Tom Sega was a huge fan and customer of Duluth Pack before he went to work there 11 years ago.
"I owned a tremendous [number] of Duluth Pack's bags, specifically that briefcase behind me, very special to me," said the president and operating partner of the company, which has been around since 1882. "That was the first purchase I ever made [from] Duluth Pack. I was a road warrior, prior to being part of Duluth Pack. When you travel that much and something breaks early in a week and you're on the road, boy, it's a miserable week, if a briefcase breaks, a zipper breaks, something tears. I became a fan of Duluth Pack because it was the only bag that would last. I was just tired of replacing bags that I spent good hard-earned money on. That bag is over 20 years old. It has 1.5 million-plus air miles on it. It's part of me. … Those are the stories we hear from our customers, specifically if a bag needs a repair. They might have patches on it from all over the world or it might be in such bad shape we say, 'Are you sure you don't want to replace this?' 'Oh, no-no-no. You don't know the memories.' That became the same for me."
Duluth Pack was a small regional company when he became intrigued with it. "I was like, 'Wow, this thing could be so great, get so much bigger and better if we … let more people know about it.' So I approached the company. After several years, we put a deal together and I became the operating partner in April 2007. There were 21 employees."
Today there are approximately 110 employees and it's much better known.
Q: How many backpacks do you have at your house?
A: Oh, my goodness. [Long pause as he counts in his head.] Twentyish. There are all different types; whether it's a backpack or my briefcase or my gun cases in the gun room. My wife has a tremendous [number] of totes, and I have my fishing gear, and then I have my other hunting pack. I should just say, too many to count.
Q: Do you have any designed specifically for you that the rest of us can't buy?
A: I have made modifications to a few to try something different. It doesn't always work. Many times it does work. But my favorite pack of them all is the All Day Lumbar Pack. That is one I helped design. It is an oversized fanny pack that has shoulder straps and a sternum strap and a cross drop in the back to help [keep] the weight on your shoulders instead of your lower back. It's very nice to wear a fanny pack at times instead of a backpack or shoulder bag.
