Mountain Safety Research announced that SweetWater filters and Packtowl camping towels will be sold under the MSR brand name. The company made this decision to consolidate brands in order to better focus resources on building the MSR brand, leverage MSR brand-awareness to bring greater attention to SweetWater and Packtowl products and simplify the purchase decision for consumers.

Jeff Bowman, Cascade Designs’ vice president remarked, “This move is a continuation of our strategy to rationalize our product lines and brands in order to focus our business and communications. It brings complementary product lines together under a brand (MSR) that outdoor enthusiasts recognize for innovation, performance and quality.”

MSR SweetWater Filters
SweetWater filters will become part of MSR’s Simplicity Series of lightweight, low maintenance and easy to use filters. Current SweetWater filters that will become MSR filters include the SweetWater Purifier (formerly SweetWater Guardian Purifier) and SweetWater Microfilter. The SweetWater Walkabout will be dropped from the line.

Manufacturing, distribution and support for both SweetWater and Packtowl will remain based at Cascade Designs, Inc. in Seattle, Washington. Additionally, all contact info and outside sales reps will remain the same. The transformation in branding, colors and packaging will begin in March 2004 for MSR Packtowl and April 2004 for MSR SweetWater.