New products : Lafuma Beds Down in U.S. Design

Lafuma, the French based manufacturer of sleeping bags, is set to launch its new collection, the first that has been entirely designed in the U.S.

LAFAYETTE, Colo.—Lafuma, the French-based manufacturer of lightweight, compressible sleeping bags, is set to launch its new collection, the first that has been entirely designed in the U.S., at Summer OR. Last season marked the first year Lafuma began to integrate designs from the U.S. into the international sleeping bag collection by commissioning the design services of Jason Belaire, owner and head designer of ENFOQUE Design in Denver, for six synthetic sleeping bags. Shortly thereafter, the brand made the decision to move all design to the U.S., with the overall goal of providing retailers with a streamlined, comprehensive collection that remained true to the Lafuma DNA—sleeping bags that are lightweight, compressible, feature-rich and affordable.

“When design was being done both in the U.S. and in France, the result was a disjointed collection,” said Belaire of the challenge. “There were holes, and specific needs were being missed. We listened to dealers, evaluated the marketplace and regrouped.”

Lafuma’s new SS13 collection is divided into three categories: lightweight down, with temperature ratings from 30–40 degrees; lightweight synthetic, with temperature ratings from 20–45 degrees; and synthetic family camping, with temperature ratings from 20–40 degrees. All 23 sleeping bags in the collection use the EN rating system.

“We’ve also added a segment to the Lafuma collection called the Tour de Mont Blanc (TMB),” Linda Greene, brand manager, said, “which is geared towards the car camping audience, who also wants technical features like draft tubes, shoulder collars and a lofty bag that will still compress down if they want to do a weekend backpacking trip.”

(actionoutdoorbike.com / AOB Editor)