They hold the world record for building the world’s largest sleeping bag, they provide outdoor kit for the UK’s Navy Skeleton team, and they’ve been manufacturing reliable outdoor gear for the last 40 years. But who are they?
Enter Snugpak. If you’re a lover of the outdoors and buy good quality outdoor kit, then I’m sure you’ll know of, have experience with or have seen the brand. And if you haven’t, where on earth have you been for the last 40 years!?
Now, let’s rewind back to the 1970s. This was when Snugpak’s founder noticed a gap in the market for body warmers and set himself the challenge of teaching himself to sew at his kitchen table, so that he could create the products to fill that gap. His ideas and products grew, and Snugpak moved to a little listed mill that sat on the edge of the stunning Yorkshire Dales.
Over the last 40 years, the company has continued to develop, grow and better its ways of working, sewing, and creating the outdoor gear in the UK that has made this brand one that is loved all around the world. Their products are worn at the top of mountains, at the bottom of oceans and well, anywhere in between. Generations of military customers have also come to rely on the consistent quality that Snugpak offers.
Not only does the company offer a wide range of quality sleeping bags, insulated clothing, tents, rucksacks and accessories, but it also boasts a whole host of incredible achievements. This includes helping to develop a synthetic fill diving under suit for Weezle Diving in 1995, which later won the Millennium Products Award in 2000, broadening the brand’s range into camping accessories and travel items in 2008, and winning the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2009, followed by a visit from Princess Anne. As if that wasn’t enough, the company also won Best Sleeping Bag Innovation at the Novel Awards in 2011, and in 2017, hit the 40 years of UK manufacturing milestone.
Now, let’s talk about this giant sleeping bag for a moment. Yep, in November 2014, the team at Snugpak set out in an attempt to construct the world’s largest sleeping bag and break the world record for doing so. Made in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, the sleeping bag took over 50 hours of production time, measured 20m by 9m, and a whopping weight of 80kg.
Not only did the company smash the world record, but it did it for an incredible cause. As part of the brand’s camp out event at the Bradford Bulls’ stadium, the Snugpak and the Bulls’ teams worked hard to construct the sleeping bag and raise vital money and awareness for the amazing work being done by both Centrepoint and the Bradford Bulls’ Foundation for young homeless people.
Video of Snugpak’s UK factory tour
To find out more about Snugpak’s history and to browse the brand’s incredible range of outdoor clothing and equipment, head over the Snugpak website.