S2 E19 - Butch Whiting, Kryptek Outdoors

Today we are talking to Butch Whiting, co-founder of the hunting and tactical apparel manufacturer Kryptek. Butch served in Iraq and Afghanistan flying Army Attack helicopters and he and his junior officer Josh Cleghorn would spend down time dreaming about being back in the U.S. hunting. Their vision was to spiral the features and functions of special operations apparel into the civilian hunting world. He tells us how they put together their business concept which really took off due to a Department of Defense solicitation for a new camo pattern. He tells about the selection process DoD took and how well the upstart Kryptek camo did being down-selected as one of four companies alongside three multi-billion-dollar companies. Kryptek’s performance apparel, using this highly-tested camo pattern, taps into both tactical and mountaineering design making it incredibly functional in the hunting application. Butch tells us more about some of the other branding opportunities the company has had through video games, movies and limited licensing through other lifestyle brands. When all is said and done, Butch’s favorite hunt is for mule deer because of his memories of growing up hunting mule deer with his family in Idaho. We talk about some of his recent hunts and how he loves hunting with his wife and daughters. We wrap up talking about Kryptek’s participation in the Western Hunting & Conservation Expo and how they company is strongly supporting the Mule Deer Foundation and our conservation efforts.