Mesa resident Scott Jensen, an avid hiker and outdoors enthusiast, knows what it is to lug a heavy backpack on the trail.
With that knowledge, he designed his own outdoor gear and created a company, Near Zero, in 2019.
At 13.5 pounds, his quality, pre-packaged backpack, called The Dean, is a bestseller mainly because its lightweight.
It consists of ten items—a backpack, tent, sleeping bag and pad, pillow, cooking pot, stove, headlamp, first aid kit and a long-handled spork (a utensil to enhance outdoors dining). So, it’s also grab-and-go, rather like fast food.
“We demystify backpacking for everyone,” said Jensen. “Whether you’re 80 years old or 8 years old, we make it easy.”
The name Near Zero was chosen for two reasons, the brand owner said. Near-zero weight (indicated by the feather in the company logo) helps merge the gap between being lightweight and affordable when compared to others in the market. (The bundle costs $600.)
The second is the ease of use and simplicity that appeals to beginner hikers.
“We make it very near-zero research that you have to do,” he said.
In addition to what is in the bundle, Near Zero sells other gadgets and gear—handy items include a titanium shovel, hydration bladder, compass-thermometer and aluminum kettle/teapot among the more than 150-item product list online, more than half of which he designed.
After a few years of perfecting and marketing the Dean and its junior version, Little Dean, the business is poised to grow.
Last December, Jensen moved from his home garage to a one-acre property located south of the Lehi area in Mesa.
The 1968 glass building stands atop a hill and provides a downward view of the Consolidated Canal and its Sun Circle Trail. The complex includes two underground offices that he calls bunkers; they are energy-efficient concrete structures, perfect as a warehouse to store inventory, clean and restock rental packs, and for online order fulfillment.
Jensen has rented most of the glass building’s renovated rooms to other entrepreneurs until he needs the space for his own business.
Because it is older than 50s and designed by veteran Mesa architect Victor Lamar Shill, Jensen has filed an application with the city to formerly register it as a historic building.
Mesa resident Scott Jensen has distilled a near lifetime of backpacking knowledge to create his Near Zero pre-packaged backpack, which contains everything in this list.
Also, two months ago, Jensen received a patent for his signature product that enables him to lockdown his concept. “It adds more credibility,” he noted.
Inside his offices, Jensen displays his prized products, each one more ingenious and creative than the other.
The tents come in three sizes, to accommodate one to three people, and are compact when folded. The backpack has space for dehydrated food packs that just need boiling water to taste good.
The backpacking shovel helps put out fires and is an important item for responsible forest care. It also doubles as a cooking grill that Jensen uses to cook quesadillas. The cooking pot doubles as a coffee mug and so on…
The Mesa native, who attended Mountain View High School, perfected his community leadership skills and earned the badge of an Eagle Scout. Following grade school, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in global business management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Jensen began backpacking with his father when he was 8. The practice continued well into his adult life and the two of them began planning this startup company while outdoors.
Jensen also loved the hiking opportunities when he lived in Portland, Oregon for four years with his growing family. He explored the Pacific West outdoors with his elder son, who is now 22.
Dean Jensen passed away unexpectedly in 2018. He was 71.
Even now, Jensen cannot help wiping away a tear when he talks about his father. He would have loved to show him his progress and accomplishments.
“We honor him in this business because it’s named after him,” he said, referring to the backpack’s name. “He was my mentor.”
A job stationed in China gave him some respite from the sorrow. At the time, he was employed by Carlisle, based in Scottsdale, which sent him to work in supply chain management in Dongguan, China, near Hong Kong, overseeing 100 employees in a factory of 3,000. The family posting was enjoyable for two years, but the pandemic prematurely ended their stay, as they were forced to evacuate.
Back in Arizona, Jensen resumed his hiking. Every year, he hikes the Grand Canyon from rim to rim, like his father did. “It’s a beautiful hike,” he said, of the 24-mile trek. Sometimes, he takes his 9-year-old son with him on the 17-mile hike to the Grand Canyon. They carry the Dean with the supplies and sleep in the wilderness inside one of their own tents.
Asked what he likes about backpacking, Jensen said it helps him go further into the forest, rather than when camping in a vehicle parked in a campground.
“When you get to the campsite, you appreciate all those things so much more,” he said. “You love everything you brought because you had to work hard to bring it. You sleep better.”
Details: nearzero.co,https://thunderbird.asu.edu/
