Our Mission
We're on a mission to connect people to the power of nature through the time-honoured tradition of camping.
Who We Are
We’re a passionate team of adventurers, designers, and engineers who’ve spent the last five years refining and perfecting our vision of the ultimate camping shelter. Of course perfection is unattainable, but if we keep chasing it we know we'll be able to find excellence. We've poured our hearts into creating something that solves real problems for campers, because we believe that everyone deserves to enjoy nature without all the hassles.
Camping has been around for hundreds of years, born out of a necessity for humans to survive. It’s since grown into a time-honoured tradition and a recreational pastime as a means to enjoy the benefits of being immersed in nature. Camping is true outdoor culture to the core, and we're here to contribute to it any way we can.
Our Values
RESPECT. For everyone and every being, always and forever, especially Mother Nature.
INTEGRITY. ‘Do the right thing’ will always be the moral north star.
GRATITUDE. The root of our happiness.
FREEDOM. The benchmark for success.
TOGETHERNESS. Build each other up, build a great company and share it with the world.(it also helps us keep our shit together. ;)
Why RISE?
If you cherish time, the world’s most valuable commodity, you’ll appreciate that a RISE tent will put more time into your day so you can actually spend more time camping and doing the things you love outside — like making a fire or playing guitar or riding your bike or climbing another pitch, not wasting time setting up and tearing down camp.
We’ve also been told that our tents have even saved a marriage or two ;) Don’t believe us? Try setting up your current tent with your spouse in the dark, while hangry, with your kids running amok all over the campsite in the rain.
Camp smarter, not harder.
GET AMONGST IT. We want you out there.
Our Story - How it Started
RISE Outdoor Innovation was founded by adventurepreneur and lifelong camping connoisseur, Todd Lawson, who grew increasingly frustrated by the time and hassle involved in setting up and taking down a tent. Too many stuff sacks, unwieldy tent poles and mountains of fabric to deal with, let alone the dreaded inflating of mattresses with your mouth. He knew there had to be a better way. Why not simplify the entire process by combining a tent and sleeping pad into one unified solution?
After countless brainstorming sessions, he set about building a rudimentary prototype the old-fashioned way—with cardboard, tape and scissors. Actual material came later, with more hours spent cutting fabric on his living room floor, ironing TPU fabric together on his coffee table during many late night sessions.
The ‘a-ha’ moment of product differentiation came when Lawson pulled the cord on his avalanche airbag, which inflated rapidly with the push of a button. Why can’t a tent do that too? The idea of a rapid, inflatable tent/mattress shelter wouldn’t go away, and he went for it.
The result is the AirNEST Rugged Inflatable Shelter, an innovative solution to an age-old outdoor problem.