50 YEARS of innovation

Therm-a-Rest have been the leaders in outdoor sleep comfort since their founders created the world’s first self-inflating sleeping pad in 1972. To celebrate a very special 50th anniversary, they’re looking back over half a century of iconic releases and e

One of the earliest slogans used on Therm-a-Rest print adverts was “for the rest of your life.” And while the slogan primarily called out the superior sleep one could achieve with a newly invented self-inflating mat, there are adventurers out there who have spent their entire outdoor-pursuing lives sleeping on Therm-a-Rest products.

A lot has happened in the past 50 years, but Therm-a-Rest’s core mission has remained the same: to help customers get a better sleep outdoors. “We got started because I wanted a better mattress,” says John Burroughs, co-founder of Therm-a-Rest. As

an experienced mountaineer, John knew the thin foam mats of the early ’70s left a giant opportunity for greater sleep comfort. And when friend and fellow Boeing employee Jim Lea discovered a way of enhancing them with air-tight fabric and a regulated airway, the self-inflating mattress was born.

In 1972, the friends filed for a patent for the ‘Therm-a-Rest’, and a year later the very first mattress was produced in Seattle. From the outset, John and the small team in Seattle knew their invention would revolutionise the way people enjoyed the outdoors. And as manufacturing capabilities grew in the ’70s and ’80s, so did their ability to expand the mattress range, which included favourites such as the UltraLite® and RidgeRest®.

The latter would reach near-iconic status and has been a staple for novices and experts in the outdoors ever since.

In 1985, due to increasing demand in Europe, a second factory was opened in County Cork, Ireland. To this day it delivers 95% of Therm-a-Rest mattresses for European customers, and is the hub of Cascade Designs in Europe.

Looking back over 50 years of innovations, the brand continues its unwavering commitment to customers. And with more people enjoying the outdoors than ever before, the Therm-a-Rest team across the world look forward to the next 50!

■ www.thermarest.com

One of the biggest Therm-a-Rest launches was NeoAir® – a range of air-filled and super-compact mattresses which raised the bar yet again. It continues to set the standard for innovative, lightweight design, as seen in today’s NeoAir UberLite (right).