GoCampingAmerica.com | Posted June 2nd,
2016
Camping Gear has sure come a long way!
Happy Camper Blog
The wide choice of high-tech camping gear and
gadgets we have today definitely makes the camping experience more convenient
and enjoyable. But it wasn’t always this way. So we thought it would be fun
to take a look back at the way camping equipment used to
be:
Sleeping Bags – One of the more unusual sleeping bags in
history was a three-man model made of buffalo hides that was used during
Arctic exploration
around 1880. (Let’s hope they weren’t restless sleepers!) At the turn of the
20th century, sleeping bags were still nothing more than a
blanket folded in two and sewn together.
Flashlights – Ever wonder why it’s called a “flashlight?” When the
“Electric Hand Torch” was introduced in 1889, the batteries were so weak that
the electric torch would only create brief
flashes of light, which is how it earned its
name.
Air
Mattresses – Here’s
one piece of camping equipment that really hasn’t changed much. The air
mattress was introduced in 1889 by the Pneumatic Mattress & Cushion
Co. that offered a free 30-day trial and free delivery east of the
Mississippi. The design of air mattresses has remained virtually unchanged to
this day.
Camping Attire – In a 1902 issue of Sunset magazine, author Katherine Chandler recommended that
women pack the following items for what she described as “a full month
tramp”: two short skirts, a warm jacket of corduroy or denim, a cape or heavy
shawl, bloomers and leggings (that match), a sun hat, a few dark-colored
shirts, some good gloves, a nightgown, two pairs of underwear, comfortable
shoes to wear around the campsite and a studier pair with a thick sole
containing Hungarian nails for tramping. Whew! And then they
had to load it all onto
a horse or pack mule!
led to the invention of the travel trailer, but at first, they didn’t have
the comforts of home like they do today. The very first travel trailer was
actually a “spacious” three-foot square open box about 12 inches high mounted
on an axle.
RVs – One of the very first RVs, Pierce-Arrow’s Touring
Landau that dates back to 1910, came complete with a fold-down bed and
chamber pot!
Tents – When pup tents were first used during the
Civil War, the soldiers thought they looked more like dog kennels and would
stick their heads out and bark to prove their point. In the 1920s, before the invention of nylon
and fiberglass that make tents as lightweight and easy to set up as they are
today, tents were very bulky and heavy since they were made of canvas, cotton
or even wool.
Picnic Coolers – In the early 1950s, coolers (or picnic
chests as they were then called) were made of steel, which meant they would
sweat and rust (not to mention they were heavy). But when a Coleman engineer
saw a child blowing bubbles, he was inspired to create a lighter, more
efficient model made of molded plastic, a process that is still
used today.
Leatherman Multitools – These handy gadgets have evolved into
multiple versions over the years, but their origin is an interesting
story. When mechanical engineer Tim
Leatherman developed this versatile tool in 1975, the knife and tool
companies he contacted simply weren’t interested. He found a mail order
company that was, though, and he sold 30,000 units his first year. The rest,
as they say, is history.
So the next time you go camping, take a
moment to remember those who came before us. They paved the way for the way
we camp today!
