29 Oct 2026
Wambolt Founder/CEO Scott Wambolt| Beyond the Trailhead Podcast Ep. 53
In this episode of Beyond the Trailhead, I sit down with Scott Wambolt, CEO and Co-Founder of Wambolt.
Scott is an ER doctor, former Air Force physician, father of five, and now an outdoor gear founder trying to solve one of the most annoying parts of family adventure:
PACKING.
The idea for Wambolt started while Scott was stationed in Alaska. His family was constantly camping, fishing, skiing and traveling around the state, which meant constantly pulling gear out of garage totes, repacking it into the vehicle, unloading everything afterward, and doing it all again a few days later.
Eventually Scott and his brother asked a pretty simple question:
Why are our garage storage system and vehicle storage system completely separate?
Wambolt's Ready-To-Go system is designed around modular storage boxes that live in your garage and then lock directly onto a hitch-mounted platform when it's time to leave.
Unclick it from the garage. Click it onto the vehicle. Go.
We talk about:
• How four years in Alaska inspired the idea
• Raising five kids while trying to get outside as much as possible
• Going from ER doctor to outdoor entrepreneur
• Why packing can stop families from taking spontaneous trips
• Building modular boxes that work in both the garage and on the vehicle
• Eliminating ratchet straps and cargo-carrier Tetris
• Why the carrier swings away so you can still access your vehicle
• Keeping the hitch receiver available for bikes or skis
• Hiring engineers instead of trying to design everything himself
• The fear of a huge company beating him to the idea
• Patents and protecting a product before launch
• Self-funding the company with his brother
• The huge cost of tooling and manufacturing
• Trying to manufacture domestically
• Using pre-sales before deciding whether to take outside investment
• Bringing an unreleased product to Outdoor Retailer
• Getting honest feedback before manufacturing
• Why Scott wants Wambolt to become the outdoor brand built around families
• His dream of eventually handing the company down to his kids
One of the coolest parts of this episode is that we're talking with Scott BEFORE the success story is written.
There aren't warehouses full of finished Wambolt systems yet.
He's still dealing with engineering, patents, tooling, funding, marketing and all the risk that comes with turning an idea into a real product.
Scott's bigger goal isn't simply selling storage boxes. He wants to remove enough friction from getting outside that families actually take the trip instead of saying, "Forget it. Packing is too much work."
If you've ever spent the night before a camping trip playing Tetris with totes, coolers, bikes, roof boxes and ratchet straps, you'll understand this one.
CONNECT WITH WAMBOLT
Website / Join the Waitlist:
https://wambolt.co (https://wambolt.co)
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/wamboltofficial (https://www.instagram.com/wamboltofficial)
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If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and send it to the backpacker with Crocs swinging off the back of their pack.
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