Like many great ideas, Quiptu, an outdoor gear rental company, started out with a couple of friends having drinks.

Quiptu, the brainchild of Josh Roche with the help of co-founder John Laughlin and Ben Kirby, the head of brand and marketing, launched last month in Colorado and Indiana. The startup is what they call the Airbnb of outdoor gear rentals.

The online platform allows people who own equipment ranging from bikes, tents, hiking poles and paddle boards to list their equipment online so others — eager to explore the outdoors — can find and rent equipment they might need but don’t own. 

“Our mission is really to just equip more people to get outside and enjoy the outdoors,” Kirby said. “Because it’s what we love to do, and we just want more people have access to it.”

The high cost of equipment needed to access and participate in many outdoor activities discourages some people from exploring the wilderness or trying outdoor skills, Kirby said.

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“That’s where we came up with the idea for Quiptu, which is a peer-to-peer marketplace,” Kirby said “… We did that so local owners who have gear can then empower more people to get outside and equip people with the proper gear to partake in outdoor adventures that they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.”

Kirby, who grew up in Palmer Lake and lives in Fort Collins, said Quiptu would give renters the chance to find equipment in places like his hometown where there aren’t many rental shops as well as more remote regions, which is how Roche realized the idea.

Headed to a 350-mile bike trip in Montana, Roche, based out of Bloomington, Ind., didn’t have the proper equipment. So, he borrowed a bike, shipped it to Montana, assembled it, rode the bike, disassembled it, shipped it back and reassembled it to return it to his friend.

“It didn’t need to be so difficult, so expensive, and so frustrating to get the gear,” Quiptu’s website read.

That’s why the trio wants to facilitate outdoor experiences for others with ease.

Those who use the service can either pick up gear at an owner’s house or get it delivered to another location depending on the owner’s listing options. All transactions happen over the platform so no cash is exchanged. A maintenance fee is applied, too, as a safeguard for owners if their equipment is damaged or stolen.

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“We handle the process for protecting gear,” Kirby said.

“We make sure that they get reimbursed for the value, the current value of their product plus 10%. Or if there’s any simple repair costs, we’ll reimburse them for that too. That way owners can have peace of mind that their gear is going to be taken care of and covered.”

For owners, listing their gear on Quiptu gives them an opportunity to make equipment purchases worthwhile even when they are not the ones using it, Kirby said.

That was the case for Danny Kinzeler who rents his paddle board out on Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins. 

“There’s a lot of opportunity for other people to use it and it’s a great way for me to make some extra money,” Kinzeler said.

Kinzeler said he’s looking forward to Quiptu expanding its reach.

The company, still in its infancy, has 60 equipment listings across Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Boulder and Eagle and Summit counties as well as listings across Indiana, because the three founders are based out of Colorado and Indiana. 

“Long run, we’d love to be a national brand,” Kirby said. “So that if you decide you want to go on a trip anywhere in America and you want to be able to rent something, you can hop onto our website, open up the map, and you can find something no matter where you would want to go.”

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