Your Questions About Brevn, Answered
We haven't been asked many questions yet, but to learn more about our plans read below.
Brevn is a design-led outdoor company who make physical and digital products with a particular focus on the user’s experience. Our goal is to make your experiences better, and you better, by ensuring everything we do is well thought out, effortless to use, and sustainable.
Brevn was founded by award-winning designers and product development experts. Paul and Mike have decades of experience in marine and outdoor engineering. We’re NZ-based, with our own designs and patents.
For Brevn, design is a foundational philosophy, not an aesthetic checklist or a final output. We believe its purpose is to move the user from a less desirable situation to a better one. Our mission is to build products and experiences that elevate people's lives and help them be better and happier.
This approach is centered on:
- Human-First Experience: We begin with understanding people and their experience, then build the product/experience to make them better.
- Seamless Integration: The best design is so intuitive it feels almost invisible, woven into the user's life. It enhances the experience without intrusion.
- Purposeful Innovation: Every feature serves the user. This focus on core function and removing what’s unnecessary is what makes Brevn products a joy to use.
- And of course, beautiful design.
Technology that makes you better without screaming for attention. It shows up when it’s useful, vanishes when it’s not, and never gets in the way of your adventure. To achieve the best design, subtraction is often more important, and more difficult, than addition.
The idea came from Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown at Xerox PARC - proof that even in the ‘90s, the best tech people knew when to dial it down.
Brevn’s founders grew up in the great outdoors in New Zealand, where pristine natural environments were easy to find. Over the years we’ve watched the decline, especially in more populous corners of this planet.
At Brevn, sustainability is non-negotiable, it’s a foundational philosophy that dictates how we build every product - from the durable materials we choose to the full lifecycle of our gear. We ensure every piece is durable, serviceable, and easy to recycle. Our goal is to give every customer a sustainable choice that is built in, not tacked on.
Brevn is derived from 'braid' + 'woven' - symbolizing elements that are seamlessly interlaced, built into something greater, never standing apart. It reflects our belief that the best design is fully integrated - enhancing experiences without intrusion.
This belief is more than a name; it’s our entire design philosophy. We build gear that works so perfectly it becomes a part of you, never a distraction. Everything we make is stripped of clutter and engineered to last. It belongs in its environment, enhancing without intrusion - a perfect braid of form and function.
We call this Stealth Performance.
We design to outlast the mission. Then we test it harder. From field trials to lab simulations to real-world punishment by our in-house legend “Jas the Jackhammer”, nothing ships until it’s proven. If it can’t survive Jas, it doesn’t go out the door.
Our customers are more than just users – they’re an essential thread woven into our design process. For us, every product is a conversation, a continuous loop of feedback and refinement. We prototype, test, and listen, iterating until our gear becomes a perfect extension of the people who use it. This collaborative approach ensures that our products don’t just serve a function; they become a seamless part of your experience.
Both. Always. Form serves function. Function informs form. We’ve never had to break up a fight between them.
Quality, ethics, sustainability, cultural fit. Cost comes after. We pick partners we’d trust to pack our parachute.
We started Brevn to make products without compromise. We were tired of designing for quarterly results instead of the user experience. Our belief is that great products become a seamless part of your life, and our company is built to prove that dedication to that idea is more powerful than any spreadsheet.
How can we make our users’ lives better, that is our first question. How can we do this sustainably is our second. If it doesn’t serve both, it doesn’t get made. Even if it’s shiny. Especially if it’s shiny.
More features doesn’t always mean more value (often it means more complexity). We only add features that improve the moment. The rest stays hidden - so you move faster, stay in flow longer, and never waste time wrestling with the gear.
We make original, hard-to-copy solutions. What we do is hard, so it’s worth protecting.