WHY TOL?

TOL: Temporarily On Leave believes form follows function, and our function is to travel efficiently . With a passion for innovation, discovery, and connection we have dedicated our lives to exploration, design and sustainability. Our motto “DARE TO KNOW, BEGIN” aims to inspire travelers to take the first step into the journey they have always wanted to take; TOL’s got their back.

 

Our bags are designed and hand made in Malibu, CA between our time surfing, getting backcountry, and exploring. We take pride in high quality, durability, thoughtful design and sustainability. 

 

FOUNDER: Dustin Coury, spent most of his childhood traveling. He lived in 7 states and 3 countries by the time he was 18. Heavily inspired by his mother, an avid camper with a minimalist lifestyle, Coury found better ways to travel with each move and every new adventure. As an adult, his life has revolved around adventure; rebuilding and living on a sailboat, backpacking trips through the U.S.A., searching for untapped surf spots along barren coasts, and becoming a pilot to fly through the backcountry of the American west are the highlights.

Temporarily On Leave was an inevitable path.

THE START: One backpacking trip into the Sierra Mountains dramatically changed the course of Dustin’s life for the best. What was intended as a sun filled fishing trip turned into a battle for mortality as 5 friends went head-to-head against a freak blizzard while scaling a mountain in the middle of the night. On that mountain, under life or death conditions, the first TOL bag was conceptualized and Dustin spent the next 3 years prototyping in his living room; learning to sew, giving versions to friends for feedback, making adjustments, and giving it to more friends for more feedback. After many revisions Dustin had a bag innovative enough for a patent, and with the help of a lawyer acquired a utility patent on the bag. After more than a hundred versions were tested over thousands of miles of adventures, we are now ready to publicly launch with our hero bag, The Great Divide.