Designing products around riders
By the time a rider throws a piece of luggage over their motorcycle seat, it could have taken years from an initial thought about a potential product, to get stuck in and going through the design and development stages and then finally offering that product to the customer.
There are so many processes that need to fall into place before one can offer a product with good value. Every aspect of the business concept must result in a commercially viable and useful outcome. This includes the procurement, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of that concept, all stemming from our own belief in these designs and concepts. For us at Turkana Gear, this all came together in the knowledge that people will love to use our products.
There is a fine balance between price, cost of design & manufacture and the eventual ability to offer a product for sale that will suit most and yet offer good value.
We understand too well that all riders are different – each of you packs your bike to your liking and for your specific type of adventure.
We acknowledge that it is difficult to produce something that is affordable, and yet remains desirable for every rider - whether you are looking to buy a frameless luggage solution on a big German-GS-Block-of-flats-budget or just want that right bit of equipment for your trusty 25-year-old Japanese steed – we believe our products can provide that quality and value to everyone.
There is more than enough stuff already in this world, so we’re not interested in adding more non-sensical crap to our beautiful planet.
Our passion instead is to help solve the real-world challenges of unruly movers and shakers, so we are continuously searching for solutions while we are doing what we love – being outside and tripping those dusty back roads, sleeping under the stars, riding dirt roads not found on maps.
All our designs are done in-house. These ideas are created and developed by the Turkana team, not by any other third party or manufacturer.
Our manufacturers do assist with fabrics, materials and specifications suggestions. You can still be a true pioneer with timeless gear. So, unlike many companies that send an idea to their manufacturer with a brief to come up with a new product, we feel it is best to use our own experience of designing and then testing our products. All Turkana products, therefore, come from our small, dedicated team, inspired by our love for this game and the passion to find that awesome product you will love!
Our team are all “product designers”, “idea creators”, are initiative driven, and self-proclaimed test rigs, ready to eat the dirt when duty calls!
Of you, we simply ask: “Be photographers and capture our the gear in amazing spots, use the stuff we make to its limits, explore and Go! Be! Free! Share our nonstop love for what we do!”
And of course, your feedback is always welcomed!!
Lessen impact
Sustainability is a big part of our general philosophy, which goes hand in hand with having respect for the world we walk and ride in. We want to do our bit to conserve the limited valuable resources of the world and the impact our adventures and our gear have on this blue marble we call home.
For Turkana this means we strive to make adventure gear that will last as long as possible and therefore limiting the requirement for excess resources to be used.
Where and if possible, we try to use less. Function over form, rather than having aesthetics and nonsensical stuff that makes a product looks the part but have no real function. Everything we apply to our products has to have a function or it is gone.
Tread lightly
The entire Turkana Team has all travelled extensively and have firsthand experience of the impact humans has on our planet. Treading as lightly as possible when venturing out into the world shaped our belief from the word go.
From where our products are made, limiting the materials and fabrics used, to the way fabrics can be reused; to our shipping and logistics, we really aim to limit our footprint in all these aspects of the process.
Use our gear therefore with a clear conscience and enjoy your travels!