Storyhill’s John Hermanson returns home to Bozeman to bring his patent-pending trekking bows to market

(BOZEMAN, MT)—In a garage at Fifth and Cleveland, one of Bozeman’s most beloved musicians, John Hermanson of folk duo Storyhill, is working with wood.

He’s building his new high-performance “Limber Bows” brand of recurved trekking poles from layers of ash, hickory, ipe, fiberglass, and carbon fiber. One pair at a time.

He patented the unusual shoulder-height, recurved design while hiking in the Cascades, where he discovered that a semicircular limb, when used as a pole, put an extra spring in his step.

“Basically, it’s all about kinetic energy,” says the son of MSU physics chair Dr. John Hermanson, Sr. “The height lifts your posture, while the curves absorb shock and give you a push. As a result, you’re a more limber hiker, and your stamina increases.”

Trekking is only the most obvious application. Limber Bows are also useful on skis, in the yoga studio, for stretching and physical therapy, and for any number of hangs, as Hermanson’s videos at limberbows.com attest.

“As soon as people see them in action,” says Hermanson, “they understand the benefits and opportunities intuitively.”

Available to order at an “heirloom” price point at Schnee’s Boots (June – Aug) and limberbows.com, Hermanson will continue making bows by hand until demand is sufficient to warrant the engineering of a collapsibility component, and, eventually, mass-production. Already his current model has sold to customers in several states.