Innovation as a common thread

“Our passion is to develop increasingly high-performance equipment to meet the demands of mountaineering and expeditions in extreme conditions, whether in the high mountains or polar regions. To this end, we are convinced that an empirical approach is no longer sufficient to ensure the level of performance expected from ultra-technical outdoor equipment. A deep understanding of physical phenomena is an essential step in designing cutting-edge products. We also believe that creative research is as indispensable as scientific research in accomplishing the difficult task of bringing pioneering products to life. Throughout the rigorous Samaya product development process, our scientific research laboratory and our creative research laboratory work in close collaboration to design the equipment of tomorrow. It is always with the same passion and high standards that we draw upon this expertise to now offer our vision of 3-season technical equipment.” - Ghislain Pipers, co-founder of Samaya.

The Testometric dynamometer

The ‘Samaya High Camp’, a prime location for innovation

Samaya has envisioned the ‘Samaya High Camp’ in Annecy as a place where innovation and excellence are woven into everything. Spanning 1,000 m2, the Samaya High Camp brings together:

- A design center;
- A dedicated research space with a laboratory and test benches;
- A prototyping and small-batch production workshop;
- A showroom presenting all of our product ranges;
- Meeting and reception areas.

Our laboratory houses standard machines to evaluate our materials and components. In parallel, we develop our own specific machines to simulate field conditions as accurately as possible. Our in-house test benches include a cold chamber, a wind tunnel, and an artificial rain chamber. We rely on external partnerships to supplement our results. The cold chamber allows for comparative testing regarding performance in terms of breathability, thermal flow management, and product usage. Wind tunnel tests measure the tent’s behavior in the wind during both setup and use. The artificial rain chamber ensures the waterproofness of the complex assemblies we create.

The location of the ‘Samaya High Camp’ in the heart of the Alps fosters regular interaction between the brand and mountain professionals (athletes, guides, rescuers). Discussions with these professionals, the brand’s proximity to the field, and on-site customer feedback are our primary sources of innovation.

World-unique design tools

In remote areas, the tent becomes the only possible refuge and a survival shelter against extreme wind conditions and snowfall. In such cases, product failure is not an option. This is why we rigorously and precisely test the resistance of our products to the stresses imposed by extreme conditions.

To conduct this study, we developed our own digital wind tunnel tool dedicated to outdoor equipment. Testing a tent in a wind tunnel is the most effective way to study and characterize its wind resistance. Carrying out these tests digitally revolutionizes their efficiency by ensuring perfect repeatability between two tests (all parameters are controlled as input data) and by providing access to study data that is unattainable experimentally (for example, tension stresses in the fabric walls). This tool works by relying on simulation software developed by the French company Dassault Systèmes. It allows us to test many different configurations even before making prototypes.

Thanks to this tool, supplemented by a real wind tunnel available on our premises and test benches for the poles, we can gain a detailed understanding of what makes a tent wind-resistant and efficiently optimize the design of each product from a mechanical standpoint. By being equipped to replicate, both digitally and physically, the mechanical stresses that tents undergo, Samaya has acquired expertise regarding the strains endured by every part of a tent. This therefore allows us to correctly choose each component (fabrics, poles, parts) and arrange them in the most suitable way. Every detail can thus be optimized, right down to the positioning of the guy lines along the poles, in order to ensure the best possible resistance for our tents in extreme conditions.

By accumulating knowledge on how tents behave under the main stresses they encounter, Samaya has been able to develop its own standards, which teams rely on to create increasingly high-performance products.

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"SAMAYA STANDARDS"

Every Samaya product is the result of a long process for which the ideation phase is the keystone. From our research, our internal expertise, and the bold experiences of the practitioners and athletes of the Samaya Family, new product ideas and sometimes even new ways of designing products are born. Step by step, we write an identity card for them to make each product a unique item. From this long labor then emerges a product concept that will become a "Samaya concept" if it meets the innovation requirements we have set for ourselves right from this first ideation phase.

Based on this concept, the design phase can begin: specifications are established with eco-design as the number one criterion. On this basis, the first drafts are drawn by our engineers using computer-aided design (CAD) software. The performance and ergonomics of the product, as well as its aesthetics and finishes, are then considered in detail. Each material and component is carefully selected so that the product can offer the best possible experience to its future users. The virtual prototypes obtained can then be tested with our digital wind tunnel tool. To choose the best technical solution, the different versions tested on our simulation software are iteratively optimized until one version stands out.

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The prototyping phase brings a real prototype to life: the chosen solution is patterned and prototyped in our workshop in Annecy. The prototype is tested in the laboratory and on test benches. If the results do not meet the product's expected requirements, a new iteration is launched by reworking the shape, the choice of materials and components, the patterning, and the assembly. The product is thus gradually refined until it meets the strict requirements of Samaya standards.

Before the product leaves with you, it will have been tested not only at the ‘Samaya High Camp’, but also in the field in the Alps and on the highest peaks in the world by our team and our athletes. The laboratory and field testing phases are essential and complementary. The final validation against Samaya standards must be viewed in the context of the extreme applications our products are subjected to in conditions where there is no room for error.

State-of-the-art materials

To create the products we envision, we design new, increasingly technical materials. We work with the best suppliers in their fields to leave nothing to chance and utilize the most innovative and functional materials. Thanks to our expertise in textile materials and our characterization resources, we are able to maximize the properties of these materials to push the performance limits of our products.

We have developed our own Nanovent® membrane for the walls of our 4-season tents. This membrane has allowed us to create single-wall tents that are lightweight, compact, waterproof, breathable, and air-permeable. This membrane adapts perfectly to the environment in which it is placed to guarantee flawless waterproofing and optimal condensation management. This technology also generates a great deal of interest thanks to its lightness and compactness.

Dyneema® fiber is 15 times stronger than steel by weight, while being light enough to float on water. It also excels in cut and abrasion resistance. This fiber can be used in multiple forms: thread, rope, cord, fabric, and composite. Samaya works closely with Dyneema® to use these fibers for varied applications: tent walls and floors, backpack bodies and bases, ropes, straps... Combined with other fibers and films, it gives our tents incomparable strength and waterproofing. All development phases, from ideation to testing, are carried out jointly, and Samaya benefits from exclusivity on certain Dyneema® technologies.

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