Titan Straps: Fast, Tough Tie-Down Straps Invented for a Bikerafting Trip

Here's a fascinating way to travel: Bikerafting. First popularized in Alaska in the 1980s, you ride through the wilderness on your bike, carrying a packraft (an inflatable raft).

Image: Kokopelli

When you reach a body of water…

Image: Kokopelli

…you inflate the raft, load up your bike, and cross.

Image: Kokopelli

Depending on conditions, it can get kind of hairy. Tying your stuff down securely is important, so that nothing gets lost in the drink. Rather than rope, which can get wet, bikerafters traditionally used waterproof, polyurethane ski straps to hold their gear down.

Image: Kokopelli

In 2010, when preparing for a 300-mile bikerafting trip through Alaska's Lost Coast, adventure photographer Cameron Lawson wanted something more secure. He expanded upon the ski strap, overmolding the buckle with the polyurethane for a sturdier connection. He also beefed up the straps themselves, making them wider and thicker, and adding texture so that they could be grabbed with gloves on.

"The straps worked exceptionally well at securing his equipment in the wet, sandy and rough environment," writes Titan Straps, the company Lawson eventually formed. "And their gear didn't budge as he and his teammate paddled across choppy ocean swells and peddled over miles of baseball-sized cobbles."

After returning from his trip, Lawson had more straps made, and starting handing them out to contractors and tradespeople for testing. The response was positive; the straps provided more tune-able tension than bungie cords and were faster to use than ratchet straps.

Lawson went into mass production, and Titan Straps was born. Today the company makes them in a variety of sizes and they're resistant to UV, freezing, gasoline and chemicals. Today they're used by tradespeople, first responders, overlanders and of course, bikerafters.