to view Our Story

The
Cozy LayerS
Story
by Swamy Karnam
The problem
Aconcagua in Argentina
In February of 2012, I attempted climbing Mt. Aconcagua (highest mountain outside Asia).
I summitted solo successfully, but I ran into several problems and it took several attempts to
finally succeed.
Aconcagua was very cold and I almost got frostbitten when I removed my gloves to adjust my
crampons.
I also didn’t make it to the summit on the first attempt as I was not eating as often or drinking
as often. Both my food and water were getting frozen.
This experience gave me the idea for designing apparel that has a few features to prevent
frostbite and keep one cozy, well-fed and hydrated.
Swamy Karnam
CEO of Cozy Layers Inc.
The concept
The idea is to add pockets in the front of the base layer to hold
water and food. Also to add passages in each layer that would
allow one to access pockets in all layers (shell, down, fleece)
without taking a layer off.
Having a soft plastic water bladder with a tube coming close to the
mouth underneath all layers would keep the water from getting
frozen. The tip should not freeze because no water would remain
in the tip due to gravity. This is a very common problem on
bladders that are carried on the back instead of the front.
Cozy Layers System
The proof
I had a local seamstress alter my gear according to the
system I envisioned. I tested this system in June of 2012
on Mt. Denali (highest mountain in North America) and
successfully reached the summit solo and unguided.
Because of this system, I was never in the danger of
frostbite, I ate well and my water never frooze even at the
summit.
This proved that my concept had merit and we could take
the idea to the next step.
Cozy Layers System Concept
The glue
We attended the annual SnowSports Industries America
(SIA) show in Denver, January 2012. Here we met and
joined forces with key individuals and industry leaders in
our quest for a world class solution to our problem:
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Designers
Prototypers
Technology Providers
Manufacturers
SnowSports Industries America (SIA)
The prototypes
Design Team Story:
The Cozy Design Team: Diego, Akiko, Ben and Swamy
• Swamy, the soul of Cozy from Fairfax, Virginia
• Diego, Yosemite Guide, project consultant and beta tester from
New Jersey, now walking from near the Mexican border all the way
into Canada on the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail)
• Akiko, master seamstress from Portland, Oregon
• Ben, designer from Alburqueque, contestant at the SIA trade show
Prototype team
The designer
We contracted Werx Designs to build us a rad
new tech packet that will be part of the full
Cozy Layers system. Werx is the designer for
many top brand name companies including
Eddie Bauer’s First Ascent series.
Werx designs group
The technology
Schoeller fabrics
NanoSphere®
Polartec® Thermal Pro®
Schoeller® NanoSphere®
• Water and dirt repelling properties, down proof
Schoeller® c_changeTM
• wind and waterproof membrane
• smart fabric: depending on the situation, breathability or heat-retention increases or
decreases.
Merino wool
Polartec® Thermal Pro® High Loft
• highest warmth-to-weight ratio
• dries quickly
Merino wool
• soft and COZY, breathable, stretchy, odor resistant;
• stain resistant, fire-resistant, anti-wrinkle, all-natural, biodegradable;
• and renewable. Wool also reacts to body temperature like Schoeller’s c_change fabric
and provides natural UV protection.
C-change®
The backers
We think Cozy Layers is a great concept that needs to
be made available to the public. We have decided to use
kickstarter to fund our manufacturing and find initial
buyers. Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative
projects like ours. It is also a way to test new innovative
ideas like ours before going into full scale production.
Please support us and spread the word.
http://www.kickstarter.com
The stress tests
Lenin Peak
Climate testing research
Long duration/altitude tests. (July 18, 2013 for 20 days)
• Lenin Peak, rises to 7,134 m/23,406 ft.
Wind resistance tests (November 2013)
• The Mount Washington, at 1,917 m/6,288 ft. It is famous for
dangerously erratic weather. Wind gust directly measured at
the Earth’s surface, 231 mph (372 km/h or 103 m/s), on the
afternoon of April 12, 1934.
Mt. Washington
Moisture resistance tests (December 2013)
• Rainier in winter - Postholing in waist deep snow.
http://csckalvarayanhills.org.in/images/peak-lenin
The Solution
All the pieces are finally coming together with Cozy
Layers. We are working with manufacturers in China
and the US to get our product/solution into the market
by winter of 2013. We are on schedule and anticipating
a successful delivery. We have allotted enough time in
our production schedule to make changes to the product
as needed based on discoveries during our stress and
evaluation tests.
Factory for manufacturing
The Support
The Cozy Production and Support Team
Lester - Operations Manager and Customer Support
Minh - Quality Assurance and fulfillment
Barry - Graphics Designer and Marketing
Pamela - Fashion Designer and Seamstress
Matt - Brand Ambassador, Photography and media
Support team
“Be Cozy, your body will thank you!”
THE COZY LAYERS SYSTEM
http://www.cozylayers.com
[email protected]
11317 Sunset Hills Rd. Reston, VA 22190