross section. The Supernatural pack achieves a similar appearance that helps shape the pack’s volume without adding bulk. There are no promises about radar cross-section reduction for the Supernatural pack. High Above’s CNC machine makes this advanced shape possible, as its intricate cuts are difficult for human hands to replicate at an economically viable pace. My favorite Skunk Works aircraft is the fastest air-breathing plane ever made, the SR-71 Blackbird. Its shape is equally striking, but less faceted. I’m curious what kind of design inspiration can be pulled from its shape. I’d love a pack that allowed me to ride at Mach 3.3.

Now, they are working on integrating this faceted design language into the next generations of their other products, like the Venture 3d hip-pack remodel. Like a Skunk Works aircraft, it uses cutting-edge technology like 3D-printed panels to provide padding, structure, and breathability. These pads are coming out of the same factory that makes many 3D-printed saddles cropping up all over the market. It’s comfortable and sleek and demonstrates High Above’s ability to incorporate innovative ideas and materials in non-gimmicky ways.

I’ve been fortunate enough to use almost all of the High Above products, and they all strike me as some of the finest offerings in their categories. I’ve been using the Lost Lake duffel to carry my waders, wet layers, riding shoes, and clothes while fishing, riding, and camping. It’s such a pleasant object, visually and texturally. My girlfriend is obsessed with the prototype hip pack that Kyle and Spencer sent me home with. The understated appearance and easy-to-use features have made it a constant in her rotation, whether we are going mountain biking or just putzing around town. I try to use it, but she insists it is now hers. Fortunately, I have a camo pattern Venture with the added quickdraw feature (a magnetically coupled fidlock bottle, which works very well) for those slightly longer rides where I don’t quite yet need the Supernatural.

Along with glimpses into future products, the folks at High Above showed me some of the proprietary fabrics they have been developing with a fabric manufacturer. I hope this project survives the preposterous tariff obstacle course we are currently navigating here in the United States. My heart goes out to all the small makers and artisans who will face the brunt of this idiocy.

I asked Kyle, Spencer, and Eric to bring their bikes for the shoot. We consumers are frequently curious about what the people behind the products use. Eric brought his Black Mountain Cycles MCD (Monster Cross Disc) decked out in Swift Industries goodies. It’s a Seattle bike: robust tires and full fenders for our rainy, gritty PNW streets. If you will, Eric was rocking a derailleur guard, a poor man’s transmission derailleur. I loved his bike; it was subtle, understated, and capable. It was also a lovely contrast to the shreddy rigs Kyle and Spencer were rocking. Unfortunately, Spencer suffered a gnarly leg injury while climbing Kulshan (Mt. Baker) more than a year ago. He’s spent all of the time since in various leg braces as his connective tissues stitch themselves back together. The coincidence wasn’t lost: his linkage-driven leg paired with his linkage-driven bike.

The Transition Sentinel that he brought was heavily modified from the stock offering from Transition. He added a Cascade Components linkage that tunes the leverage curve, making it better suited to handling a coil shock. He also graciously lent it to me the following day for a ride. I was pleasantly surprised by how capable it was on the climb while still feeling like a shred sled on the descent. It was fun being on a magic carpet again because I currently only have a hardtail in the fleet (actually, I just cracked it). I had no problem keeping up with Kyle on his Kona Honzo ESD (extra slack, dude). Both mountain bikes featured High Above’s tube/tool straps: the Apollo and Dark Matter.

I want to finish this write-up with some gratitude for High Above. Every time I see a pack out in the wild (almost every bike ride here in Bellingham), I’m reminded of the beginnings of this goofy little career path and finding my way in the world. I’m reminded of the people I shared that tiny garage with and all the pleasant moments of learning to sew. Frankly, I’m also curious if I sewed that patch on. I’d be interested to know where my life would have gone if I hadn’t taken that photo; I might not have been writing this article if that were the case. To JC and the team that worked at High Above with me, thank you for all the memories and for trusting me enough that I found myself here. To Kyle, Spencer, and Eric, thank you for adopting the dream and keeping it kicking. I can’t wait to see the heights that you are capable of.