The North Face’s Universal Collection: Magnetic Camping Gear Designed for Accessibility

The North Face has launched its Universal Collection, a five-piece camping gear set designed to make outdoor adventures more accessible. The collection includes a sleeping bag, tent, backpack, slippers, and hat, all developed in collaboration with athletes Vasu Sojitra and Maureen Beck, who are advocates for the disability community.

Designing for accessibility

Luke Matthews, design manager of technical equipment for The North Face, explained that the Universal Collection addresses a gap in the market: “Not many camping-focused recreational products exist that are crafted with the disabled community in mind.” The collection was engineered to meet essential needs such as shelter, warmth, comfort, protection, and storage while incorporating features tailored for users with limited motor skills, visual impairments, and other disabilities.

Matthews emphasized the broader impact of the project: “As we dove deeper into understanding the universal design approach, it transformed into a project focused on lowering barriers for everyone, regardless of ability, with the intent to get more people outside.”

Reimagining everyday camping gear

The design process began by identifying pain points in traditional camping equipment. Sojitra and Beck challenged the team to adopt a more inclusive approach, reexamining industry standards and assumptions. For the sleeping bag, the team replaced zippers with magnetic closures and added tactile details to simplify use.

The sleeping bag features rubberized panels for easy identification by touch and oversized loops on draw cords for effortless adjustments. Instead of a zipper, the bag uses two insulated side panels—one lighter and one heavier—that fold over like wings. This design not only simplifies closure but also enhances temperature control: users can sleep with just the lighter panel on warmer nights and add the heavier panel when temperatures drop.

The team applied similar attention to detail in designing the Wawona 3 tent. While the full description of the tent’s features was not provided in the original article, the project highlights The North Face’s commitment to creating gear that is both functional and inclusive.