Madden Mountaineering packs.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: Cool colorado stuff

Founded in 1974 by Dan Madden, Boulder-based backpack-maker Madden Mountaineering has operated for nearly 30 years under the same credo: "functional simplicity." After current owner Ed Ruzic acquired the company in 1998, he ran it as a stand-alone business until March 2001, when he sold it to Lafuma, a much larger outdoor company also based in Boulder. By 2003, "It was the right time for me to go and do the entrepreneurial thing again," Ruzic said. He reacquired Madden in January and brought it under the umbrella of his new backpack company, Russi Mountain Works. While sales jumped 20 percent under Lafuma, Ruzic said that the current structure is better for...