Butora [Boo-tore-ah] – Korean ()
Definition (lang. Korean) - Persistence, determination; 
used when telling a climber to “go for it,” to “stick it.”

In 2014, Butora Inc was started by Nam Hee Do, a man, whom combined with his team, has more than 20 years of climbing shoe manufacturing, design and industry experience. The focus at Butora is design, and quality of materials. We have made a conscious choice to maintain that quality whatever the cost, without bowing to profit margins.

Mr. Nam introduced his first Butora shoe, the Endeavor, to the South Korean climbing community in 2014. He followed with the Acro in 2015 which was named by Rock and Ice as, “The Best New Climbing Shoe of 2016.” Butora now has a range of different styles, including a lace-up, a retro trad shoe, a one-of-a-kind white-soled markless rental, and children’s shoes, each perfected for its particular purpose. As a collaborator and expert craftsman who gets inspiration directly form the diverse climbing community, Mr. Nam integrates the best of climbing into eco-aware, high performing climbing products.

While Mr. Nam was designing the perfect shoe, Butora USA President Bryan Hylenski was creating KOTRI.org, the first foreigner-owned climbing non-profit in South Korea. Bryan spent 5 years building KOTRI.org into a fully funded organization that handled crag access issues, provided grants to aspiring climbers, brought the Reel Rock Show to South Korea, developed, rebolted, and maintained South Korea’s climbing crags.

In 2015, Bryan Hylenski began building Butora USA with partners Bradley Hilbert, climbing coach, outdoor guide, and Butora Director of Marketing, and Mack Maier, Butora Director of Distribution & Sales and expert Colorado lumberjack. The partners of Butora USA met first as climbing partners and, as each of them began building climbing communities back in the States, they developed then as business partners.

The Butora USA team is committed to always deliver the best possible climbing shoe for every level of climber, and is dedicated to giving back to the climbing community through outreach, service, and honorable business practices.
Butora USA, the natural choice for every climber.

Butora