Three Names, One Legend, and the Gear to Prove You're a Believer

Every corner of the world has a story about a giant, hairy figure watching from the tree line. North America calls it Bigfoot or Sasquatch. Australia calls it the Yowie. The Himalayas call it the Yeti. Bigfoot, Yowie and Yeti celebrates all three, and it's the place to shop for anyone who's ever stopped on a trail and wondered what made that noise.

Shop the Merch

The Bigfoot, Yowie and Yeti shop is where the legend goes home with you. It's packed with apparel, gifts and gear for believers, skeptics and everybody in between. Grab a shirt for your next camping trip. Pick up a gift for the friend who's watched every Bigfoot documentary twice. Find something for the kid who's convinced there's a Sasquatch behind the garage.

A few favorites to start with:

• Short-sleeve unisex T-shirt, one of the shop's top-rated pieces and an easy pick for the trail.
• Ribbed knit beanie, another top-rated favorite for cold nights at camp.
• Tree Peeker 3/4 sleeve raglan shirt, featuring the brand's own Sasquatch peeking from the pines.
• Black glossy mug, for the first coffee after a long night of listening.

The merch isn't only fun. Every purchase supports a brand built by people who take the search seriously and love sharing it.

A Short History of Bigfoot Sightings

The stories are old. Indigenous peoples across the Pacific Northwest told of wild, hairy giants long before European settlers arrived. The word "Sasquatch" comes from the Halkomelem word sásq'ets, which roughly means wild man.

The name "Bigfoot" arrived much later. In 1958, a road crew working near Bluff Creek in Northern California found enormous footprints around their equipment. A local newspaper ran the story, the nickname stuck, and Bigfoot became a national sensation almost overnight.

Nine years later, in 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin filmed a large, upright figure striding along a creek bank at Bluff Creek. The Patterson-Gimlin film is still the most debated piece of Bigfoot footage ever shot. People have studied every frame for more than half a century, and they still don't agree on what it shows.

Sightings didn't stay in the Northwest. Reports have come in from nearly every U.S. state. Washington leads the pack, and Colorado's high country has logged well over a hundred reports of its own.

Bigfoot's Cousins: the Yowie and the Yeti

The Yowie. Australia's version has deep roots in Aboriginal oral tradition, where the hairy man goes by many regional names. European settlers began reporting their own encounters in the 1800s. Witnesses describe a tall, upright, hair-covered figure with long arms and big feet. Most modern reports come from the forests and mountains of New South Wales and Queensland.

The Yeti. The Himalayas' Abominable Snowman comes from Sherpa and Tibetan folklore. It grabbed the world's attention in 1951, when mountaineer Eric Shipton photographed huge footprints in the snow near Everest. Expeditions have searched for it ever since.

Three continents, three names and a remarkably similar description. That's what makes the legend so hard to shake.

Read More on the Blog

This is only the start of the story. The Bigfoot, Yowie and Yeti blog picks up where the history leaves off, with field reports from the search. Read about the Northwest Colorado Bigfoot trip, see the well-preserved footprint found near Craig, Colorado after a night of strange sounds, and catch up on Yetifest in Gould, Colorado. Read up, pick a side and then visit the shop to gear up for your next trip into the woods.