Dakine got its start in 1979 when surfers on Maui’s North Shore continued to come to founder Rob Kaplan to fix their torn surf leashes. He not only repaired his fair share of them, but also designed a new leash, with stronger materials and better stitching, letting surfers spend more time on the water and less time chasing down their boards.

After establishing a headquarters on Mount Hood in 1986, a snowboarder requested that Dakine create a pack for heli trips to Alaska that held only the essentials. So they made the Heli Pack.

When mountain bikers started coming into the Hood River region in droves, asking for a way to protect their bikes in the back of pickup trucks, Dakine created the Pickup Pad. 

Since the folks at Dakine are snowboarders, mountain bikers, and surfers themselves, they understand the value of the right piece of gear for the job. That’s why they continue to make gear that not only gets the job done, but gets the job done right.