From a Soaked Backpacking Trip to a Hands-Free Revolution

"Crossing Fontana Dam meant the end of our backpacking trip, but the beginning of developing the GoShelter." 

J.A. Huddleston, GoShelter Inventor/Founder

How 3 Days Changed My Life

Three solid days of rain on the Appalachian Trail finally broke the metaphorical camel’s back. We’re not talking about a little misty rain. I’m talking steady, soaking, all-day-and-all-night downpour. It was that trip that put the GOShelter concept on the trail to becoming a reality.

I needed something wearable and big enough to keep the rain off me and my backpack. It had to be hands-free, allow air to move around me so I didn’t sweat, and fold down small enough to pack away. Tall order, right? Of course, I searched camping and outdoor gear for something that checked all those boxes. Nothing existed. So, after plenty of sketches, prototypes, fabric, frames, and design attempts, I finally created the one that worked. It was lightweight, wearable, covered me and my backpack, used waterproof ripstop fabric, allowed air circulation, collapsed into a flat disk, and kept my hands free for hiking poles, my camera—or simply my pockets. I named it GOShelter.

Then my son asked me to make one for his dog, Poppy. Poppy has a lot of fur, and once she gets wet, she stays wet. I wanted her to be covered but not hot and uncomfortable. So I designed it to keep the rain off while allowing air to circulate around her and keeping her from overheating. He started using what I created on her and came back with one simple verdict: it was a complete game-changer and the GOShelter Dog Rain Canopy Gear was born.

Maybe you've been in my shoes—or Poppy's—while hiking, hunting, working, photographing, going to class, watching your favorite team, or simply walking the dog when the sky decides to open up. That's what GOShelter is all about: keeping you, your gear, and your best furry friend protected without trapping you in hot, stuffy rain gear or taking away your hands. I invented GOShelter because I needed it. Then I discovered a whole lot of other people—and dogs—needed it, too. Rain or shine, GOShelter has you covered.