30 years of sleeping bag experience

 

How it all began

First the idea, then it all went wrong! My first attempt in 2012 to realize my idea and have custom sleeping bags produced by a large sleeping bag company was a flop. It was all about making profits, and that made it virtually impossible to implement my ideas. As so often happens, it ended in arguments and court cases. Now I was left wondering: "Should I give up? Hmmm, no, I don't give up that easily!" So I googled like crazy and looked for a sleeping bag company. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a suitable manufacturer in Germany or the surrounding countries. So I continued looking in Asia. I was a bit nervous. After a long search, I found three companies. Okay, I gathered up all my courage, got on the plane, and off to Asia. 

Adventure China

After a 14-hour flight and at least three checks at security stations to see if I had a fever (the Chinese like to do that), I was in Shanghai. Oh dear, a bit bigger than Munich – and a little confusing. I had three manufacturers' addresses I wanted to visit on the very first day.
Off I got in a taxi and went to the first one. But it wasn't so easy to find. Down a small side street, the taxi stopped in front of a kind of garage. Eh, what's that, are we right? Oh dear, a garage company – it looked bigger online. After two minutes of small talk, it was clear they couldn't do it.
On to the next address, a high-rise building, X-th floor, room 50000001. Hmm, the room is small, but full of food and two sleepy Chinese people. Nobody sews sleeping bags here, so that's out of the question.
Off to the third address. Wow, a huge company – they'd be okay. They've been making sleeping bags for decades. I even met with the boss. However, my production runs were too small for them. I wanted many models, not just one. Mmph – discouraged, I went to the hotel.

Give up or carry on? I had a good friend in Germany with ties to China. Okay, I'll call him, after all, I'm here for a week. And what else am I supposed to do? I was lucky: he knew the manager of a large German computer company that produces there. My friend also organized a meeting right away.
So I drove into the huge new office and found myself face to face with a really high-ranking official. And - he was actually really nice! Wow! He had some of his employees pick out companies that made sleeping bags, and then we drove to the companies in his limousine. That immediately made a completely different impression, heheheh! And sure enough, a large company that also produces for other sleeping bag brands accepted.

Wow: A cult sleeping bag was born! And nothing was a problem. I was able to implement all the designs and patterns. And they even made the materials I wanted for me. That's how easy it is to work. (They just need to rework the food part in China. Man, I felt sick. They might eat some stuff: chicken claws, eels, and other unidentifiable things, yuck!)
The hardest part was implementing my designs. I had to develop and print every fabric myself. Nothing like that had been done before. And sometimes I was shocked at how much work it was. If a sleeping bag design has 10 colors, you need 10 giant aluminum rolls, each 5m long and 60cm in diameter, as a print negative. And they're expensive. But that's what makes my sleeping bags special. Many, many patterns were made, patterns were adjusted, more filling was added, and different materials were selected.

Next, head to TÜV SÜD in Shanghai (yes, they have one there, and they're Bavarian, too). They test everything they can to ensure your sleeping bag not only feels good, but also complies with all regulations.

Finally finished: A synthetic sleeping bag you won't want to let go of. So soft and cozy, technically sophisticated, and simply so you just have to lie down in it. And the design is cool!

The first down sleeping bag - Spider Down

My masterpiece in 2014 was a down sleeping bag. I'd been planning it for almost 20 years. A new chamber system, new materials. It was really difficult! Again, a friend from Germany did the groundwork, and I was able to meet with a down sleeping bag expert in China. I showed her my new concept. She was very critical. Very, very critical, and calculated everything: thermal performance, weight, material costs, etc. And she actually had a sample made.

I couldn't believe it: It was better than I had imagined! I had copied the chamber system from nature; it was structured like a spider's web, so the down wouldn't slip. And they had embroidered my spider in the middle. I wanted merino wool in the foot area, which keeps my feet dry and warm and prevents odors. High-quality outer and inner materials, a 90/10 down ratio, and a small pack size were also what distinguished the Spider Down. It had everything. I was able to return to Germany.

My conclusion about China: The Chinese are very nice. You just have to understand them: They're people like us, only they think a little differently. But after a few beers, we're all the same.

From 2016: Grüezi bag is born and Wolle is part of it

We finally had a foothold with specialist retailers, and I was able to achieve the volumes needed to develop even better sleeping bags. Naturally, I wanted to use a natural material. I've always loved wool. I've slept much better in my bed since using wool bedding and wool underlays. Plus, Merino wool clothing has always been much more comfortable for mountain sports.

Why shouldn't the many great properties of wool also work in a sleeping bag?

So just fill your sleeping bag with wool and see what happens. :-)

But unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. The first wool sleeping bag was much too heavy, and after washing, the filling disappeared and the washing machine clogged. But who gives up so easily? I tried many different patterns with different cuts, chambers, wool blends... It didn't work. The sleeping bag either didn't keep you warm, was too heavy, couldn't be washed, or was simply all of the above. I was close to giving up. But I don't give up that easily.

The problem was that you need a lot of wool in a sleeping bag, and that a lot of wool can shrink significantly when washed. Then came the idea of stabilizing the wool with cornstarch, as well as a new way of incorporating the wool into the sleeping bag.

Now it was time to get testing underway. Thermal imaging, test subjects, and lab tests (all of which cost a lot of money) were carried out. Money was slowly becoming terribly tight, as we had to do a lot of testing beforehand, and a lab test can cost up to €2,000. Even though it was quite cost-effective, I didn't let that dissuade me.

And after what felt like the hundredth sleeping bag pattern, the ultimate wool sleeping bag was finally born. Small, lightweight, washable. Just as it should be: The Biopod Wool Zero . So I finally had my dream sleeping bag.

The response to the first wool sleeping bag was enthusiastic. Our Biopod Wolle Zero won an Outdoor Industry Award in 2015 , an Editors' Choice from Outdoor Magazine in 2016, and the German Design Award in 2017 .

Grüezi Bag in a show

After a long evening of watching TV, I came up with the idea of applying for the TV show "Mit den Löwen." Imagine my surprise when I received an invitation. And how excited I was when, on the day of the recording, it was finally my turn to pitch after hours of waiting.

I shouldn't have been so nervous: The lions loved my sleeping bags and wanted to contribute. Ralf Dümmel even doubled his offer.

We thank you very much for the offer. But since I want to continue developing innovative sleeping bags (sometimes unprofitably, but with great passion), I've decided to run the company on my own.

2017: The comfort miracle - Biopod Hybrid Wool/Down

After we finally got a wool sleeping bag, there was still one problem. Wool is great down to just above zero degrees, but below that you need down to keep the sleeping bag from getting too heavy. The next problem was that down tends to slip and is difficult to wash and dry. So we started all over again. Test, try, test, try.

The solution was to turn the down into down fleece in a single process. This down fleece could no longer slip. And the highlight: The sleeping bag is super easy to wash and dry without the down clumping. The new Biopod Hybrid Wool/Down – our new star in the sky. This earned Outdoor Magazine another Editors' Choice award. We thus received the coveted Sleeping Bag of the Year award for the second time in a row.

But as with all good things, there was a problem. The production costs of down fleece are very high. That's why we've only made one model with it so far. For me, however, the Biopod Hybrid Wool/Down is one of the best and easiest-care down sleeping bags on the market.

2018: The next wool innovation tackles low temperatures

To improve insulation performance at subzero temperatures while maintaining a lightweight design, we conducted extensive testing with down and wool. The result of this series of tests already won the 2017 Outdoor Industry Award: our Biopod DownWool series . What sounds so easy was incredibly difficult. At first, the down wouldn't bond with the wool, and I thought the more wool, the better. Through numerous tests, I discovered, first, the optimal amount of wool and, second, how to mechanically bond the wool to the down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The future is wool!

Many new models have been added in recent years. DownWool, our proprietary insulation material, acts like a natural air conditioner, creating a wonderful sleeping environment. It's lightweight and packs down small.

We've bucked the trend by optimizing our products for an excellent sleeping environment. The trend is toward ever-lighter sleeping bags that soon become as tight as sausage skins. We're not going along with that. Our sleeping bags are lightweight and pack small, but they're not the lightest. However, they're comfortably cut, and you'll sleep well.

This year, our first jacket will also be launched. Here, too, we use DownWool to create a dry, comfortable feel inside the jacket.

We don’t stand still, we keep developing.

The environment is always important to us, read more here .