Close Comfort takes over Marble Bar

Welcome to the hottest town in Australia

Located 1,492km from Perth and 1,525km from Darwin, Marble Bar is Australia’s hottest town, due to its extended heatwaves that have historically hit around 50°C over summer.

For weeks on end between October and April, the mercury will often hit 40°C before 9am and then quickly climb to 45°C+ by lunch.

The town gained its reputation after enduring a stretch of 161 consecutive days, or almost 6 months, where the town’s daily temperature never dipped below 37.8°C (100°F) from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924. This feat secured its place as the longest ever heatwave in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Yeti mascot in Marble Bar

Our Idea

Our idea was to put our unique cooling solution to the ultimate test and see if it could stand up to even the most extreme conditions.

Can you really be cool and comfortable WHEREVER you are, even in Australia’s hottest town?

Taking over the town for a week in October 2019, we met some amazing people in Marble Bar who welcomed a sudden influx of city folk with open arms, particularly our big, cuddly friend who ran around town offering cool hugs to any locals who needed one.

Initial Feedback

Initial feedback from the townspeople when being introduced to Close Comfort was one of scepticism, given how poorly most traditional portable coolers and air conditioners have performed in local conditions over the years.

However it was fascinating to watch this doubt turn into surprise and then approval as they realised how well our units worked using such little energy and how much difference it made to how cool they felt, both inside where they lived or worked, as well as out in the elements.

In fact, Marble Bar’s General Store became such fans they are now a stockist for Close Comfort!

Bar of people being cooled by Close Comfort unit
Person being cooled by Close Comfort unit
Person being cooled by Close Comfort cooling unit in Marble Bar
People being cooled by Close Comfort cooling unit in Marble Bar
Close Comfort unit cooling camera equipment in Marble Bar

Saving our melting cameras

Our production crew also converted to advocates after filming remotely and finding they needed to quickly cool down their cameras that were badly overheating in the 40°C+ temperatures.

Without a power supply available anywhere nearby, the crew decided to test the units for themselves and connected one directly to a generator located in their van. Worked like a charm!

A huge thank you goes out to everyone in Marble Bar for giving us such a memorable experience.

We can confirm the Pilbara is a stunning part of the world and that Marble Bar has absolutely earned its title as Australia’s Hottest Town, with temperatures reaching a peak of 44.9°C while we were there.

Just another (mid-October) day in WA…

So, if Close Comfort can work to cool one of the hottest towns on earth, surely it can help cool your part of the world.

Close Comfort tent and unit being set up in Marble Bar
Close Comfort yeti mascot in Marble Bar
Person being cooled by Close Comfort unit