Our Story - Marmot's History & Timeline

Born to Break Free

Why go all the way outside just to fit in? For over 50 years, we’ve blazed our own trail so you can, too. Breaking the status quo to make better gear has always been our M.O.–and helping you break new ground in trustworthy gear has always been our goal. From first ascents to your first time, our gear is designed to follow your lead, whether you’re chasing dreams, peaks, and PR’s–or just searching for a good time.

Outside Never Grows Old

Out there is not just a pin on a map or a checklist of thru-hikes and 14’ers. It’s an unshakeable feeling we get every time we step outside, no matter how many times we’ve been there before.

For Every Walk of Life

No matter how you choose to experience what’s out there, there’s a place for you here. From weekend warriors to lifetime wanderers and first-timers to seven-summiters, we’re all united by that first step out the door.

Far Out From the Start

It all started on an Alaskan glacier, where U.C. Santa Cruz students Eric Reynolds and Dave Huntley bonded over a love of climbing and a shared outsider mentality. Named after Marmots, the screeching ground squirrels found gallivanting the high alpines of the West, the Marmot Outdoor Club was born. This “club” was a loose and welcoming collective for oddball mountain misfits that didn’t quite fit in any one box, but shared a love of the outdoors. Joining was simple: Bag a peak with a fellow member, and you’re in–for life. No invitation required, anyone was welcome.

Far Out From the Start

It all started on an Alaskan glacier, where U.C. Santa Cruz students Eric Reynolds and Dave Huntley bonded over a love of climbing and a shared outsider mentality. Named after Marmots, the screeching ground squirrels found gallivanting the high alpines of the West, the Marmot Outdoor Club was born. This “club” was a loose and welcoming collective for oddball mountain misfits that didn’t quite fit in any one box, but shared a love of the outdoors. Joining was simple: Bag a peak with a fellow member, and you’re in–for life. No invitation required, anyone was welcome.

The Rest is History

Some people called us crazy (we were). But radical change takes radical ideas. Fast forward 50 years, and our most “out there” ideas can be found almost everywhere.

1971

The Beginning: University of California Santa Cruz students, Dave Huntley and Eric Reynolds, meet in Alaska and form the Marmot Mountain Club, named after the social ground squirrels.

1973

Prototypes: Dave and Eric join forces with Tom Boyd and begin prototyping their first products. Among them are down vests, sweaters, parkas, and down sleeping bags.

1974

The Big Break: Within a week, Marmot designs and produces the Golden Mantle Parka (108 of them, to be exact) as a custom order for upcoming Clint Eastwood movie The Eiger Sanction.

1976

GORE-TEX® Revolution: We become the first outdoor apparel company to use GORE-TEX in our gear. Our founders sleep in a commercial meat locker to ensure it met their standards.

1979

Feature Flurry: Ahead of our time, Marmot introduces a series of features to our outdoor clothing like zippered underarms, elasticized storm skirts, and VELCRO® sleeve cinching.

1982

Women’s Gear: Marmot pioneers the industry’s first women-specific styles, while being a leader in supporting female athletes, organizations, and causes worldwide.

1983

Lighter is Better: By combining innovative designs with new fabrics, we reduce the weight of every single product in our line and coin the term “lightpacking.”

1987

8,000 Meter Suit: Since tested on top of every major mountain in the world, the 8,000 Meter Suit is created for extended stints in really cold environments.

1992

Pete Takeda: Our longest-standing athlete joins the team. Since then, Pete's tested our outdoor gear at the highest and coldest places on the planet.

1996

Marmot MemBrain®: Marmot launches this proprietary line of rain gear with the Denali Jacket, which scores another BACKPACKER Magazine win.

1999

The PreCip Jacket: Using MemBrain waterproof technology, the PreCip Jacket launches. Two decades later, it's won more awards than any product in our history.

2005

The Atom: Featuring an ultralight design, the first of Marmot’s famous Gas Bag sleeping bags is released. The Hydrogen and Helium would follow.

2009

The EcoPro™ Sleeping Bag: Marmot makes one of the earliest sustainably engineered pieces of camping gear using recycled insulation and a PET Polyester shell.

2013

The Isotherm Hoody: Polartec® Alpha® insulation and a Pertex® Quantum exterior come together in this insulated jacket that captures the ISPO Gold Award.

2017

A Better Way to Warm: We partner with 3M to launch Featherless insulation, a culmination of 2 years of scientific testing to replace natural down.

2018

The Evolution of Dry: Marmot releases the EVODry Collection, a leading waterproof technology with an eco-friendly production and upcycled fibers.

2019

Innovation in Insulation: WarmCube™ launches as the warmest insulation technology ever made, plus gets the West Rib Parka the ISPO Gold Award.

2019

Now Available in Green: We give the PreCip rain shell, a BACKPACKER Gear Hall of Fame Award winner, a sustainable upgrade with PreCip ECO.

2020

WarmCube Expansion: Our new Gallatin 20° Sleeping Bag earns the ISPO Gold Award, plus we supercharge our 8,000M Suit with WarmCube technology.

In It Together, Out There

From our backyard in the Sierras to the heights of Everest to out your front door, we make gear for every walk of life. But it’s more than how far, fast, or high you go that makes you one of us. It’s the feeling we share when we’re out there. The one that keeps us up at night, gets us up before dawn, and keeps us dreaming of doing it all again. Our gear empowers you to let what’s inside lead the charge–from the love of dirt and pow to the crackle of a campfire. Every design, feature, and innovation is made with your dreams in mind.