Our Story
In 1981, Heidi and Andi Brun spend nine months in the Canadian wilderness, living off the land with only minimal equipment. The experience inspired the creation of EXPED and influences every aspect of the company today.
Founders Heidi & Andi Brun
Born in the Canadian Wilderness
Somehow it all started on a honeymoon trip.
Heidi and Andi left Switzerland and landed near the Arctic Circle in late August, having embarked on what would become a highly memorable and impactful honeymoon trip. Their goal: To fulfill their common dream of experiencing absolute solitude in the wilderness.
On arrival they immediately set to work building their log cabin with the help of one axe, a saw blade, and whatever raw materials they could find around them.
The journey was not easy. Having packed little more than 40% of the supplies needed to survive in the Canadian wilderness, they had to quickly learn to live off the land. And learn, they did.
Nine months later, prior to being picked up by a float plane, they pulled down their cabin and left no trace of their time there.
This foray into the wilderness — learning to be completely self-sufficient and to become one with nature — left Heidi and Andi forever changed. A wealth of new experiences, from encounters with bears to foraging for their own food, imbued them with a newfound sense of self-confidence in times of deprivation. To this day, the two of them look back with only fond memories of their time in the wilderness.
In short, they achieved the maximum outdoor experience with only minimal means.
Only a few things are of real importance: Good ties with the people one knows, humility, and finding oneself in the absolute solitude of nature while being fully relaxed.
Andi Brun
EXPED AG
Heidi and Andi's trip put into motion a brand new chapter in their lives. Armed with new knowledge on how to live and thrive in nature, the two of them put their heads together on a new outdoor-driven business venture.
Exped AG, based out of Zurich, Switzerland, was born in 1983 as a distributor of many iconic brands in the outdoor industry. Their subsequent experience working with gear makers and manufacturers eventually presented another opportunity — to make the gear that they themselves wanted to use.
Armed with an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to innovate, Heidi and Andi once again rolled up their sleeves and got to work. In 1997, motivated by friends and countless new ideas for outdoor products, EXPED launched its first original product line. Since then, EXPED has evolved into a distributor and manufacturer of high-quality, first-of-their-kind expedition equipment.
EXPED's United States subsidiary, Exped, LLC, came to be in 2010. Today, EXPED products are available in 25 countries and sold exclusively through specialty outdoor retailers and direct online at ExpedUSA.com.