Forget about starting a company with a product—Mountain Safety Research began as a crusade.
Lifelong mountaineer Larry Penberthy formed MSR with a single purpose: to improve the safety of climbing equipment. It was the 1960s, and the Seattle engineer’s independent field tests had revealed that gear was often failing at loads far lower that its advertised specs.
Fired up, Penberthy set out to change the industry.
That one-man crusade grew into a pioneering gear company known for its cutting-edge engineering. Today, many MSR inventions are ubiquitous—remote-burner camp stoves, pit zips on outerwear, cycling helmets. But more important are the historic expeditions and outdoor adventures they’ve helped unlock around the globe.
INQUISITIVE ORIGINS
In 1968, Seattle mountaineer and engineer Larry Penberthy had been independently testing safety gear at The Mountaineers, a local non-profit, and his findings often demonstrated disconcerting results. While Penberthy’s studies raised awareness, The Mountaineers lacked the wherewithal to further support his work. So, in the spring of 1969, Penberthy founded Mountain Safety Research, Inc. with the goal of independently evaluating climbing equipment and innovating ways to make it safer and easier to use.
THE MSR LOGO
Long before he founded MSR, Larry Penberthy toiled in a mine outside of Holden Village, a remote encampment in the Cascade Mountains along the banks of Lake Chelan. On his off days, Penberthy made forays into the surrounding jagged peaks and on several such endeavors put in new routes up Bonanza Peak, the region’s crown jewel. Enamored with the mountain, years later when Penberthy founded MSR, he sketched an outline of Bonanza’s profile—a crude drawing that became the company’s first logo.
ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESS
Larry Penberthy climbed Mount Rainier so frequently that he lost count. His experience made him realize: climbers need to be able to quickly melt snow for drinking water. The observation led him to design his revolutionary Model 9 mountaineering stove.
Throughout the summers of 1975-77, Penberthy encouraged more than 100 fellow climbers to follow a four-part AMS preventative plan that he’d devised. Penberthy published his survey findings in a 24-page booklet on AMS research. His goal was to help climbers increase their safety through “better mental alertness and physical ability.”
TENT TESTING THEN & NOW
In 1973, Larry Penberthy was determined to test his newest innovation—the MSR Mountain Tent. But he lacked a wind tunnel to subject it to a proper fusillade of gales. So, he bolted a platform to the back of a pickup truck, obtained a Wide Load permit and started exposing the tent to 60-plus mile-per-hour winds on the local highways. The result, a double-walled, barn-shaped shelter, quickly became a backcountry icon.
Today, the company uses more sophisticated testing machines, but that dedication to R&D is embedded in MSR’s DNA.
XGK STOVE & THE CALIFORNIA CONDOR
In 1984, with the California Condor on the brink of extinction, biologist and Yosemite big wall climber Rob Roy Ramey got the call to join an important egg relocation project as part of a large-scale captive breeding program to save the iconic bird.
In addition to his climbing skills, Ramey’s XGK stove played a key role. In the field, it was used to the heat water that kept the eggs warm during a helicopter transport from their nests in the Sierra to the San Diego zoo. The stove was chosen, Ramey says, because of its “100% dependability.” Today, more than 400 California Condors exist in the wild.
MSR® INNOVATIONS TIMELINE
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1969
The MSR Newsletter was started by MSR founder, Larry Penberthy. The first issue covered topics like such as ice axe testing, the MSR Climbing Rope and the MSR Snow Fluke.
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1970
The Eagle Ice Axe increased ice axe safety by employing a metal shaft rather than wood, which Penberthy’s tests found to often break during self-arrest.
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1973
The Model 9 Stove introduced a remote-fuel tank design, allowing climbers to melt snow faster and avoid dehydration, a leading cause of acute mountain sickness.
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1974
After researching and improving climbing helmets in the mid-70s, MSR parlayed those advances into bicycling safety as the first manufacturer to produce a Bicycle Helmet.
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1975
In 1975, MSR offered the first consumer product, Headlamps, to feature lithium batteries, which offered twice the juice of their alkaline forerunners.
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1976
The MSR Parka featured clever underarm zippers that allowed a user to quickly shed heat, thus inventing the now-ubiquitous “pit zips” on outerwear.
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1983
Mountaineering safety takes a huge step forward with the unveiling of MSR® Coyote™ Snow Pickets, uniquely designed to provide a 20% increase in holding power over similar snow anchors.
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1984
The legendary MSR® WhisperLite™ backpacking stove is developed to operate quietly in its natural surroundings and sets the standard for lightweight, liquid-fuel backpacking stoves.
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1988
In 1988, MSR engineers incorporated a weighted needle inside the XGK II stove’s clog-prone fuel jet. Shaker Jet technology now keeps all MSR liquid-fuel-stove customers cooking with white gas, not cleaning with it.
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1991
Meeting backcountry users’ needs for a reliable water treatment device, the MSR® WaterWorks® filter is the first of its kind to incorporate both carbon and ceramic technologies for superior performance.
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1995
The groundbreaking MSR® Denali™ Snowshoe utilizes the first injection-molded plastic snowshoe deck to offer versatility and extreme durability in all snow conditions.
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1996
In 1996, MSR introduced its premium Marathon Ceramic element in both the WaterWorks II and a brand new compact filter—the MSR MiniWorks Microfilter.
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2001
The PocketRocket™ stove—released in 2001 and still actively produced—weighs just three ounces and delivers a full range of flame output, making it one of the company’s most popular stoves for alpine-style climbing and fast-and-light backpacking trips.
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2002
Originally developed with the DARPA to allow soldiers to purify any water, the MSR® MIOX® purifier is introduced to the outdoor market. The MIOX purifier is the first to bring electrolysis and mixed-oxidant technology to consumers.
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2004
In 2004, the Hubba™ tent series introduced a new level of lightweight livability and set-up ease with its one-pole-to-pitch design, becoming a bestseller. The latest model boasts MSR’s most advanced tent technologies.
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2007
The MSR® Reactor® Stove System is introduced. Providing the ability to rapidly boil water in challenging conditions, it is the first stove ever to employ radiant heat and primary air combustion while regulating canister pressure.
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2015
MSR, in partnership with PATH, created the SE200 Community Chlorine Maker. The small device generates chlorine using just water, salt and electricity from a car battery. One device can support the safe-water needs of 200 people.
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2016
With military-grade engineering and game-changing technology, in 2016 the Guardian™ Purifier became the safest, easiest way to purify water virtually anywhere on earth.
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2017
Seeing a need for more reliable four-season tents engineered for extreme conditions and challenging environments, in 2017, MSR introduced three new all-season tent series: the Advance Pro™, Remote™ and Access™.
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2018
MSR’s innovative DynaLock locking system introduced a revolutionary, tool-free tensioning mechanism for easy and rock-solid pole adjustments in the field.
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2019
The 2019 Paragon™ binding offers an unabashed minimalist approach to security & comfort in technical terrain, continuing a legacy of snowshoe innovation that began with the revolutionary 1996 Denali.
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2020
Passing on the love of outdoor adventure requires the proper gear, and extra comfort for all. That's why in 2020, MSR released the Habitude™ tent series—sturdy, standing-height group and family shelters built the MSR way.
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2021
In 2021, building off of the Guardian™ Purifier technology, MSR developed state-of-the-art virus protection in an easy, high-volume gravity system, and named it the Guardian™ Gravity Purifier.
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2024
The trifecta of durable performance, secure comfort and easy reparability is engineered into the Paradigm™ Binding and Explore Series Snowshoes.
