Marmot

Marmot was founded in 1974, but their story began three years earlier. In 1971, Eric Reynolds and Dave Huntley went to college at University of California Santa Cruz. As a part of a glaciology study, they came to Alaska. It was here the idea of Marmot Club was born. To become a member in this Marmot Club you had to climb an glaciated peak.. together with another member. From this day forward, the two college students started developing functional clothes from their dorm room. Their first creations, not yet under the name of Marmot, included a down vest, a parka and a couple of sleeping bags. The warmest bag, the PIKA, tested at -45 degrees Fahrenheit, is still part of the Marmot range under the name Cwm. During the years that followed the duo became a trio as Tom Boyce joined the Marmot team. Together they opened a rental and retail shop in an old stone building in Colorado. The shop went under the name of Marmot Mountain Works. Marmot was born. Later that year, Tom found himself in Peru where he met star filmmaker Mike Hoover. The two must have gotten along, because Hoover called up within a couple of weeks. He needed 108 puffy jackets for a new movie. Marmot was up to the task and delivered. Except from delivering the biggest order to date, Marmot was now a movie star of its own. Marmot didn't stop pushing though. In 1976 marmot started developing the idea of Gore-Tex sleeping bags. It was a success which led to a rearrangement of the entire Marmot range. Everything was designed in Gore-Tex, the best suited material for outdoor use. Today Marmot is sold and distributed in 44 countries. It's still about the same thing: Creating highly functional outdoor gear!