Brunton has been a trusted name in outdoor exploration and navigation since 1894, when Canadian-born geologist David W. Brunton got tired of lugging around heavy surveying equipment in the Rocky Mountains and invented the Brunton Pocket Transit.
First manufactured in Denver, Colorado, the Pocket Transit is a compact, precision tool that combines a compass, inclinometer, and level, and was originally designed for use by geologists and surveyors for measuring angles, orientations, and directions in the field.
As D.W. Brunton continued to innovate on this patented design, it became not only the global gold standard for geologists and field professionals – but was quickly adapted and adopted for use by military personnel and a few decades after his death in 1927 – for outdoor recreationists.
It was these very tools of the trade – the Brunton Pocket Transit and their Sportsman's compass – that would eventually lead present-day Brunton owner, Lauren Heerschap, and her co-owner and husband, David Heerschap to the company's helm decades after first setting their sights on them in the field.
In Plane Sight
Two young lovers of the outdoors, Lauren and David very fittingly met in front of a giant wall map in Boulder, Colorado while Lauren was attending graduate school for Geology and David was working as a high school social science teacher.
“Dave claims he was interested in meeting me, but maybe he was just interested in looking at the map?” laughs Lauren, “Either way, our first conversation was centered around that map and our shared interest in traveling and exploring.”
Lauren and Dave in Hawaii on the Big Island
Their bond formed from there, and two decades later they found themselves living in Durango, Colorado where Lauren was busy teaching yet another batch of college geology students how to take geological measurements using the famed Brunton Pocket Transit.
“I kept wishing that transit measurement methods could be simpler, more intuitive, and more visual,” explains Lauren, who lamented to Dave about the challenges of the current tool and began sketching out designs for an improved version of the existing Brunton Pocket Transit.
In 2013, David took Lauren’s sketches and began turning them into a reality in their home garage turned workshop, and – over the course of the winter – churned out a functional, streamlined prototype which they called the Plane Sight Compass.
“We tested the new prototypes that summer on several groups of field geology students,” says Lauren, “they barely needed any instruction on how to use the new model, finding it far more intuitive and easy to measure with than the standard tools.”
Knowing they had created something that could be of great benefit to the global market of compass and pocket transit users – and understanding the limitations of their garage workshop – the couple approached Brunton at its manufacturing headquarters in Riverton, Wyoming.
Impressed with Lauren’s innovations and David’s ingenuity, Brunton agreed to collaborate with the couple – allowing them to retain their patent while working alongside longtime Brunton engineer Hank Iden to create a refined version of the Plane Sight compass.
“We were involved with the entire process of design, production, and marketing of what is now the Brunton Axis Transit,” says Lauren. It was on these many trips back and forth from their home in Durango to the Brunton facility in Riverton, that they found themselves falling in love with the vastness of the Cowboy State and feeling called to relocate.
“One of the main reasons we moved to Wyoming was its wild places with fewer people to share them with,” explains Lauren, “The landscapes remain largely untouched, wildlife corridors and ecosystems are still largely connected, and recreating in most places can still be done largely in solitude. Can you tell we're introverts?”
A New Direction
Two years after relocating to Wyoming to help market and promote the Axis, David found himself officially joining the team at Brunton, creating multiple new products as an engineer with Lauren coming on as Pro Sales manager a few years later in 2021.
When the opportunity came up that same year for the couple to take full ownership of the company and bring all the manufacturing back to Riverton, Lauren and David jumped at the chance – making Brunton a female-owned, family-owned, company for the first time in history.
“In those three years, we've managed to implement an entirely new ERP system, re-designed a new website, launched a B2B platform, and have developed two significant new products in our tactical/military line,” says Lauren, “Just as importantly, we have re-established our brand identity and presence in our local community and among our user groups.”
As if that’s not impressive enough, the couple has fostered a growing manufacturing community in Riverton, WY, with new U.S. made businesses emerging over the past decade. This movement has boosted the local economy while prioritizing environmentally conscious practices.
“We see ourselves as a manufacturing hub in Riverton, WY - really the ‘OG’ brand and manufacturer here,” says Lauren. “We all help each other and even develop products together. Brunton prides itself on having all of our compasses be U.S. made, but the back story here is that all those parts and pieces still have to come from somewhere.”
Members of Brunton's Wyoming production team.
“The more we can source domestically and even locally, the more secure and sustainable that is for us. The global supply chain is a complex and ever-changing scene, and sourcing locally helps us weather those storms.”
They see the local supply chain choice as an environmental decision as well. As Lauren explains it, “The shorter the travel path of a material, the lower its environmental impact.” Since taking ownership, Lauren and David have made many intentional moves towards a more sustainable future.
“We've phased out all of our plastic clamshell packaging, and once inventory turns over, we'll have 100% FSC-compliant and/or recyclable/recycled packaging. We've changed manufacturing processes to eliminate the need for certain chemicals in house, and we've developed a few compasses that are over 80% recycled content – creatively called the ECOmpass line,” explains Lauren.
Brunton's Scout Glow Compass
They’ve also developed an outlet for their website, where they sell blemished but perfectly functional items at a discount – where in the past, they used to be scrapped and continue to repair transits to lengthen the lifetime of their products – which are designed to last.
“Our professional-grade pocket transits that are largely used by geologists around the world are designed to last a lifetime or more,” explains Lauren. “Many geologists pass their Brunton down as an heirloom, and we hear many stories of people who are still using their father's or grandfather's Brunton.”
The Part About Challenges
While the company – which currently has 28 employees – has made leaps and bounds under its female-fronted ownership, it has also presented Lauren and David with a few twists and turns to navigate along the way.
“The biggest challenges have honestly been related to managing people,” says Lauren, “Dave and I are fast learners of systems and concepts, and we have both taught students of various ages for over a decade. But managing adult employees calls upon a variety of skills that we didn't think we'd have to quickly develop!”
Lauren, Dave, and team at the the 1-year anniversary of their ownership and Brunton's 50th anniversary of operating in Wyoming.
Meanwhile, the couple continue working to strengthen and expand their skill sets as they look forward to an exciting future for Brunton and the team that helps make the magic happen.
“We have a big military compass launch ahead of us in 2025 that we're excited about,” says Lauren, “We've had military contracts for compasses for a hundred years but haven't really developed the commercial side of our tactical compasses, and we're excited to go there.”
They also have a big list of product ideas for improvement and innovation that they will continue to tackle, from global repair certification to continued sustainability practices. But perhaps their most ambitious plan is one which has been on-going since Lauren took her seat at the helm.
“Our goal is to make the world's best compasses and be THE compass brand in all of our markets: geology, tactical, and outdoor recreation. We're there already in geology, but in three years, I hope we've made huge strides in the tactical and outdoor recreation markets around the world.”
“In case it isn't stated or obvious, in the geology community people just call their compass their ‘Brunton’ – it's like the Kleenex of the geological compass,” smiles Lauren, “We want to be that in all of our markets.”
Ali Becker is a freelance writer and adventure storyteller who spends half the year backpacking and bikepacking and the other half sleeping in strangers' beds as a professional house sitter. She and her partner, Mathieu, share their ups and downs on their IG channel at @trip.longer and hope to inspire others to get outside, adventure in nature and find their own freedom. You can learn more about them here: triplonger.ca.
