The North Face Launches Universal Gear Capsule
The North Face launched a new collection of outdoor gear earlier this week that's particularly notable.
The brand-new Universal Collection features camping gear and miscellaneous outdoor accessories created with a "radically inclusive" design approach and made to cater to all types of outdoor users.
The capsule, which includes a tent, sleeping bag, day pack, hat, and camp slippers, all equipped with intuitive features designed to remove barriers for users, was designed alongside the North Face team, athletes, and adaptive community members Vasu Sojitra and Maureen 'Mo' Beck.
"The hallmarks of great design should provide a positive user experience from start to finish for all users," says Senior Technical Equipment Designer Luke Matthews in a press release on the collection. The Universal Collection aligns with the North Face's ethos and slogan, "Athlete Tested, Expedition Proven," throughout its development process with Sojitra, a professional skier, and Beck, a professional climber.
"By launching the Universal Collection, The North Face is setting a new standard for accessibility in outdoor gear. This isn't just a product launch-it's a call to action for the entire industry to rethink how they design for all users," said Sojitra in the press release.
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Portable shelter has always been a touchstone of outdoor exploration and the North Face's history, so it's only fitting that a tent is a key piece in the Universal Collection.
The Wawona 3 Tent (MSRP $435) is a two-to three-person tent that uses three equal-length poles, high-vis pole sleeves, easy-catch pole mounts, and a built-in rain fly, making it easy to set up in the dark or for the visually impaired and generally more user-friendly.
The tent's enlarged entryway, with a lower threshold and a heavy-duty mat, is designed to accommodate mobility devices. Other features, like oversized zipper pulls and a dog leash attachment on the back of the tent, help accommodate a broader range of user needs.
To keep you cozy at night inside the Wawona 3 Tent is the Universal One Bag (MSRP $270-280), a sleeping bag with an easier entry and exit for everyone.
Rather than the traditional body-length zipper utilized by most sleeping bags, the One Bag uses two FIDLOCK magnetic closures to secure it shut. FIDLOCK has become an increasingly popular fastener on things like ski helmets and bike water bottles over the past few years for its ease of use.
The One Bag has a universal temperature range, with two insulated "wings" (a heavier one lined with warmer material and a lighter one lined with cool-to-the-touch material) that can be arranged based on the environment and user, creating a more versatile bag.
Rubberized touch-points and oversized loops on the hood drawstring make adjustments easy to find and use. The bag also uses a sleeping pad sleeve in the back to help users avoid the dreaded scenario of waking up on the cold ground after rolling off their pad.
Along with the Wawona 3 Tent and One Bag, the Universal Collection is rounded out by the Universal 20 Daypack (MSRP $140), Universal Basecamp Mules (MSRP $65), and Universal Horizon Convertible Brimmer hat (MSRP $60).
The Universal Daypack is built with rugged, water-resistant fabric and secure, adjustable straps, a climbing bag-inspired, sturdy boot, daisy chain webbing on the front, and a range of pockets for long days in the outdoors. It also features a range of features that make it ideal for everyday use. The 3L water bladder sleeve is also padded for a 15" laptop, the hip belt is removable and stows away, and it comes in two colors.
The pack keeps wheelchair users in mind with its narrow profile that fits between most wheelchair wheels, and the extendable webbing straps on the back panel that can be used to attach it to a wheelchair.
The Basecamp Mules and Horizon Convertible Brimmer hat both build off the features that make the Universal Collections' other products functionally simple and streamlined for all users. The mules are interchangeable; there's no left and right, and they have large pull loops to make them easy to get on and off whenever. The Brimmer hat has a roll-down sun shield for even more UPF protection and can be easily adjusted with one hand.
As a whole, the collection seeks to not only offer high-quality equipment that's useable for a broader range of folks, but to set a standard for accessibility to these types of products through affordability and ease of use. In the big picture, the Universal Collection is as much about the concept of creating a broader, more accessible outdoor space as it is about the physical products themselves.
"This is the first time we're seeing accessibility innovations starting with the adaptive community and flowing up to everyone else, rather than the other way around. The Universal Collection is proving that designing for accessibility just makes better gear for everyone," said Beck.
The North Face has long been known for making ultra-high-quality gear for the harshest of mountain environments, with collections like their Summit Series and staple pieces like the Basecamp Duffle. The brand has also proved time and time again that its pieces can transition easily into daily life indoors (if you will) and even develop their own flavor of city chic (a la the Nuptse jacket).
However, the brand has received some backlash from the outdoor industry over collaborations (notably with streetwear brand Supreme and Kim Kardashian's lingerie and loungewear brand, Skims) that perhaps leave their Summit Series demographic, so to speak, questioning who they're catering towards.
If the launch of the Universal Collection didn't make this clear, the North Face is catering to everyone. Few brands that make pieces as high quality as, say, their Himalayan suit, can also hold their own with the Kardashians (although the Gorpcore trend has really swung that pendulum as of late)
However, this collection is not about transcending the outdoor industry as much as widening access to it. There's no doubt that many of the collection's features are beneficial not only to adaptive users but to everyone, by eliminating pain points like stuck sleeping bag zippers and convoluted tent and rainfly designs (why are these always so hard to use?) altogether.
With the Universal Collection, the North Face has responded to the excuse often used in outdoor gear manufacturing of 'who for?' with a proud proclamation of 'who not?'.
It certainly prompts a train of thought about ways other pieces of outdoor gear could have features that have been long-accepted, re-imagined to be more streamlined and user-friendly for everyone.
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This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 7:58 AM.