Hilleberg Makes Outside Magazine’s List of Top Gear of all Time

Seattle, WA – Swedish based Hilleberg the Tentmaker and its first ever tent, the Keb, takes honor in being named in Outside Magazine’s recent list of the Top 100 Most Influential Gear of All Time. Taking its place alongside such breakthroughs as the first goat bladder flotation device, Gatorade sports drink, and modern powder skis, the Keb, which was the first tent built with a silicone-coated fabric and with a linked inner tent and fly for one-step pitching, shares the stage with 99 other highly impressive pieces of gear.

“Every company that was included in this list fundamentally changed our ability to explore and adventure in the outdoors,” said Berne Broudy, Co-Editor of the Outside Magazine Top 100 Gear article. “Each was either a product that created a category of outdoor gear, or so dramatically changed and improved it that it caused a revolution in the way gear is made and the way that it’s used.”

In 1975, the industry standard for tent fabrics was polyurethane-coated polyester. Tent designer and manufacturer Bo Hilleberg changed that with a sample of fabric he received from Belgian textile supplier Cotesa, who was trying out silicone as a coating instead of polyurethane. Right away Hilleberg noticed that the new fabric was much stronger, since silicone wraps around, along, and through the fibers of the fabric, adding elasticity and strength. Hilleberg knew that this new fabric would increase the tear strength of his tents, which in turn would make them better able to handle bad weather and hard use. In fact, the new silicone-coated fabric was four times stronger than the standard polyurethane-coated fabric, yet weighed the same and was just as waterproof. The Hilleberg Keb, with its pioneering linked inner tent and fly, was the first tent to feature this new silicone-coated fabric, which raised the bar for tent design, and continues to influence technology today.

“It’s an honor to be included by Outside Magazine in this distinguished list of outdoor innovations,” said Petra Hilleberg, President of Hilleberg USA. “And it is wonderful to see my father, Bo Hilleberg, recognized as the innovator and forward-thinker that he is. Our company has always prided itself on seeking out ways to make our tents better and stronger, and it’s both humbling and gratifying to be acknowledged in this way.”

About Hilleberg the Tentmaker
Founded in 1971, Sweden-based Hilleberg the Tentmaker is a family-owned company that manufactures lightweight tents of the highest quality for every season. The company is known for setting the standard in making tents by always utilizing the lightest yet strongest material on the market along with double wall construction, and in setting up and inspecting every tent in their own European factory to ensure the ultimate in quality and safety. The company is still very much a family affair: Bo Hilleberg is Chairman of the Board, CEO, and heads up the product development team, while his daughter Petra Hilleberg runs the US office and handles all markets outside of Europe. www.hilleberg.com.