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.
