For those of you that are not familiar with Barney’s, I would like to take the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Kevin Dana and I am a life long Alaskan and owner. I grew up hunting, fishing, and exploring the vast mountain ranges of Alaska. I started guiding Dall sheep in my younger years and found myself in the heart of the Brooks Range chasing one of North America’s most Majestic animals. The rest is history! Sheep hunting has truly captivated my soul, and supplying hunters with the best equipment available to pursue them has gone hand in hand.
Many of you knew the previous owner Bob. He was truly a mentor of mine, and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. One summer when I was gearing up to head back to the Brooks Range, Bob pulled me aside and asked me how long I wanted to guide. I don’t recall my exact response, but I suppose at 20 years old, my ambitions for more were obvious. He presented me with the idea of purchasing the store and carrying on his legacy and I soon found myself taking on much more than I could have ever anticipated. He made me learn the hard way that opportunities are not given, they are earned, and over the course of the next 10 years I learned more from Bob and how to run a business than I could have every imagined.
As many of you know, Bob recently passed away, and to say I have big shoes to fill is an absolute understatement. Bob was known worldwide for his generosity, knowledge, and willingness to talk hunting any time of the day. Over the years as we transitioned, I was fortunate enough to not only learn a few hunting tips, but quite literally a crash course in small business, and most importantly manufacturing custom products. As Bob grew ill from his pre existing medical condition, it made it tough for us to focus on the custom products, which was truly his passion. Before he passed, he made me promise to carry on that tradition and to keep his creation alive.
It is that sprit that lives on in our custom line of products under the label Frontier Gear of Alaska today. Our production is truly unique, as industry wide it’s well known that small number production gets small number quality. In our case, we have been fortunate enough to work with one of the absolute best quality factories in the world that understands our desire to create the most innovative products on the market today, but without the capabilities of the bigger investor owned brands. In turn, our small batch production allows us to control every aspect of the process, from phase 1 to the finished product.
Barney’s is committed to not only providing our end customers with the absolute best products on the market, but a truly unique shopping experience. We want to stay involved in your ordering process as much as possible, which we believe is what makes Barney’s truly unique. We encourage you to use this website for a reference point and to please call us so we can make sure that you are buying what is proper for your trip. We will tell you if the gear you have will work and help you with the selection of gear that you may need. I do not want to become a click and ship company. I don’t want you to have to page through large catalogs or deal with phone operators that have not even been out of the city they live in let alone to Alaska or beyond. I have resisted allowing customers to complete their order online because I do not want to lose control of the personalized service that Barney’s is known for.
Happy Hunting,
Kevin Dana – Owner