Ignik Outdoors :: Heat and Light For Your Adventures

In this installment of the Expedition Portal series on brands that inspire us, Associate Editor Stephan Edwards profiles Washington-based Ignik Outdoors. He talked with co-founder Peter Pontano in an expansive conversation about Ignik’s origins, its lineup of warmth-focused outdoor products, and the company’s commitment to doing more for the planet.

Across the vast reaches of the Arctic, a landscape that at first glance seems empty and desolate, blessedly free from human impacts, one can find shocking amounts of trash washing up on the frozen shores or bobbing in the frigid waters. One study found that out of 97 seawater samples taken from across the region, all but one contained high levels of microplastics. Though environmental conditions make it difficult to measure accurately, possibly up to 1,200 tons of macro plastics and other garbage may be fouling the Arctic Ocean and its sister seas in the northern latitudes. Considering a little less than 4 million people live above the Arctic Circle, that amount of waste has outsize impacts on a fragile ecosystem already ravaged by climate change.

Graeme Esarey sailing for the Arctic Circle.

Graeme Esarey faced these realities in 2018 when he set sail with his family for the Northwest Passage. Hoping to complete the challenging route from Alaska to Greenland while measuring sea-surface temperatures for NOAA and visiting some of the most remote communities on earth, Graeme and his team were ultimately stymied by dangerous conditions in the pack ice. Turning about for their home in Washington State, the purpose of the journey also took on a new tack.

Dumbfounded by the amount of “human jetsam” they encountered in the most inaccessible parts of the Arctic, one type of litter seemed to show up almost constantly—the 1-pound, single-use, green propane bottle. As Graeme and his family collected and stuffed hundreds of pounds of garbage in the ship’s holds on their way south, he began to think hard about how he could battle against this rising tide of rubbish in the far North.

A retired outdoor industry executive, Graeme saw a niche where his professional background, creativity, and passion for the Arctic might make an impact. He called his friend and frequent collaborator in the adventure travel world, the former US Navy mechanical engineer Peter Pontano, with an idea. What if there was an alternative that could inspire outdoor enthusiasts, from overlanders to hunters, to give up those disposable green propane bottles? The traditional 20-pound propane tank was too heavy and cumbersome as a replacement for most use cases, but a smaller version might do the trick. Not too much larger than the 64-ounce glass bottle you might pick up at your local craft brewery on a Friday night, the Gas Growler—a refillable, 5-pound propane tank—was Peter and Graeme’s first product. Thus was Ignik Outdoors born.

Now offering a focused range of products that bring environmentally responsible heat and light into your outdoor adventures, from fire pits to battery-powered sleep systems, Ignik’s fidelity to its original vision has never wavered. Through 1% for the Planet, the Bainbridge Island, Washington-based company supports the Alaska Wilderness League, the Arctic Ice Project, and the Northern Alaska Environmental Center with 1 percent of its overall profits. I chatted with Ignik co-founder Peter to get a better sense of where this small but mighty company came from and where it’s headed in the future. He’s an animated and enthusiastic guy and a true outdoorsman with an indomitable passion for Ignik’s mission (answers edited for clarity).

On the roots of the name Ignik:

“It has many different origins, but it does have Latin roots, and it means ‘a lover of fire.’ There is another source for it—there’s actually a very similar word in a dialect of a native Alaskan language that also means lover of heat or of fire. So there are multiple origins, but all of them point back to warmth.”

On Ignik’s corporate ethic and how it designs and builds its products:

“All of the products that we work on, we want them to displace products that are already out there with better engineered and more sustainable options. We want to solve real problems, and we want to provide a better solution for the consumer.

When we set out to build the company, we spent a lot of time thinking about who we were before we even launched the products. We really wanted to clearly spell out our core values and our mission statements. A lot of companies do this in reverse. They say, ‘We already know what we do. Now let’s say what we think we mean or stand for.’ Which, for us, seems backward.

We decided to be authentic in what we do so we could make Ignik exactly what we wanted it to be. With our core values, we always start with the fact that we are outdoor people who live, work, and play in the outdoors. Our goal is to support folks who want to do the same

Regardless of outdoor heat or anything else, we’re really focused on serving our customers who want to be outdoors. And it’s not just the love of the outdoors; it’s how we can support the industry and help break down barriers, teach people about getting outside, and promote that.

We also have a sustainability component to the brand because that is part of its origin—giving 1 percent to fight climate change in the Arctic. With Graeme’s experience, we were focused on the Arctic early on. But what we’ve actually realized—and I think we’ve opened up on this—is that when people are adventuring outdoors, it doesn’t matter where you are, you can get cold. Winter nights are still cold everywhere you go, so by bringing Ignik along, you can have a little bit of sustainable warmth but also feel good about buying from a brand that’s committed to environments where we work and play.”

On Ignik’s first product, the Gas Growler:

“The Gas Growler 5-pound propane tank grew out of Graeme’s experience on his sailing trip to the Arctic. After seeing all those green single-use bottles washed up on remote beaches, he thought there had to be a better solution.

And it’s not just at the ends of the world where you see them—they’re everywhere. We find them piled up outside trash cans at state parks or US Forest Service campgrounds. I think people don’t want to throw them away, so they leave them out, thinking, ‘Somebody’s going to take care of these.’ It’s magical thinking because they’re not easily recycled. Yosemite National Park tried a pilot program to recycle the bottles some time back, but it ended up costing them about $18 per unit—so it just wasn’t feasible. You can’t puncture them, or crush them, so into the landfill they go.

Ignik’s Gas Growler

The California Assembly recently tried to pass legislation banning single-use gas bottles in 2028. We think other states may follow suit, so we’re ahead of the curve, offering a unique product that solves a practical problem. [Editor’s Note: that California bill was ultimately vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom, but Connecticut has passed a law that shifts the burden for disposal and recycling of single-use propane bottles to the manufacturer and away from the consumer.] Smaller refillable propane bottles are fairly common in other countries but not in North America. So now we have an even smaller and lighter-weight version (3.8 pounds).”

On Ignik’s flagship product, the FireCan Fire Pit:

“I designed the first FireCan prototype from an old ammo can that I had lying around. It was actually inspired by some really old posts on the Expedition Portal forums, where some guys had built different versions of the concept. It’s a lot of the same story as with the Gas Growler. I wanted a solution for a little bit of warmth for me and my daughter on camping trips in the damp Pacific Northwest that could improve on what was already available. Campfires can be hard to start when it’s wet, and they pose a wildfire risk. Almost all the fire pits on the market then were pretty big and usually round, which made them a pain to pack.

I had all these ammo cans that I used to organize my other travel stuff, so it struck me that it might make a great way to have a fire pit that would slot in with the rest of my gear more easily. I didn’t need a huge backyard fire pit, you know? Just a little flame to add some light and heat for a couple of people in camp. Then I kept developing it with extendable legs to get it off the ground so it could be used during some fire bans, adding more ventilation, and refining the flame tube.

Ignik’s FireCan Deluxe fire pit

Eventually, we had a product we could manufacture to our own specifications, and there are now three different versions. The original FireCan, the newest one, the FireCan Elite, and the Deluxe, which you can even cook on! We see lots of other companies out there mimicking our design, but we think nobody comes close to the quality and engineering we put behind the FireCan. We’re constantly improving it.”

On the future of Ignik Outdoors:

“Our newest gear line includes battery-powered heated blankets and seat pads. We’re branching out into other products that offer some heat for your outdoor adventures while still focusing on sustainability. Many of the newer rechargeable portable power stations (like the ones we sell from Goal Zero) are getting bigger and bigger, and they pack more energy—plenty to power an efficient electric blanket like our Topside Heated Blanket for many hours.

So we’re staying targeted on what we do best—offering better outdoor heat and light solutions for the consumer that are environmentally responsible yet perform at a high level with advanced technology. We want our products to last; it’s how we built our reputation as a company, so we don’t want to deviate from that by watering down our vision or simply adding new products for the sake of adding new products.

We think folks really develop a relationship with a lot of Ignik’s gear. We saw a review of the Growler where a customer said, ‘I bought the Gas Growler, and every time I see it, I go up to it and give it a hug.’ I mean, who says that about their propane tank? It’s remarkable. So, for me, someone who put a lot of time, energy, and passion into designing the product, for a consumer to also have an emotional attachment to it, that’s special. We never want to lose that feeling.”

Images: Ignik

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