I had the opportunity to attend TAD’s Annual Dogpatch Warehouse Sale this year at their headquarters in San Francisco.
The Dogpatch Warehouse Sale (DPWS), as an event, has grown over the years. Members of the TADJunkies Facebook group and other TAD fans now begin to line up outside the store the night before for a chance to get exclusive deals, limited edition products, and rare prototypes. When I arrived around 3:00 AM, the line was already around the corner. By morning, it was down the block. TAD later reported that this was the largest turnout they’ve had to date.
TAD sells quality gear but what truly makes the DPWS event special are the people involved. The common thread is love for the brand. However, many of the attendees return year-after-year so it gives them a chance to reconnect with friends and make new ones. I was able to spend some time with people who I had only interacted with online (including some of my own subscribers). Everyone couldn’t have been nicer and for me it was definitely a highlight of the weekend.
As the morning came, community members started serving hot beverages to help warm those who had spent a long night in the cool damp San Francisco weather.
And don’t even get me started on the breakfast burritos. They were awesome.
Once the door opened, the sale was pure chaos.
I found a few things on the XXL/XXXL big boy racks. No prototypes (those were almost all mediums), but I did manage to pickup a Javelin Insulator and a Sector Polo. Both for a very good price. I especially liked the Sector polo, made from Polartec Powerdry, which is 75% Polyester and 25% Wool. I’ll definitely be buying more.
Later in the evening, TAD hosted an after event at nearby Triple Voodoo Brewery. There was a hilarious moment when the call went out for everyone to show their blades and half the brewery pulled one out of their pocket. Lest we forget that TAD Junkies are also EDC enthusiasts at heart!
That night, TAD also gave us a sneak peek at two new packs they’re releasing soon. One was the much-anticipated Axiom 18, which is the non-expandable version of the Axiom X18 prototype. The X18 was a smaller, sleeker alternative to the Axiom X25.
The other was the Fastpack Scout. The Scout is a 15L backpack that can be carried standalone or it can be mounted to another bag with MOLLE like the Fastpack Litespeed or Fastpack EDC. Pricing for both should be around $200. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to snap pictures of either pack but trust me – you’ll want to take a hard look at both when they are released later this winter.
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