cilao com

What cilao com does

Cilao is a French manufacturer of outdoor gear, adventure park equipment, and professional rescue PPE, founded in 2005 and headquartered in Annecy, Haute-Savoie, with a second manufacturing workshop in Slovakia. The company designs and builds technical hardware including backpacks, harnesses, and related accessories, incorporating patented proprietary solutions into its product lines. Its offerings span three principal customer segments: consumer outdoor enthusiasts, commercial adventure park operators, and professional/rescue services, with a publicly referenced co-development relationship with SDIS 74 (the Haute-Savoie fire and rescue service) supporting the professional vertical.

The business operates a vertically integrated model combining in-house design with dual-site manufacturing (France and Slovakia), which provides cost flexibility while retaining a French-headquartered brand and IP base. Cilao sells through its own direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront (cilao-shop.com) at unit prices typically in the €157–€266 range for higher-end backpacks, alongside a bilingual (English/French) web presence that supports cross-border reach. Distribution to commercial and professional customers is handled in parallel through B2B channels and partnerships, including a collaboration with Lead The Climb that anchors presence in the climbing community.

Beyond durable equipment, Cilao extends monetization through NST-branded cleaning, maintenance, and repair consumables and services, creating an aftermarket and recurring-touchpoint layer around its installed base. The company is private, reports 1–10 employees, and operates without disclosed external funding, indicating a bootstrapped, organically scaled workshop-led business model.

Name

cilao com

Legal name

CILAO

Website

https://cilao.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Cilao is a French manufacturer, founded in 2005 in Annecy with a second workshop in Slovakia, producing outdoor gear, adventure park equipment, and professional rescue PPE. It sells via direct-to-consumer e-commerce and B2B channels to consumers, adventure park operators, and rescue services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor & Safety Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS

Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (33992), Textile Bag and Canvas Mills (314910)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949), Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports, Outdoor & Adventure Packs Manufacturing (Backpacks/Duffels) (IMAOAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Life-Saving Appliances & Safety Equipment (Davit Systems, Lifeboats, Firefighting) (IMAJAIAG), Outdoor Travel Gear (Duffels, Packs, Dry Bags) Retail (CRAMAAAI)

Keywords

• Outdoor gear manufacturing
• Adventure park equipment
• Height safety harnesses
• Personal protective equipment
• Trekking backpacks

Headquarters

HQ city

Annecy

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: One-time purchase of physical products including backpacks, harnesses, lanyards, carabiners, ropes, helmets, gloves, and accessories. Products are sold at fixed prices through their e-commerce store.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CILAO designs and manufactures backpacks, harnesses, lanyards, carabiners, and height-safety/rescue equipment for outdoor enthusiasts, adventure park operators, and professional/rescue users. Production takes place in the company's workshop on the shores of Lake Annecy in France, with additional harness/accessory production in Slovakia, supported by an in-house design office, patented technologies, small-series and custom manufacturing, and an in-house repair service.

Product overview

CILAO is a French manufacturer specializing in outdoor gear, adventure park equipment, and professional/rescue PPE. The company produces three interconnected product lines: (1) Outdoor gear featuring technical backpacks including ERMITAGE, OMEGA, and PAPANG series designed for mountaineering, trekking, ski touring, and expedition activities; (2) Adventure park equipment including AGYL, AKRO, and FLEXI tailor-made lanyards, comprehensive harness systems (IKKO, DRAGON, KIDZY, CIDJAY, TORSO, TYRO, LIBERTY BLACK), and UTIL operator backpacks; (3) Professional and rescue products including PROLIGHT fall-arrest harnesses, professional rescue bags developed with SDIS 74, and military-grade ALPIN bags. All products are designed and manufactured in workshops on the shores of Lake Annecy, France, with some harnesses produced in Slovakia. The portfolio is unified by CILAO's focus on height safety, small-batch production, and French/European manufacturing, with repair services and gift cards as supporting offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ERMITAGE 47

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Lead The Cilmb x CILAOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between Lead The Cilmb and CILAO, mentioned in the About section of the website under 'Lead The Cilmb x CILAO partnership'
• SDIS 74coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSDIS 74 (fire department) collaborated with CILAO to develop the CILAO Professional Rescue Bag, specifically designed for forest fire operations

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Petzl: French manufacturer of climbing, mountaineering, and height-safety equipment including harnesses, lanyards, helmets, and headlamps. Directly comparable as a European maker of safety gear for outdoor, professional, and rescue use cases that overlaps with CILAO's harness, lanyard, and rescue product lines.
• Edelrid: German manufacturer of ropes, harnesses, lanyards, and via ferrata equipment. Directly comparable to CILAO as a European producer of certified climbing and safety gear with overlapping product categories (harnesses, lanyards, carabiners).
• Black Diamond Equipment: US-based manufacturer of climbing, skiing, and mountain equipment including harnesses, carabiners, and headlamps. Comparable to CILAO's professional height-safety and adventure park product categories with similar B2B and B2C distribution.
• Beal: French rope and safety equipment manufacturer producing dynamic/static ropes, harnesses, lanyards, and via ferrata sets. Directly comparable to CILAO as a French-made climbing and height-safety brand with overlapping lanyard and harness SKUs.
• CAMP Safety: Italian manufacturer of climbing, mountaineering, and fall-protection equipment, including harnesses, lanyards, and helmets. Comparable to CILAO's professional and adventure park safety offering with similar European safety certifications.
• Arc'teryx: Canadian premium outdoor brand producing technical backpacks, harnesses, and climbing gear. Comparable to CILAO's outdoor backpack line (ERMITAGE, PAPANG, OMEGA) at the premium end of the trekking/expedition segment.
• Deuter: German backpack specialist producing trekking, mountaineering, and operator backpacks. Comparable to CILAO's outdoor backpack and UTIL operator backpack ranges with overlapping outdoor and professional use cases.
• Osprey: US/UK backpack manufacturer with broad trekking, mountaineering, and operator/daypack ranges. Comparable to CILAO's outdoor backpack portfolio including the 20L–60L+ capacity range offered by CILAO (OMEGA 20, PAPANG 33/37, ERMITAGE 47).

Broad incumbents

• Mammut: Swiss premium outdoor brand offering apparel, footwear, backpacks, and safety equipment (including avalanche and climbing gear via Mammut Barryvox). Comparable as a broader European incumbent with overlap in CILAO's outdoor backpack and harness segments, though Mammut operates at much larger scale.
• Kask: Italian manufacturer of safety helmets for industry, rescue, mountaineering, and adventure sports. Comparable to CILAO's professional/rescue helmet and safety-equipment offering, though Kask operates at significantly larger scale across multiple end markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cilao

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about cilao com