Seventy brand guides to camping gear — tents, sleeping bags and quilts, rooftop tents and coolers — and where they are made.
Camping gear is split between cottage makers who sew everything themselves and brands that make overseas, and these guides set out which is which.
Sewn at home
Western Mountaineering and Feathered Friends sew down sleeping bags in the USA; Cumulus makes its bags entirely in Poland; Hilleberg makes its tunnel tents in its own Estonian factory; Tentipi sews its tipis in Moskosel, Sweden; and Davis Tent and Reliable Tent & Tipi make canvas wall tents in Denver and Montana. Tarptent states, model by model, whether a tent is sewn in the USA, China or Vietnam.
Rooftop tents and coolers
Autohome made the first patented rooftop tent and still makes it in Italy; Eezi-Awn and Alu-Cab build in South Africa; and Front Runner was acquired by Dometic in 2021. Dometic also owns Igloo, while Coleman belongs to Newell Brands.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers who owns the name today, where the products are made — by the maker’s own account and, where it differs, by other sources — and the brand’s visual identity. A company’s description of itself is attributed to the company, and where a business has closed we say so plainly. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Down sleeping bags
Western Mountaineering, Feathered Friends, Enlightened Equipment, Cumulus, Valandré, Crux and Snugpak.
- Western Mountaineering — The San Jose maker sewing its high-fill goose-down sleeping bags in the USA since about 1970.
- Feathered Friends — The Seattle maker sewing its goose-down sleeping bags in-house on 100% RDS-certified down since 1972.
- Enlightened Equipment — The Winona, Minnesota maker of made-to-order backpacking quilts in down and synthetic.
- Cumulus — The Gdynia maker designing, sewing and shipping its European goose-down sleeping bags entirely in Poland since 1989.
- Valandré — The Pyrenees expedition-bag house filling with French grey-goose down and sewing in its own factory in Tunisia since 1983.
- Crux — The UK maker that publishes the full multi-country supply chain of its eVent-shell down sleeping bags.
- Snugpak — The Yorkshire maker of Softie synthetic sleeping bags, honest about which are UK-made and which are imported.
Quilts and made-to-order bags
Nunatak, Katabatic, Zpacks, UGQ, Hammock Gear, Jacks ’R’ Better and PHD.
- Nunatak — The Leadville, Colorado maker designing and manufacturing its made-to-order high-fill down bags and quilts in the USA since 1999.
- Katabatic Gear — The Colorado quilt maker with bluesign and RDS traceable down whose site does not state where its quilts are sewn.
- Zpacks — The Florida ultralight maker sewing its sleeping bags in the USA on 950-fill Muscovy duck down since 2005.
- UGQ Outdoor — The family-run Michigan maker handcrafting made-to-order quilts on RDS-certified down in-house.
- Hammock Gear — The Ohio maker building its down top-quilts and underquilts to order, made in the USA since 2009.
- Jacks ’R’ Better — The Pennsylvania maker that pioneered the commercial hammock underquilt and sews its down quilts in the USA.
- PHD — The UK house designing and handmaking its bespoke high-fill down bags to order, on a 60-year British down heritage.
Sleeping bags, more makers
Nordisk, Exped, Sea to Summit, Grüezi bag, Big Agnes, Goosefeet Gear and Warbonnet.
- Nordisk — The Danish feather house founded in 1901, revived in 2005, now making down bags in Germany and beyond.
- Exped — The Swiss maker filling its bags with 850-fill Muscovy duck down certified to the Responsible Down Standard.
- Sea to Summit — The Australian maker whose down bags use 850-fill goose down it states is 100% certified to the Responsible Down Standard.
- Grüezi bag — The German maker of DownWool blended-fill sleeping bags produced in Portugal.
- Big Agnes — The Colorado maker whose sleeping bags omit underside insulation and slot onto a sleeping pad.
- Goosefeet Gear — The Atlanta cottage maker hand-making custom 850-fill goose-down quilts and gear to order in the USA.
- Warbonnet Outdoors — The US maker sewing its down hammock top-quilts and underquilts in the USA.
Tents and shelters
Hilleberg, MSR, Tentipi, Seek Outside, Tarptent, Bonfus and Samaya.
- Hilleberg — The family-controlled Swedish house making its tunnel tents in its own Estonian factory.
- MSR — Mountain Safety Research, the Seattle tent and stove maker owned by Cascade Designs, of freestanding geodesic domes.
- Tentipi — The Swedish maker sewing its stove-ready cotton Nordic tipis in its own factory in Moskosel since 1989.
- Seek Outside — The Grand Junction maker crafting floorless pyramid hot tents and titanium stoves in the USA.
- Tarptent — The maker of ultralight trekking-pole tents that states, per model, whether it is sewn in the USA, China or Vietnam.
- Bonfus — The Italian ultralight brand sewing its Dyneema trekking-pole shelters in its own workshop in Mexico.
- Samaya — The Annecy design studio making Dyneema-composite alpine tents, its production location undisclosed.
Trekking-pole tents
Mountain Laurel Designs, Durston, Slingfin, Locus Gear, Yama, Gossamer Gear and LightHeart.
- Mountain Laurel Designs — The Roanoke, Virginia cottage maker hand-making its trekking-pole pyramid shelters in the USA since 2002.
- Durston — The Canadian maker of the patented offset-pole X-Mid tent that discloses its factory’s tier, not its country.
- Slingfin — The employee-owned California tent maker founded by a veteran of The North Face, Sierra Designs and Mountain Hardwear.
- Locus Gear — The Japanese maker of made-to-order Dyneema pyramid and dome shelters, its production location unstated.
- Yama Mountain Gear — The one-founder cottage maker designing and building trekking-pole tents in a former Montana lumber mill.
- Gossamer Gear — The ultralight pioneer whose trekking-pole tents are made overseas, its country undisclosed and its founder a part-owner.
- LightHeart Gear — The North Carolina maker sewing its trekking-pole tents in its own Fletcher factory in the USA.
Hot tents and rooftop tents
Savotta, Springbar, Esker, Kodiak Canvas, Autohome, Alu-Cab and James Baroud.
- Savotta — The independent, family-run Finnish maker of sauna and field hot tents, made at its own EU facilities since 1955.
- Springbar — The Kirkham-family Salt Lake City maker of spring-bar canvas tents, honest about which lines are US-sewn and which are imported.
- Esker — The Canadian maker of lightweight, stove-ready winter hot tents, made in Canada since 2015.
- Kodiak Canvas — The Utah canvas-tent brand that states plainly its Flex-Bow tents are made in China by an expert maker.
- Autohome — The family-run Italian maker of the Maggiolina and the first patented rooftop tent, made in Italy since 1958.
- Alu-Cab — The family-run South African maker crafting its aluminium hardshell rooftop tents and campers in its own Cape Town workshop.
- James Baroud — The Portuguese maker handmaking its fibreglass clamshell rooftop tents in small batches in its Porto factory.
Overland and canvas tents
Eezi-Awn, iKamper, Front Runner, Davis Tent, Reliable Tent & Tipi, Snowtrekker and Ellis.
- Eezi-Awn — The family-run South African overland maker building its roof-top tents under one roof in Johannesburg since 1983.
- iKamper — The Korean overland maker that hand-crafts its fiberglass roof-top-tent shells in the same place it designs them.
- Front Runner — The South African overland-rack and roof-top-tent brand acquired by Sweden’s Dometic in 2021.
- Davis Tent — The Denver maker of heavy canvas wall tents, made in the USA at its own facility since 1955.
- Reliable Tent & Tipi — The Montana maker of canvas wall tents, made in Montana with local lodgepole-pine poles since 1945.
- Snowtrekker — The Wisconsin family maker cutting and sewing its lightweight canvas winter hot tents in the USA since 1992.
- Ellis Canvas Tents — The single-maker Durango, Colorado shop handmaking distinctively lightweight canvas tents.
Coolers
RTIC, Grizzly, Coleman, Igloo, Engel, Icey-Tek and Canyon Coolers.
- RTIC — The Texas direct-to-consumer maker of value rotomoulded coolers, owned by Wind Point Partners.
- Grizzly Coolers — The American maker of bear-resistant rotomoulded coolers, built in Decorah, Iowa.
- Coleman — The American heritage camping and cooler brand since 1902, now owned by Newell Brands.
- Igloo — The largest American cooler maker, made in Katy, Texas, now owned by Sweden’s Dometic.
- Engel — The maker of swing-motor compressor fridge-freezers and coolers, on a Japanese Sawafuji heritage since 1962.
- Icey-Tek — The original rotomoulded hard cooler, conceived in Australia and made in Thailand, pre-dating the premium wave.
- Canyon Coolers — The founder-led Arizona maker of rotomoulded coolers, born from river-guiding.
Powered fridges
Dometic, ARB, National Luna, Truma, EvaKool, EcoFlow and Alpicool.
- Dometic — The Swedish public mobile-living group whose powered coolers sit beside a giant, and which owns Igloo.
- ARB — The Australian off-road engineering company, listed since 1987, whose fridges are one arm of a 4×4 house.
- National Luna — The South African fridge specialist, born from a WHO project, on a verified Danfoss compressor.
- Truma — The family-owned German caravan-climate house since 1949, whose cooler is a side line.
- EvaKool — The Queensland icebox-to-fridge maker with an honest China-then-reshored story and a verified Danfoss compressor.
- EcoFlow — The founder-led Shenzhen power-station company whose Glacier fridge is an ecosystem accessory.
- Alpicool — The Foshan compressor-fridge factory that white-labels for other badges, made openly in China.
More coolers
Bison, Pelican, RovR, IceMule, Wyld Gear, Kong and Kula.
- Bison Coolers — The family-run Texas maker of rotomoulded coolers, on a stated Made-in-USA claim.
- Pelican — Pelican Products, the 1976 California watertight-case house whose Elite coolers sit under private equity.
- RovR — The Colorado maker of the RollR wheeled cooler, a rotomoulded cooler on all-terrain wheels.
- IceMule — The maker of a soft backpack cooler with a proprietary inflatable roll-top air valve.
- Wyld Gear — The Wyoming maker of a dual-compartment cooler, on a stated Made-in-Wyoming claim.
- Kong Coolers — The genuinely US-rotomoulded cooler of a public conglomerate, with production paused in 2024.
- Kula — The round-barrel rotomoulded cooler, absorbed into the paddleboard brand BOTE.
At a glance: who owns the name and where it is made
Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership and production change; follow the link for sources and detail.
| Brand | Founded | Owner | Where made |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpicool | 13-yr maker (Foshan) | Independent (CN) | China (Foshan) |
| Alu-Cab | ~2001 (Cape Town) | Bergh family | South Africa (own workshop) |
| ARB | 1975 (Melbourne) | Public (ASX) | Company AU; fridge n/s |
| Autohome | 1958 (Italy) | Fercodini family | Italy |
| Big Agnes | 2001 (Steamboat Springs) | Unverified | Not stated |
| Bison Coolers | Family run (Fort Worth, TX) | Family (Texas) | USA (stated) |
| Bonfus | 2019 (Italy brand) | Independent family | Own workshop (Mexico) |
| Canyon Coolers | 2011 (Flagstaff, AZ) | Founder-led (Costello) | Not stated |
| Coleman | 1902 (Wichita, KS) | Newell Brands | Not specified |
| Crux | 2002 (UK) | Independent | Multi-country (published) |
| Cumulus | 1989 (Gdynia) | Independent | 100% Poland |
| Davis Tent | 1955 (Denver) | Independent | USA (own facility) |
| Dometic | Public 2015 (Sweden) | Public (Nasdaq) | Fridge not stated |
| Durston | ~2018–19 (Canada) | Independent family | Factory tier told, country not |
| EcoFlow | 2017 (Shenzhen) | Founder-led (private) | China |
| Eezi-Awn | 1983 (Johannesburg) | Stuhler family | South Africa (one roof) |
| Ellis Canvas Tents | ~early 1990s (Durango, CO) | Single maker | USA (own workshop) |
| Engel | 1962 (Japan (Sawafuji)) | Sawafuji brand | Japan (compressor) |
| Enlightened Equipment | 2007 (reported) (Winona, MN) | Independent | USA (Winona) |
| Esker | 2015 (Canada) | Founder-led | Canada |
| EvaKool | 1994 (Queensland) | Independent (AU) | China + re-shored QLD |
| Exped | 1983 (Zürich) | Independent | Not stated |
| Feathered Friends | 1972 (Seattle) | Independent family | USA (Seattle SoDo) |
| Front Runner | South Africa (~2000) | Dometic (2021) | Post-acq. not stated |
| Goosefeet Gear | 2010 (Atlanta) | Founder-run | USA (to order) |
| Gossamer Gear | 1998 (USA) | Founder part-owner | Overseas (country undisclosed) |
| Grizzly Coolers | US brand (Decorah, IA) | Independent (US) | Iowa, USA |
| Grüezi bag | 2016 (Germany) | Owner-managed | Portugal |
| Hammock Gear | 2009 (Ohio) | Independent | USA (Ohio) |
| Hilleberg | Family-founded (Sweden) | Independent family | Own factory (Estonia) |
| IceMule | Soft cooler (US brand) | Independent | Not stated |
| Icey-Tek | late 1980s (Australia) | Veteran-owned US dist. | Thailand |
| Igloo | 1947 (Katy, TX) | Dometic (Sweden) | Texas, USA |
| iKamper | Seoul (Korea) | Not disclosed | Korea (own facility) |
| Jacks ’R’ Better | 2004 (Pennsylvania) | Independent | USA (Pennsylvania) |
| James Baroud | 1999 (Porto) | Founder-run | Portugal (Porto) |
| Katabatic Gear | 2009 (Salida, CO) | Independent | Not stated (down traceable) |
| Kodiak Canvas | 2006 (Utah) | Not disclosed | China (stated) |
| Kong Coolers | Paused 2024 (USA) | Myers Industries | USA (genuine) |
| Kula | Under BOTE (USA) | BOTE (absorbed) | Not stated |
| LightHeart Gear | Fletcher (NC) | Independent | USA (Fletcher) |
| Locus Gear | ~2010 (Japan) | Unverified | Not stated |
| Mountain Laurel Designs | 2002 (Roanoke, VA) | Independent | USA (Roanoke) |
| MSR | Seattle (USA) | Cascade Designs | USA & Ireland (Cascade) |
| National Luna | 1990 (South Africa) | Private (SA) | SA-based maker |
| Nordisk | 1901 (Copenhagen) | Private (2005) | Germany + China (partial) |
| Nunatak | 1999 (Leadville, CO) | Independent | USA (to order) |
| Pelican | 1976 (Torrance, CA) | Platinum Equity (PE) | Elite SKUs not verified |
| PHD | 60-yr heritage (Stalybridge, UK) | Independent | UK (to order) |
| Reliable Tent & Tipi | 1945 (Montana) | Independent | Montana |
| RovR | 2016 (Colorado) | Founder-led | Not stated |
| RTIC | 2015 (Texas) | Wind Point Partners | Imported (reported) |
| Samaya | Annecy (France) | Independent | Not disclosed |
| Savotta | 1955 (Karstula) | Family (3rd gen) | Own EU facilities |
| Sea to Summit | 1991 (Australia) | Unverified | Not stated |
| Seek Outside | Grand Junction (Colorado) | Independent | USA (Colorado) |
| Slingfin | 2010 (Berkeley, CA) | Employee-owned | Multiple factories (no single origin) |
| Snowtrekker | 1992 (Wisconsin) | Lottig family | USA (cut & sewn) |
| Snugpak | ~early 1980s (Silsden) | Independent | UK or imported (per product) |
| Springbar | 1944 (Salt Lake City) | Kirkham family | US-sewn + import lines |
| Tarptent | 1999 (USA) | Independent | USA/China/Vietnam (per model) |
| Tentipi | 1989 (Moskosel) | Independent | Own factory (Sweden) |
| Truma | 1949 (Munich) | Family (3rd gen) | Company DE; fridge n/s |
| UGQ Outdoor | Michigan (family-run) | Family | USA (Michigan) |
| Valandré | 1983 (Belcaire, FR) | Independent | Own factory (Tunisia) |
| Warbonnet Outdoors | 2008 (USA) | Independent (unverif.) | USA (in-house) |
| Western Mountaineering | ~1970 (San Jose) | Independent | USA (San Jose) |
| Wyld Gear | Wyoming (Casper, WY) | Independent | Wyoming (stated) |
| Yama Mountain Gear | 2006 (Montana) | Founder-owned | Built in Montana |
| Zpacks | 2005 (Florida) | Independent | USA (in-house) |
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Igloo coolers?
Sweden’s Dometic, according to our guide.
Where are Hilleberg tents made?
In Hilleberg’s own factory in Estonia, according to our guide.
See also our outdoor gear and climbing gear brand guidelines.
Part of our Sports & Outdoors brand guidelines. See also all collections.