Wrapping Up 2025

As the trees turn white in the Northern Hemisphere and the sun breaks through the clouds here in the Southern lands, our offices are again slowing down, and we’re preparing to log off, tune out, and spend time with our special folks. 

So it feels fitting to look back for a moment, reflect, and dig up some of the good things we’ve made over the last year, and the opportunities we had to meet inspiring people, learn, and hang in real life.

It was a year of stories: an exploration of Japanese carry culture with Sashiko Gals and the rise of Boro, Minokamo’s hidden backpack masters, and diving in on how best to navigate the Land of the Rising Sun shouldering one bag.

We combed the industry for brands pushing boundaries, shining a light on ROA, allmansright, topologie and an exceptional locker room of the world’s best. We built comprehensive category guides to make your searches easier. We dove into how-tos on building your EDC, travel wardrobes, and choosing the right backpack. And challenged ourselves with limitations, luchadors (and a steady serve of tacos). And, guilty, we got a tiny bit foolish around April. 

We learned from explorers, alchemists, founders, and some of the industry’s best backpack designers. We traced back to some of our icons – those impactful personalities who helped blaze those trails we’re still striding on.

Of course, we got to create—working with our heroes and friends on objects we thought were special. Nine limited edition collaborations and two Essentials to stoke our community, and to allow us to play and express ourselves.

Our friends created too. The Matador Equipment and Mystery Ranch Mystery Box Challenges were physical and mental feats that pulled the curtain back on softgoods creation (and what happens when you add a ticking clock).

As a community, we thrived. Our Facebook Group generated ~50,000 posts of questions, news, memes, and ‘in search of’ queries. Well over a million users tuned in to Carryology.com nearly 4 million times. On YouTube, Carryology logged 1.3 million views.

In real life, Carryology was sprouting up around the world with Carry Meetups. We saw meetups in the Bay Area, Hershey, Austin, DC, San Diego, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Bangkok—showing our community out in force, connecting and sharing their passions.

When we stack all that up, it feels pretty good. A year of exploring, learning, creating, and being curious. That’s a solid mix, if you ask me.

So, with that little recap, it’s time to look forward to the horizon. We’ve got big news coming for 2026. We’ve been thinking deeply about the age-old question of what’s next. I think you’ll be excited, because there’s change coming. A refresh. A rethink on how we can make the best impact on the Carry Universe.

From us, the Carryology Team, we wish you a roaring good break and hope you all get some well-deserved rest and quality time with friends and family (because we’re certainly angling for it), and we’ll talk again in the new year.

Carry on,

Mike and Team Carryology