Compass: Charting the Evolution of Outdoor Gear

Mountain Designs Profile

        Home Brands History Firsts Classics Logos Links Books News Action About

History

Images

Mountain Designs primary claim to innovation was their application of international trends to the Australian outdoor market. This was particularly evident

in down sleeping bags, where their use of predominately American styles (box foot mummies, etc) and use of lightweight nylons and high grade down fills

set MD bags apart. Most of their contemporary Australian manufacturers (Paddy Pallin/Paddymade, Kimptons, etc) were comfortable using heavier cotton

japara fabrics in flatter, rectangular forms, and had been slow to embrace the lighter synthetics.

Their early Gore-Tex apparel also had a North American bent, such as handwarming slots behind cargo pockets.

More to come when I can find time to wade through Mountain Design's rather tumultous history and extract the salient milestones