In the late ‘90’s, I embarked on a photo focused bicycle tour from Anchorage, AK to Moab, UT. Family friends had given me two plane tickets to AK. I invited a friend. We quickly started planning, scheming and pulling together our gear. Having just graduated from college with debt and little money, I had to mostly make do with what equipment I already had. I brazed on rack mounts to my mountain bike, sold almost everything I owned and made some thrifty, new gear purchases. One of which was the blue, The North Face sleeping bag in the image above that I found in the closeout/returns area of the local REI.

Early on in this journey, we encountered a nasty and wet weather front heading into Talkeetna. Instead of riding through the rain for several days, we holed up in a campground just south of Alaskan mountain range and Denali National Park. The campground was closed due to high bear activity! By day we took refuge under the covered shelter near the river. By night, we would walk far from the shelter where we had fire, food and river (with salmon) to our tent. I’d get in my blue sleeping bag and zip up. I was warm, cozy, dry and always had a smile on my face. One night in disbelief of how happy and settled I was in this situation my friend nicknamed me in my comfy blue bag “Irwin the Iceworm”. I wrote that name down in my journal along with a statement of commitment. That statement read “Someday I will start my own company named Iceworm.” Little did I know that the blue sleeping bag would be the source of inspiration, and solution, for the next phase of my life.

It was also on this trip that I encountered the first problem statement encountered by photographers far and wide. On this trip I loaded one of my panniers with an SLR, a 28-75 f2.8 lens, and film. The reality I experienced here is that I did not have access to the camera so I did not shoot as much as I would like. Shooting was burdensome. It required me to stop, lay the bike over, unclip & unzip the pannier, and take the camera out of the internal bag protecting it. I also couldn’t just fling the camera over my shoulder and ride as we often had inclement weather. I thought there must be a better solution!

Fast forward to July, 2021. Like many others, I quit my job believing that there had to be something better and more fulfilling out there. While I loved the people I worked with and the product we created, I needed to make a change. Many call this period The Great Resignation. I prefer to call it The Great Re-Creation and this is where the story of Iceworm MFG begins.

Iceworm MFG is a company focused on carry solutions and accessories for adventurous photographers & videographers. Travel light. Shoot more.

Thanks for reading and joining in our new adventure!

Sincerely,

Jason Boucher

Founder and Maker

Iceworm MFG