The North Face Universal Collection is Designed For Every Body

The North Face has just released their new ‘Universal Collection’, a range of gear designed in collaboration with their adaptive and parasports athletes. The kit makes exploring the outdoors more comfortable for people with access challenges, and it’s easier for everyone to use.

Outdoor gear design has historically been about building products for their most extreme user. There’s always been an assumption that if it’s good enough to scale the Eiger or K2, then it’s good enough for everyone else.

But, sometimes designing gear to suit everyone is actually harder.

This latest collection from The North Face takes all their technical know-how, from sixty years in business, at the pointy end of outdoor performance (they are named after the coldest, most treacherous side of a northern hemisphere mountain, after all), and combines that with an inclusive approach and intuitive design. 

While the Universal Design approach is aimed at improving their gear for everyone, the brand worked particularly closely with their team of adaptive athletes to solve the problems they were encountering with traditional outdoor gear. 

‘It was most definitely something that was done with our community and not just for us’, said Sarah Larcombe, an adaptive climber supported by The North Face here in Australia. 

Sarah Larcombe (second from right) is an adaptive climber supported by The North Face

‘I was lucky enough to be at Adaptive Climbers Festival in the Red River Gorge, Kentucky, a couple of years ago when The North Face brought out a few prototypes from the Universal Collection for adaptive climbers to test and give feedback on’, said Sarah.

‘The design team spent a whole extra year on community consultation and creating new prototypes to test. They’ve been able to create outdoor gear with features that will not only benefit people with disabilities, but are useful for literally everyone. That’s what makes it universal.’

The Universal Collection comprises five outdoor essentials (and yes, the fifth is an essential in my humble opinion) – a tent, a sleeping bag, a backpack, a hat, and some slippers (camp shoes). 

While they all look pretty typical at first glance, there’s some really considered features that push them beyond the boundaries of existing gear design.

The Universal One Bag – designed for every body

Universal One Sleeping Bag

Nothing says camping quite like the humble sleeping bag, the design of which hasn’t really changed in decades. 

The Universal One Sleeping Bag gets rid of perhaps its most defining feature – the zip – in favour of a winged design that makes entry and exit easier for everyone. In place of the zipper that would normally run down the length of the bag, there is a one hand friendly magnetic ‘FIDLOCK™’ closure button that snaps the bag shut. 

FIDLOCK closures snap shut and open easily

The extra benefit of the winged design is that you can also adjust your temperature by wrapping yourself in different configurations. There is a lighter wing for warmer nights, a heavier wing for when it’s cooler, or wrap them both together for maximum warmth and enjoy a toasty comfort rating of -7°C degrees celsius. 

The winged design is less constraining, much like a quilt, and the 2280g bag is insulated with The North Face’s Heatseeker™ Eco insulation, a lightweight synthetic filling that stays warm when wet, unlike traditional down feathers. Its ‘eco’ categorisation comes from the fact it’s made with between 70-85% post consumer recycled materials. 

Universal Wawona 3 Tent

The Universal Wawona 3 Tent is designed to make two things as easy as possible. 

1. Set-up/pack down: setting up is the first challenge a tent throws at anyone. The Universal Wawona is designed with three equal-length poles, bright pole sleeves, and easy to use closures with oversized zippers, all designed to make setting up a breeze. An oversized stuff sack also makes the pack down much easier too. 
2. Entry/exit: getting into and out of the tent is also made as easy as possible thanks to a widened entryway and a large vestibule designed to fit a wheelchair or other mobility device, or extra gear. The entry zipper is also much lower to the ground which allows for wheelchair access. 

A wheelchair friendly tent is a game changer

Universal Daypack 20L

Like the rest of the range, the Universal Daypack is designed to be enjoyed and used by everyone. It can be worn and carried a variety of ways, and is narrow enough to be attached neatly on the back of a wheelchair. 

Like the sleeping bag, it comes with a Fidlock auto-locking magnetic closure that can be sealed with one hand. All the straps can also be adjusted with one hand and the shoulder straps and hip belt can also be removed and stowed away when not required. 

Subtle design differences show the thought The North Face put into the design

Getting gear in and out of the 20-litre pack is also made easier thanks to a no-topple, flat bottom design. 

The low profile design makes it just as usable as a work bag with its 15” internal laptop sleeve, or you could chuck a 3L hydration bladder into it when adventuring. Pull tabs make it easier to put bottles into the side pockets too.

Universal Horizon Convertible Brimmer

The North Face have even taken a look at how they could design the humble broad brim hat with accessibility in mind.

Key to the Universal Horizon Convertible Brimmer is the adjustable chin strap which features a cord lock that you can adjust with one hand, likewise for the adjustment at the back to keep it on your head.

No sun is getting under this bad boy

There’s a super comfortable back panel and sunshield that features the same LIGHTRANGE fabric that Ella loved in the trail shirts. It offers UPF 40+ protection, quick drying, and tucks away in a pocket under the brim when not in use.

Universal Design Traction Mules

Is this the most critical piece of outdoor gear in the collection? No. Is it the most comfortable? Well, the sleeping bag and multi-wear backpack put up a good fight, but ultimately there’s no contest in my opinion. The Universal Design Traction Mules are just too comfy. 

The North Face have taken their iconic campsite footwear and added larger heel loops on the rear for easier access to their unisex design. But, the biggest update is that they’ve done away with a left and a right foot. This almost sounds too simple to be noteworthy, but it’s a big deal when you don’t need to look for the right foot in the middle of the night when leaving your tent in a rush to… look at the stars. 

Not only that, but according to Sarah, ‘if you only have one foot, you can still use both shoes!’

Mules that fit either foot, kind of genius

How Universal Can Gear Be?

While this collection is said to be universal, Sarah is quick to point out that adaptive athletes’ gear needs are so dependent on the person and activity . 

‘We all have our own individual struggles and preferences, both within and outside of the disabled community. The difference might just be that a non-disabled person has a preference with gear that would allow them to use it optimally, and a disabled person has a need with gear that would allow them to use it at all.’

‘As disabled people we have to put so much extra effort into researching and testing gear before we buy it, because it’s rarely designed with us in mind. And our needs are often specific enough that we need multiples of the same type of gear for different activities, which makes engaging with the outdoors extra expensive and inaccessible.’

The Universal Daypack also has a FIDLOCK closure

What’s Next?

The North Face’s Universal Collection is now available to purchase here in Australia, but the team were also quick to tell us this is just the beginning for them when it comes to universal design. 

‘Disabled people are so creative and resourceful (because they have to be), so it makes so much sense to incorporate their insights into product design’, said Sarah.

Clearly there are plenty of other campsite essentials and broader outdoor apparel that could benefit from these inclusive design principles. Could apparel be next? Sarah hopes so.

‘As a rock climber with a leg made of carbon fiber, fibreglass, and metal, pants are a massive issue for me that I haven’t found a great solution for’, she says.

‘The main problems being that any contact between my prosthetic leg and the rock (or even indoor climbing walls and holds) will put holes through any fabric, so pants and leggings never last long for me. This is why you’ll mostly see me climbing in shorts (with an added benefit of sacrificing the skin on my left leg for friction)!’

According to Sarah, not only are The North Face leading the charge on the product front, they are matching it with athlete support. 

‘The North Face [are] a major supporter of adaptive and para sports and events. They sponsor an amazing team of para climbers, skiers, alpine mountaineers, and more from all over the world’, said Sarah.

‘The North Face has demonstrated that you can create fantastic products with features designed for people with disabilities, that will actually benefit all users, making getting outdoors easier and more accessible for everyone.’