White Salmon-based company Nobdody’s, pronounced “knob-dotties,” is making waves in the Gorge with colorful brimmed neoprene caps. Co-owners Sam Swanson and Sarina Chalmers are on a mission to provide paddlers with a sporty hat that blends style and functionality for cold water sports.
The initial idea for the company began in the winter of 2019, during a whitewater kayak trip down the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. To stay warm against the elements, Swanson wore a skull cap, which is a thin neoprene hood, under his helmet. While it helped against the frigid air and water temperatures, it wasn’t efficient against blocking direct sunlight.
“I couldn’t fit both a skull cap and a five-panel hat underneath my helmet,” Swanson said, who soon came up with a solution. “That trip inspired the flat brim skull cap … A single hat that’s both insulating and protective against the sun.”
The three-color combination options of Soli at Immersion Research: Teal/brook trout, purple/cheetah and black/golden trout.
Sarina Chalmers photo
Swanson told Chalmers of the idea, who then crafted the first dozen prototypes on a sewing machine in Husum, Wash. All slightly varied from one another.
“We were trying to find a pattern and style that worked, so I’d make a hat, and if it was good I’d cut it up and copy the pattern for the next hat,” Chalmers said. “We gave or sold hats to close friends and they were all stoked.”
Still, the final product still needed adjustments before it could become available to the public. After hitting some design road bumps, they teamed up with Wyatt Hyndman to create a proper prototype for mass production.
Hyndman works at Immersion Research as their production manager for their “Made in Hood River” collection, a program that combines surplus materials from several other companies to craft unique soft hoods. Located in downtown Hood River, the store not only creates in-house apparel but also repairs technical outerwear and sells various river-related gear.
Co-owner Sarina Chalmers gets ready to kayak down the river.
Nobdody’s photo
“The machine we needed for the seams in our hat is called a flat lock machine and Immersion Research has one they use for their sun hoodie seams,” Chalmers said. “The flat lock machine costs a fortune and it’s pretty finicky. We wanted to sew samples with the flat lock machine, and Wyatt was kind and invested enough to sew multiple samples for us with the machine.”
The result? The Soli. The neoprene fabric provides insulation from the cold, while the brim protects from the sun. It’s stylish with or without a helmet, and a drawstring keeps the cap from falling off.
On May 25, the team launched three color combinations in two sizes of the Soli at Immersion Research and mailed out pre-orders online. It was a success.
They noted the paddling community has been incredibly supportive since the beginning. “To raise funds for our first bulk order of hats, we opened up our online store for pre-orders. In a week, we’d sold 200 hats,” Swanson said, noting that it allowed them time to perfect the designs with the manufacturer.
“It was so fun to see our friends’ and heroes’ names pop up in our order list, but it was even more shocking to see that people we didn’t know at all were buying Nobdody’s from all over the country," Chalmers said. “I was on an overnight river trip in California last month and another crew passed us, and one of the people was wearing the Soli! He was from Switzerland and we’d never met! It was so fun.”
Co-owner Sarina Chalmers paddles down the White Salmon River.
Seth Ezekiel West photo
The support from the community is not entirely unpredictable, as both Swanson and Chalmers are passionate whitewater kayakers in the gorge. Both the name Nobdody’s and logo reflect that.
Nobdody’s began as a typo on a bumper sticker from Leif Anderson that was originally meant to state, ‘Nobody cares how high you ran the LW.’ It was a joke to kayakers that take themselves too seriously paddling the Little White River, a difficult section of whitewater near Cook, Wash. The typo turned into not only the name, but also philosophy at Nobdody’s as a reminder to maintain humor and lightheartedness throughout the business.
They also agreed that a great blue heron was the perfect fit for the logo. “The great blue heron’s a calm presence on the river that’s often associated with lost friends or relatives looking out for the safety of paddlers,” Swanson said. “It seemed like a fitting representation of Nobdody, which in our minds is an omniscient being that cares, even when no one else does.”
Sam Swanson shows how the purple/cheetah print combo looks without a helmet.
Nobdody’s photo
While the history of the company comes from whitewater kayaking, the team at Nobdody’s noted the hat is perfect for any cold water sport including kiteboarding, canyoneering, surfing and more.
“If things keep going well, we hope to make a few other products,” Swanson said. “This includes a fully hooded version for ultra-cold days, a balaclava version that’s not insulating but still provides sun protection and a bucket hat.”
To purchase your own Soli hat, stop by Immersion Research at 105 Fourth St. in Hood River or order online at www.nobdodys.com. To stay up-to-date on all the latest Nobdody’s news, follow along on Instagram @nobdodys.
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