About

About Procya

I'm Charles Buchwald. I've been building things that perform in real-world conditions for more than 40 years. Procya is my one-person design lab in Minneapolis. Small-batch gear designed to take advantage of high-end materials and construction techniques.

The short version of why it exists: gear could be better. If I'm obsessing over the absolute essential items for my expeditions, then I want the lightest, toughest, most versatile pieces, built with the best materials, and bomb-proof construction wherever the map runs out.

The Workshop

Procya products are designed and fabricated in my home shops, not a contract manufacturer, not a fulfillment center. A workbench, a sewing machine, and a careful selection of tooling:

3D printers for prototyping and some production hardware
Laser cutter, CNC router, plasma cutter, welder
Vacuum bagging for carbon fiber and composite layups
Sewing machines for webbing, technical fabrics, and soft goods
And more for cutting, molding, sintering, annealing, bonding, finishing

When I need studio photography, I have a professional space at Vandalia Tower in Minneapolis. Everything from the first sketch to the shipping label happens within a few miles of where I stand.

The Body of Work

A few things worth knowing before you decide whether to trust the gear.

I designed the Park Tool P-Handle Wrench in 1999. It's still in bike shops worldwide. I co-invented HangBoard, a patented high-speed snow sport, alongside Don Arney, the Hall of Fame inventor behind the Bambi Bucket. I completed a month-long, solo, unsupported crossing of Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in a boat I outfitted—300 miles of paddling, 40 miles of portaging—twice.

I attended the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, served on the Gregory Mountain Products advisory panel, and collaborated with clients like Current Designs and National Geographic. I've covered more than 80 national parks, 25 Minnesota state parks, and sections of the PCT, SHT, and CDT.

That's the relevant part. The rest is a long resume.

How I Work

Limited Runs. Every Procya product ships in small, numbered batches. Batch 001 might be 20 units. This isn't artificial scarcity; it's how a solo maker controls quality and keeps every piece traceable. When a batch sells out, the next one reflects everything the first one taught me.

Materials First. Materials are an integral part of design evolution. The Boreal Strap exists because UHMWPE webbing (ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, one of the strongest fibers by weight ever made) and CNC-machined aluminum buckles exist, and nobody was combining them into a premium strap. The Grand Portage Solo Yoke exists because 500 grams of carbon fiber and EVA foam can outperform a $700 competitor. The material is the story.

Building in Public. I share the process: prototypes, failures, material tests, field reports. Not because transparency is trendy, but because I've been talking with hikers, backpackers, paddlers, and other adventurers for decades, and that's how I think good gear gets made: in conversation with people who actually use it.

Join the Lab

Procya isn't just a store; it's a running experiment, and the best versions of these products come out of direct collaboration with the people using them in the field.

A few ways to be part of it:

Buy something. Every Limited Run product ships with a batch number and my direct contact information. That's not a marketing gimmick; it's an invitation.

Follow the build. Prototypes, material deep-dives, and field reports live on Instagram (@procya.outdoors) and in communities like r/MYOG and BWCA.com.

Give me feedback. If you own a Procya product and something isn't right, or could be better, I want to hear it. That's how Batch 002 gets made.

Sign up. The mailing list gets first access to new batches, field test opportunities, and the occasional deep dive into a material I'm currently obsessing over, wherever the map runs out.