In 1976 a deep-sea diver and a secretary
noticed the US trend for body warmers.
They thought the fashion would catch on in the UK and they wanted to be ahead
of
the trend when it did. Bryony Harris director and co founder of
Snugpak, taught
husband Brett Harris, Company Chairman to sew. Together they produced some
experimental body warmers and jackets.
The couple both had full-time jobs so every spare minute of their leisure time
was spent making as many
jackets as possible. With the help of outworkers a cottage industry was born.
In those early days production stood at 15 jackets per week. In 1977 the
couple
decided to invest what money they had into G & H Products Ltd (which later
became Craghoppers) to gain more outdoor business experience. Two years later
they made the decision to branch out on their own with
Snugpak. Although still making jackets
they realised that if the new company were going to be successful
they would need to manufacture products with year round appeal rather than the
seasonal body warmer. Sleeping bags were the logical choice.
By 1984 the company had grown and the number of machinists had increased to
seven, by 1986
sales had grown so strong the company had to move to larger premises. The
company moved down the road to a Grade II listed old woollen mill in Silsden
where they remain.
Brett knew that the way forward for the company was through innovation. Man
made sleeping bags were traditionally bulky. He wanted
to produce a cheaper, man made equivalent to the expensive down filled
sleeping bag.
In 1987
Snugpak launched their Softie 6 and 12
sleeping bags into the outdoor trade. The two bags were the smallest synthetic
sleeping bags on the market and
sales rocketed. Today the Softie range consists of many different models all
based on this initial idea but they have been constantly upgraded as new
insulation and fabric technologies have emerged.
When first launched in 1989 the
Softie 3 Merlin sleeping bag caused a
sensation. A combination of
insulation and a highly breathable space age reflective barrier giving 0°c
performance in just 750g and packing to the size of a cantaloupe melon was a
revelation. It has since been used on every permanently inhabited continent.
The
Original Sleeka
jacket now being used worldwide by tens of thousands of forces
personnel is also from this era and is still the most popular and
arguably the most versatile jacket in the
Snugpak range offering an ideal balance
between warmth, weight and pack size.
Snugpak is the internationally recognised
brand name of Brett Harris Ltd, winners of the 2002 Queen's Award for
Enterprise in International Trade.
