Casey Hyde joined the Outdoor Minimalist Podcast to talk about the experiment behind the Traveler Tee, why we're not chasing seasonal trends, and what "pack less, adventure more" actually looks like in practice.
When Casey Hyde stepped into the CEO role at TEREN, he did something a little unusual. Instead of celebrating with a new wardrobe, he stopped washing the one he had.
"This tee is our Traveler Tee, 100% merino wool, and I wore it for 60 days before I washed it," Casey told Meg Carney on episode 221 of the Outdoor Minimalist Podcast. "I wear this stuff every day anyway, but I was like, let me really stress test this."
The idea came from an unlikely place. When Brian Chesky took over as Airbnb's CEO, he spent a year living in Airbnbs to understand the product from the customer's side. Casey figured the TEREN version was simpler: we say our gear is built for long wear and less washing, so prove it.
The Experiment
Starting January 1st, Casey wore the Traveler Tee for 60 straight days before its first wash. This wasn't closet-to-couch wear. Hundreds of miles on the bike, regular sessions at the climbing gym, camping trips, travel. The tee held up.
That's not magic. It's merino. Unlike synthetics, merino absorbs sweat vapor deep into its fiber core, keeping the surface dry and depriving odor-causing bacteria of the moisture they need to multiply. Hang it up overnight and the fibers effectively reset for another day.
The Lightweight Traveler Pants went 45 days, though Casey's honest that he pushed past the point he'd actually recommend. His real guidance is simpler: "I recommend 10 to 14 days." Enough to cover most people's two-week adventures on a single pair. Or, as he puts it: "Change your pants on Mondays."
An Evergreen Wardrobe
The experiment isn't really about laundry. It's about a different way of thinking about what's in your closet.
"A lot of people are growing width, and we want to grow depth," Casey said. "This is what I want to wear every day, for every outdoor activity, every time I go to the office. And then from the office I can go on a hike, and from the hike I can go on a night out."
That's the evergreen wardrobe. Not a new drop every quarter. Not the color of the year. Staple styles and staple colors, built to outlast the trend cycle entirely. Pieces designed so the style lasts as long as the fabric does.
Casey's own travel kit is seven pieces: shorts, pants, tee, button-up, fleece, puffy, shell. "With those seven pieces, you can do anything in the world."
The Part Nobody Thinks About
Meg and Casey also got into one of the most overlooked sides of clothing sustainability: the wash cycle itself.
Washing less isn't just convenient on the trail. Every cycle you skip saves water, energy, and microplastic shedding. Casey ran the rough math on his own habit shift: "Twelve washes versus 52 washes. It feels like a significant impact for an individual."
Wash less often and hang dry, and your clothes last longer too. The whole system reinforces itself: buy fewer, better pieces, wash them less, wear them longer.
Listen to the full episode
Outdoor Minimalist Podcast, Episode 221
There's a lot more in the full conversation, including the story of how a fly-fishing guide and a motorcycle trip from South Africa to Norway shaped our first products, why our Campfire Puffy is fire-resistant, and Casey's honest answer about the one thing he still overpacks.
