Outdoor Retailer: Cascade Designs

Therm-a-Rest’s Antares sleeping bag (front and back, with the NeoAir sleeping pad), and Platypus’ new Duthie 12 day pack

Cascade Designs, the parent company of such venerable outdoor brands as MSR, Therm-a-Rest, Platypus, and Seal Line, have a bunch of interesting new products slated to hit the retail shelves this winter and spring 2013.  Here’s a few highlights:

This January Therm-a-Rest will get into the sleeping bag game with three models, the zero-degree Altair, the 20-degree Antares, and the 25/45 Navis Convert Bag, a hoodless, ultralight 1-pound, 9-ounce bag that’s meant to be used while wearing a down jacket (hence the double temp rating).  All the bags are designed to pair with their Gearzilla All-Star Therm-a-Rest NeoAir pad, utilizing flexible bands that reduce cold spots.

Platypus is redoing their entire line of hydration packs in a variety of sizes and configurations, from everything to ultralight fast packs to overnight expedition rigs.  The all-mountain Duthie 12 pack boasts nine liters of gear storage and a three-liter reservoir, with external body armor attachments (for the gravity-fed biker), as well as organization pockets for tools, clothes, and food.  And we love that all the pack names come from cross-country trails around Seattle, Cascade Designs’ home.

And the cache of products that once fell under Sealine is branching out. Dubbed E-Case, these waterproof gadget pockets offer a refreshingly streamlined spin on their Sealine counterparts that’ll help these products reach beyond the paddle-centric set.  We predict these will become essential must-haves for the tech-conscious traveler and outdoor-lover.