Therm-a-Rest has been leading the industry with award-winning outdoor sleeping gear since 1972, and this year is no different as Popular Science honors the brand’s new TwinLock and WingLock valve systems with a 2020 Best of What’s New award. The valves were new for spring 2020, and are featured on every current Therm-a-Rest mattress.
The valves are a product of two years, hundreds of prototypes and approximately 500 nights in the field. The team of engineers, designers, mountaineers and explorers at Therm-a-Rest sought to create valves that would eliminate the need for more output and allow easier and faster inflation for their dedicated users.
“We’re beyond excited to see the attention the WingLock and TwinLock valves are receiving,” said Brandon Bowers, mattress category manager at Therm-a-Rest. “Our team put an incredible amount of work into these new products, and it’s an honor to have them recognized by a publication like Popular Science.”
The WingLock uses a large one-way valve for three times faster inflation, while the deflation ‘wings’ open the one-way valve to deflate your pad twice as fast as Therm-a-Rest’s classic valve. The intuitive, easy-to-use design is built for the rigors of the backcountry. The TwinLock valve, for Therm-a-Rest’s larger pads, utilizes two one-way valves, a one-way inflation valve and a one-way deflation valve, that allows for five times faster deflation.
“Even in a year like 2020, innovation has helped us glimpse a future that’s safer, smarter, and more enjoyable than we might have thought possible,” said Corrine Iozzio, Editor-in-Chief at Popular Science. “This collection, which includes everything from a new generation of Mars explorers to ultra-hygienic print-to-order eyeshadows, is full of items we’re proud to call the Best of What’s New.”
This innovative design is unique to Therm-a-Rest products and debuted during a season when more people than ever took to camping and the outdoors as an alternative to other forms of leisure and travel.
The WingLock and TwinLock valves can be found on bestselling Therm-a-Rest mattresses like the NeoAir XLite, NeoAir Topo Luxe and the MondoKing 3D.
For more information about Cascade Designs, please visit: https://www.cascadedesigns.com/
About Cascade Designs®
For more than 45 years, Seattle-based Cascade Designs, Inc. and its brands, Therm-a-Rest®, Mountain Safety Research® (MSR), Platypus®, SealLine®, and PackTowl®, have led the outdoor industry in designing innovative, useful and long-lasting equipment, manufacturing the majority of products in their Seattle, WA, and Reno, NV, U.S.A. and Cork, Ireland facilities. From the original self-inflating Therm-a-Rest® camping mattress to the first multi-fuel stove from MSR®, Cascade Designs has developed leading products that explorers, travelers, adventurers, outdoor enthusiasts and weekend campers can rely on to deliver optimum performance in the outdoors through exceptional engineering and quality. For more information, please visit: www.cascadedesigns.com.
