Elevator Pitch: Hotcore Sleeping Bags
A sleeping bag that's light, compact, and only $100 and some change
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Elevator Pitches are written by the company and edited for space and clarity. They do not express the opinions of Outside Business Journal or its editors.
Ride the elevator with Randy Campbell, founder and president of Hotcore.
I worked for one of Canada’s oldest sleeping bag manufacturers for 10 years, and after they sold the brand and closed down the company, I took what I learned and developed Hotcore sleeping bags.
The idea was to take a simple and cost-effective construction method and add some new ideas to increase performance and make the product retailer-friendly. This gives us a sleeping bag that has a competitive retail price point ($102.99), while having unique attributes like compact size and light carry weight for the price.
We added an extra layer of insulation in the core body area to help boost the performance of the sleeping bags. Think of it like putting on a jacket when you are going out in the cold. This is the origin of the Hotcore name, something we refer to now as Critical Layer Construction. With the micro fibre insulation, soft-brushed polyester lining, and brushed diamond ripstop outer fabric, our sleeping bags have a great look and feel.
We started out making sleeping bags in simple shapes: tapered, short-fit tapered, and our best selling rectangular shape. Once people saw how compact and lightweight a rectangular sleeping bag can be, it’s the one they want. In recent years we added a mummy shape sleeping bag and some ultralight sleeping bags, all keeping in true to our motto of “compact, lightweight, reasonable price.”
After 11 years, Hotcore now works with more than 90 retail partner locations across Canada and Amazon in North America. We are focused on outdoor retailers and giving them a product line they can treat like their own.
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