Therm-a-Rest

Seattle-based Therm-a-Rest has been a market leader in high-quality outdoor comfort since inventing the world's first self-inflating camping mat in 1972. The promise to deliver original, long-lasting and reliable products has led to the expansion of the range to include closed cell foam mats, air mattresses, sleeping systems and seating that reinvent outdoor sleeping.

 

The Therm-a-Rest success story began in 1971, when the aerospace company Boeing in Seattle announced the largest mass layoffs in the company's history. 50,000 people were suddenly out of work. The impact on residents was so devastating that a - now infamous - billboard was erected near SeaTac Airport with the words 'Will the last person leaving Seattle, please turn out the lights'. (Will the last person leaving Seattle, please turn out the lights'.)

 

Good friends Jim Lea and Neil Anderson were among the newly laid-off employees of company co-founder John Burrough - both engineers who couldn't wait to get back to work. They asked for ideas and suggestions from John. As a mountain sports enthusiast, John was convinced that the world urgently needed a new, better sleeping mat. Inflatable sleeping mats were cold and got holes in them easily, while closed-cell foam mats were simply uncomfortable. John Burrough dreamed of a sleeping pad that was light, warm and comfortable. Jim and Neil took up the challenge. Just a year later, Jim noticed that the knee cushion he was using for gardening was leaking air when he shifted his weight. He quickly realized that open-cell foam had a kind of 'memory' and always returned to its original shape. This discovery was the birth of Therm-a-Rest and was so exciting that Jim and Neil began working on a first prototype for a sleeping mat. The plan was to take a piece of open cell foam and coat it on both sides to make it airtight. Using an old panini grill, they melted the fabric onto the foam to create a completely airtight seal. They then added a valve and the prototype was ready for testing. For months, they tested, revised and tried out their design until it was perfect.

 

In 1972, Jim and Neil applied for a patent for their invention. Within two years, they began producing Therm-a-Rest sleeping mats - the world's first self-inflating camping mats. The collaboration created an international standard for outdoor sleeping comfort and, moreover, the company Cascade Designs, Inc. Jim Lea and Neil Anderson's fixed idea of stretching open-cell foam with memory effect between two beds of air-impermeable material set the standard for 40 years of outdoor sleeping comfort. As early as 1985, the 1,000,000th Therm-a-Rest camping mat was sold and the demand for these high-tech sleeping mats continues unabated to this day. The company owes this success to an exclusive and old recipe, the ingredients are: Experience, innovation and unwavering adherence to our original promise to deliver truly lasting outdoor comfort!