Blog

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly, not only in Switzerland. This is why we at EXPED have also taken measures to protect our employees and customers. Although it is difficult to classify this situation, which is new to us all, it is important to us that we do our part to ensure the health of our families, the community and ourselves. Most of our employees now work from home. Yet we can still be reached by e-mail, phone and our social media channels.

2001: A Sleeping Mat Odyssey: Through the end of the last century, outdoor enthusiasts relied on one of two types of sleeping mats: thin closed-cell foam mats or slightly thicker self-inflating mats. Both provided some level of comfort and insulation from the cold hard ground, but neither did so with great effect. In 2001, EXPED introduced a revolutionary product - the DownMat – which created an entirely new category of sleeping mats – much warmer, lighter and more compact than previous mats. This new category necessitated a means of measuring and comparing the efficiency of the insulation, so we pioneered the use of R-value testing to determine the “warmth” of a sleeping mat. Almost 20 years later the outdoor gear companies have agreed upon an international standard method for testing the R-value of sleeping mats, based heavily on EXPED’s previous work with EMPA, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology.