This concept was born from our Carryology Iceland R&D Expedition. Three members of the Carryology team set out for nearly 2 weeks, 1,400+ miles encircling the entire Ring Road as well as the Westfjords in a boxy Land Rover Defender, jagged black rock mountains and ice blue glaciers with Arc’teryx apparel, and camping under the Northern Lights in Big Agnes expedition tents and toasty warm sleeping bags in sub zero temperatures. Just before the trip, we had some patches made to commemorate the adventure. While we were over there, we had the spontaneous idea to hide 3 patches in some of the most remote areas of the landscape, naming them “Land”, “Sea”, and “Sky” based on their unique locations. We chose the specific hiding spots carefully, as they each required a good bit of effort and planning to claim them from Iceland’s frozen grasp. Then, we recorded GPS coordinates, took photos of the process, and shared the intel with our Carryology Classified Facebook group.

Honestly, we expected the 3 patches to sit dormant for many months… possibly years. Well, the first patch “Land” was claimed by JC Canfield just two weeks later. The second patch “Sea”, was claimed by Andrew Cheu 3 months later. And the final patch “Sky” was claimed by Joshua Wong 6 months after it had been placed. This was all done on a whim, to promote exploring and using your gear, and to have some fun… and it was a success. Once the third patch was claimed, we celebrated. I'll admit, I had to remove a piece of dust from my teary happy eyes. But… the fun had ended. And fun ending is not cool. So we decided we wouldn’t let the fun stop there.

Introducing the Carryology Global Expedition Project.
 

Essentially, it’s the same exact concept as our Carryology Iceland R&D Expedition… except this one is worldwide. All seven continents are possible. Maybe even outer space… we’re still working on that one. Along their adventures, members from our Carryology team will place patches around the Earth, record the GPS coordinates, mark the date, provide notes, and upload that to the database table you'll find at the bottom on this webpage. Each patch is numbered: 001-200. Each number will be tied to the exact information from that adventure. No two patches will be alike, each will have its own unique story.

Ultimately, the project's aim is to get folks out into the world, to use their gear, to explore new places, to make new relationships with strangers who might just become lifelong friends, to maybe even finding some calculated danger, and of course... to have some fun.

Scroll over to the right to view the entire table ➡️

How do you CLAIM one of these patches?

1. Find an unclaimed patch in the database table above.

2. Plan your adventure and get out there and claim the patch.

3. Take a photo of you claiming the patch at the location.

4. Click the "CLAIMED" submission form link here.

5. Enter your info (name and date) and upload your photo.

6. You will forever be logged into the Carryology Global Expedition Project hall of legends.

How do you help PLACE one of these patches?

Please read this section in detail before submitting an application.

Our team is small and we can’t cover every inch of the planet on our own… but our Carryology community (that’s you!) spans all 7 continents. Looking at you down in Antarctica, Ethan! We’re searching for folks to join our VANGUARD team and place these along their incredible journeys.

We will be extremely discerning with this selection process. These missions should make Indiana Jones perspire heavily and consider his own retirement. Very very very few will be chosen. And those will be the most interesting, dangerous, unique, impossible, fun, and/or extreme. 

Examples:

Summiting the peak of Everest? Absolutely.

Going to the International Space Station? Let's party.

Wrestling match with a Great White Shark in the Mariana Trench? Done.

Found the secret burial tomb of Genghis Khan in Mongolia? You're 100% in.

You've recovered the remains of Amelia Earhart's plane wreckage, you've rebuilt it for space travel, and you're going solo to Mars to meet with extraterrestrials in the freshly upgraded antique vessel? Ok. We'll give you 4 patches for that one.

NOTE: We are currently putting a freeze on applications for the USA. There are currently several patches that have already been placed or will be placed within the USA and we want these to hit all 7 continents. With 200 patches and 195 soveirgn nations in the world, we've got to spread these out!

1. Click here to apply to be a "VANGUARD" via email.

2. Submit the details of your adventure and tell us why it’s unique and awesome. The more details, the better.

3. Please give us 30-60 days in advance before you depart on your adventure.

4. If selected, we will contact you via email.

5. We will then send you TWO patches.

5A. One patch will be labeled “VANGUARD”, which is for you to keep.

5B. One patch will be numbered “XXX”, which is for you to place.

6. Record the date placed, GPS coordinates, location details, and additional information.

7. Take a photo of exactly where you placed the patch.

8. Send us the information and photo promptly so we can get the patch added to the database.

NOTE:

The selection process will occur when we are able to read through submissions, approximately once per month. Only a very small percent of missions will be accepted due to extremely limited available bandwidth for our small team. We will not be sending out all of these patches at once, we will only select 1 or 2 missions at a time. Once you have submitted your adventure, please wait to be contacted to determine if you have been selected.

Please do not contact us about the status of your submission. We are a very small team and we will not be able to reply to all the hundreds of submissions, even though we would love to.

Want to stay up to date on all the fun?

Follow along in real-time to read in-depth stories on these missions; who placed them, what happened along the journey to get there, what makes the location significant, who claimed them, what obstacles they had to overcome to succeed, and of course, the shared elated high of emotions when someone posts that they scored one! We started a thread in our Carryology Classified Facebook group dedicated to exactly this. Feel free to comment and/or just read along for entertainment.

CARRYOLOGY CLASSIFIED OFFICIAL CGEP THREAD HERE

Carryology Global Expedition Project World Map

And one huge THANK YOU to our friend Greg Li and his team at Suburban for sponsoring this project! Check out the Suburban website, our favorite bag shop on the planet, carrying all of our favorite brands under one roof.