Two college juniors at the University of Wisconsin believe they’ve created the world’s first “sustainable sleeping bag.” Called the Rama Llama, the sleeping bag is the flagship product of the duo’s startup company, Deneb Outdoors.
Unlike down and synthetic-fill bags, the Rama Llama is stuffed with insulation the brand calls “JakaTek.” It is a blend of llama fleece, or fur, and the brand’s top secret fabric (they will only say it is 100 percent natural). They claim it is more sustainable than goose or synthetic down because it uses no petrochemicals or food-industry byproducts.
Company founders Jared Sandlin and Jared Burris claim their unique llama fur-based blend makes the sleeping bags water resistant, hypoallergenic, and compressible. It weighs 2 pounds (for the regular size) for a bag with a 50-degree comfort range of 20 – 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Llama fur is unique from other insulation in that it has one of the largest diameter hollow hairs in the world, according to the brand. “It adjusts to the body temperature and reacts to heat distress… releasing heat when needed, and conserving it when necessary. It will reflect the body temperature of the user, usually hovering around 81 degrees.”
To bring the Rama Llama to market the brand recently launched a Kickstarter. With a donation of $250 you can help the Rama Llama come to market and be one of first to have a “llama bag” of your own.
—Amy Oberbroeckling is an assistant editor at GearJunkie.com
