Pyrenex history is founded on proletariat endeavours.
Way before Moncler, TNF Nuptse, or pioneers like First Down, there was Pyrenex. In 1859, Pyrenex – more of an abstract concept than a brand – was founded in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
In the late 19th century, Abel Crabos travelled from village to town and town to village collecting feathers from markets, before eventually using them to insulate jackets.
At the time, the down jacket didn’t exist: these were simply rudimentary work jackets, whose linings were carefully pried apart and stuffed with feathers. But the core premise was there: feathers trap air, and air insulates. They used the same techniques to build jackets to protect POW and the disenfranchised from the cold during WWII.
They made sleeping bags, expanded the technicality of their jackets, and by the late 1960s, the brand was established with a foothold in mountaineering and functional garments.
The Crabos family’s efforts have evolved since then. Now, they make jackets that in every way match the fashion aesthetic of 21’s demands, 180 years later.
