So there they were—Wylie Robinson and his buddy. Up in the mountains with a broken-down van, miles away from civilization, without phone cell service, in freezing temperatures. Someone would happen by and rescue them, sooner or later. In the meantime, they wrapped themselves up in their sleeping bags to keep warm, as well as having their friend, Jack (Daniels), handy. As the hours passed, they realized that the sleeping bags felt a lot better than the blankets on their beds at home.
When Wylie got home, he borrowed a sewing machine; consulted with friends who worked for outdoor clothing companies about materials, specs and the like; made the first blankets; and found he had created a new category of blanket, one made with materials used in outdoor apparel and gear. He figured why not give Kickstarter a shot. When he raised more than $250,000, he quit his day job and became founder and CEO of Rumpl.
Wylie was always an outdoorsy kind of guy: mountain biking and climbing, camping, hiking, skiing, surfing. Professionally, he was a designer who studied environmental design at the University of Colorado at Boulder and graphic design at the University of California Berkeley Extension. He had worked on all aspects of design and strategy for some heavy hitters, such as Chevron, Hewlett Packard, Nextel, Taco Bell, Nike and Nintendo. Now he was going to put all that talent and experience into his blankets.
His Rumpl blankets are weather resistant, durable, warm, cozy, lightweight and fit into a sack that is a compact, thin, soft-sided cylinder. The blankets come in three sizes: one-person, one-person tall, and two-person, as well as in an exciting variety of colors and patterns.
They are made with a strong ripstop nylon, secure cross-stitching and a DWR (Durable Water Repellent) finish that allows a drop of water (or liquid spill) to stay above the fabric so that it rolls right off. Because there have been environmental concerns about DWR, Rumpl uses a new version that breaks down more quickly to lessen the environmental impact, as he continues to work with others toward a completely eco-friendly solution.
The down is 100% fair trade certified and obtained as a harm-free by-product of the food industry (nothing is live-plucked). Rumpl’s down supplier and factory are Responsible Down Standard certified.
Types of Rumpl Blankets
- Original Puffy with synthetic insulation made from 100% post-consumer recycled material.
- Down Puffy with 600 fill sustainably sourced duck down feathers.
- Featherlite Down with 800 fill sustainably sourced goose down feathers.
- NanoLoft Puffy with state-of-the-art insulation made from 100% post-consumer recycled material that simulates natural down.
- Sherpa Puffy is the Original Puffy made with soft Sherpa fleece material.
All of the blankets take us back to that nostalgic feeling of being toasty warm in a sleeping bag with just the tip of our noses poking out into the chilly air.
Rumpl Artist Division (RAD) Collection
Wylie likes to give his fellow designers a platform through his blankets. He has designs by artists from all over the world in a diverse array of media. The newest RAD collection is designed by Native American artists in partnership with the First Peoples Fund, an organization that supports and empowers Native American communities and artists.
- Darby Raymond-Overstreet, Navajo digital artist and printmaker, created “Sundown” with its warm red tones and a banded, geometric design derived from traditional Navajo textiles.
- Jordan Ann Craig, a Northern Cheyenne who paints and designs textile prints, designed “Woven Daydream” and “Keep Me Warm” with their neutral, natural colors and bold geometric shapes.
Rumpl Blankets Singled Out!
- Wirecutter, a product review website owned by The New York Times Company, voted it “Best Puffy Blanket” of 13 tested.
- Powder: The Skier’s Magazine voted it “Best gear to kick back and celebrate a day in the mountains.”
- Outside Magazine named Rumpl “the Cadillac of Outdoor blankets.”
- At the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2019, the Original Puffy Blanket, the NanoLoft Puffy Blanket and the Puffy Poncho won the prestigious Radical by Design Award.
- Outdoor Gear Lab chose Rumpl as its “Top Pick for Backpacking.”
Rumpl Gives Back
No surprise that Wylie’s love of the outdoors comes with a fervent desire to protect the environment. Every business decision made at Rumpl follows the company’s core value: “Look to the Future Responsibly.”
- In 2019, the company redesigned the core line of blankets to use only 100% post-consumer recycled materials. That year alone, they reclaimed 2,980,979 plastic bottles from landfills.
- Rumpl is a member of “1% for the Planet” whose mission is to build and support alliances of businesses committed to donating 1% of all revenue to environmental non-profits.
- The company is also a member of “Climate Neutral” who works to decrease global carbon emissions. This year (2020) Rumpl will be offsetting 100% of their carbon footprint by purchasing offset credits.
- Rumpl is one of the founding members of “Brands for Better,” a group of brands committed to donating 2% of sales or 10% of profits in response to the COVID19 crisis.
