Rifle resident David Mowery didn’t know that a moment of creativity during a routine summer hike would alter the trajectory of his career. 

The proud owner of a disabled pug, Mowery was taking a break from a family hike with his dog when inspiration struck. 

“I was sitting there wishing I had some sort of a small packable chair,” Mowery said. “I’ve used similar chairs plenty before, but never had anything that could really just clip onto my backpack or anything like that.

“I was thinking about how those chairs work and I was like, well, maybe I could do something with tent poles to make it more collapsible and take away some of the excess parts and change it up a bit,” he added. 

By the time Mowery resumed hiking, he was certain his idea had potential. 

Over the next few weeks, he got to work, creating a design, cutting apart tent poles and repurposing padding from an old camping chair.

“I bought myself a sewing machine at the beginning of the summer when I had this idea and learned how to sew and have been working on these chairs ever since,” Mowery said. 

By July, Mowery had created a working prototype of his invention — the Pack Chair. Meant for hunting, backpacking and even events like Red Rocks concerts, the small chair provides light cushioning with a waterproof seat and small straps for added back support. It’s also fully collapsible and folds into a 6-by-5-by-2-inch rectangle that weighs only 0.5 pounds. 

“When I had a first prototype together, I was like, honestly, I really wish there was something like this at places like REI or other sporting goods stores,” Mowery said. “I ended up being like, I think this is a good idea. I think this is something that could take off.”

Since completing the prototype, Mowery has spent most of his spare moments making chairs and even invested in an industrial sewing machine. He now has a patent pending, social media dedicated to his invention and a logo — a hiking cartoon gnome —designed by his fiancée, artist Shayna Oosthuysen.

Mowery even scored his first partnership with a sporting goods store. As of Aug. 29, Rifle’s own Timberline Sporting Goods is the first store to carry the Pack Chair. 

“I went to a few stores in the area and Timberline were the first ones that were like, ‘Yeah, we’d love to, we’re not going to take a lot, but we’ll take a few and try selling them, see how it goes,'” Mowery said. “They really were happy to support a new idea, especially in the same town.”

Over the next few months, Mowery plans to create a website and solidify his suppliers and design. By next year, he hopes the Pack Chair will be available at several local stores. 

“I’ve sold a few, not many, but I think this is something that hopefully will take off,” Mowery said. “I think it’s a great idea. It’s the type of thing that if I saw it somewhere like REI, I would buy it, so I hope other people buy them too.”