Rocky Mountain Featherbed Co.

Rocky Mountain Featherbed Co. started in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in the late 1960s, making down vests for cowboys. The defining detail is the seamless yoke, cut from a single piece of leather, an idea borrowed from the leather capes worn by Native Americans. The vests earned a name for keeping the cold out and the warmth in.

The founder drew on outdoor knowledge learned at the National Outdoor Leadership School, plus survival skills, and pioneered the use of GORE-TEX, then a very high-tech material. That led to a GORE-TEX mountain parka with the same leather yoke. Today the label still cuts the yoke from one piece of leather and uses a natural mouton collar, adding a contemporary touch.