For several years now, we’ve been referring to Skwala Fishing using monikers like “upstart,” “relative newcomer” and so on. All the while, the Bozeman-based company has delivered a slew of innovative, over-engineered fly fishing gear that has been showered with praise by anglers that haven taken the leap into the great unknown. With Skwala now firmly established as one of fly fishing’s premier gear makers, it’s high time we dispense with descriptors that impugn the brand’s legitimacy — even if that was never the intent.

Quality outdoor gear comes at a price, both literally and figuratively. For anglers looking for high-performance apparel and equipment, cost is often a barrier to entry. The environment pays a price for our outdoor pursuits, as well, when apparel and equipment that we replace and dispose of ends up in landfills, where the polyester, plastics and other petroleum-based materials can take hundreds of years to decompose.