Founded by former law enforcement commander Paul Carrill and his wife Amy, Adventure Tool Company combines tactical precision with overlanding practicality to create premium waxed canvas gear that’s caught the attention of industry leaders like Factor 55 and Earthroamer.
In the winter, you need a 4x4 to get to the Adventure Tool Company (ATC) design shop in Nederland, Colorado. I met Paul Carrill at the local coffee shop, and we talked for a while about his past, gear, overlanding and waxed canvas, and how he and his wife Amy came to start Adventure Tool Company.
Many people might know of ATC but not realize it as they make bags and tool rolls for a handful of companies within the overland world, most notably Factor 55.
But in the beginning, Carrill just wanted a bag for his family to carry their tools while on the road and camping. He noticed that there was not a product on the market that fit his needs. So he took some waxed canvas and made his own, and the ATC Shoproll was born.
After making one for each of their vehicles, his friends at the local Toyota club started asking where they could get one, and he would make one for them. They slowly started to gain popularity. But that’s not where the true beginnings of the Adventure Tool Company arose.
For 25 years Carrill spent his time in law enforcement, and during his time as division commander he oversaw the SWAT team and firearms unit. He was also at the forefront of working with cyber crimes and helped build state legislation for child protection.
If you have spent time in the armed forces or as a first responder, you know the importance of having your gear laid out in an organized manner so you can access what you need quickly when you need it. This background regimented his thought process on creating the products for ATC.
Some bags have little details like color coding on zippers; others have an orange liner so you don’t lose your items within the pack’s interior. There are many other details that you will experience once you handle one of their packs.
One of the bags he created for certain agencies is one laid out to fit all the gear you would need for a three-day mission, complete with hidden pockets. None of the packs are thrown together without thinking about how they will perform in the field, getting beat up over years of use and in every weather condition.
The two fabrics they use for the main bodies of their packs are a waxed canvas that’s weatherproof and a premium heavy-weight canvas that can take a beating.
Paul and Amy Carrill built ATC from the ground up, taking money from their savings, buying a sewing machine and bringing in their first rolls of fabric. Amy built the website and took care of the company’s business side, while Paul got to work thinking of products and building them out in the design studio.
They sourced all American-made fabrics from factories that have been creating fabrics for decades and worked on sourcing all materials made in the USA.
Knowing they could not keep up with the potential demand, the pair found local sewers that could make their products in large quantities so they could sell online.
They knew that they were on to something when the following year they went to their first Overland Expo, packing their inventory in their FJ60 and heading to Arizona. They sold out before lunch the first day and borrowed items back to show others what they offered.
Over the past decade, they have grown and partnered with many companies within the off-road industry. ATC created a custom line for each Earthroamer truck that’s included with every build.
They built all the bags for Factor 55’s recovery gear kits; a pack was created to hold a pair of GO Treads. They work with companies to create custom bags and with government agencies and first responder organizations to outfit officers and agents with the gear they need for their everyday jobs. Paul and Amy still get out and adventure as much as possible, using this time to test new products.
Every year ATC sponsors a seven-day adventure motorcycle trip that starts in Colorado, heads through the Alpine Loop into Moab, and then circles back to Denver. The entire trip is lived off the bike and what you can carry with you.
While ATC is officially just Paul and Amy as the only two employees, they have considered what it would take to expand the company in the future.
Who knows where this will take them, but the only thing that Paul was adamant about was that no matter how large the company grows, they will always push to maintain the quality and standards that built Adventure Tool Company to where it is now.
Visit ATC at: https://adventuretoolcompany.com/
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