Well, I’ll Be
I had a a Frostline synthetic vest I bought from a place called “Ozark Outdoors” here in MO and paid a neighbor lady to sew up for me. Have to go through some old photos and find a picture. I remember it was rust colored with maybe tan, orange and brown on it. I wore it for several years. WW
Many patterns are available,
and from my time spent on Hammock Forums.net it sure appears that many folks tackle sewing under and top quilts from scratch. Some use various synthetic insulation and many use down (available from several cottage sewing operations, either 800 or 900 fill power).
Jim
70’s colors
Yep, back in the day (1970’s) most outdoor gear came in 3 basic colors: navy blue, forest green and rust (rust was rarer and highly prized). There was a smattering of red and royal blue (remember Gerry gear? And Camp 7 and Snow Lion sleeping bags? And Camp Trails and Alpenlight frame packs? Anyone remember that bike maker Cannondale used to make tents and backpacks as well?) Funny how “fashion” even penetrates the “pragmatic” arena of wilderness equipment.
Seems nowadays that a lot of outdoors folk look like Special Ops commandos in all black (especially if they get most of their kit from Campmor). Navy used to be the “generic” color for gear and now it’s black.
Personally, I’m happy about the huge range of cool colors you can get for outdoor gear now. I look like a fruit salad when I paddle – lime green or red kayak, pumpkin orange PFD, yellow dry top, purple polartec hat, electric blue deck bag. But you’d be hard pressed to find much gear in navy or forest green anymore. And rust? Forget about it! (I loved my rust Altra mountain parka – wore it out, in fact.)
I still like making my own stuff
It really doesn’t save a LOT of money but I still like sewing and/or customizing my own gear. Planning to make my own Goretex storm cag by modifying a nice anorak pattern (Green Pepper designs, I think) I got from Seattle Fabrics. Also got their bivy bag pattern (though I’ve made those from scratch before.)Stuff like drybags and cockpit covers are easy and cheap to sew. Though I’ve got a fancy serger and electronic regular sewing machine I inherited from my mom, I still prefer to sew on a 115 year old Singer treadle – nice tight stitches, good control and that thing would stitch through a 2 by 4 as long as you put a strong enough needle on it.
I found in my years of teaching people to sew the kits that many of the best gear sewers turned out to be men rather than women. I think the problem with women who were experienced sewers is that they thought they knew better what they were doing than the instructions would direct them and tended to ignore the pattern directions. The guys followed the instructions to the letter and many were very inventive once they figured out what they were doing. It always tickled me to see a big gruff sportsman all excited and proud of the down vest he’d managed to sew by himself.
Wow, that brings back memories!
That was the time when there was an explosion of alpine-style gear hitting the market. Everything was designed with mountain hiking in mind, and doing backbacking trips “out west” was all anybody in my neck of the woods ever talked about.
Speaking of styles and colors, particularly that “rust” color, remember how once the alpine-gear explosion leveled off, the next cool thing was contrasting colors, and every vest and jacket had a contrasting color (usually rust) in a cape, or yoke sewn-in across the shoulders?
When was the last time you saw a down vest of any kind? I think that fleece shirts are the “down vests” of the present time. Before down vests, it was wool sweaters.
Old Gear
Can’t fine the picture I remember. Of course, back then pictures were rare and only took the few snapshots with the little 110 camera.
My backpack was a navy blue Camp Trails Adjustable II that matched my navy blue North Face Superlight that I still have and is my sleeping bag that still use since purchased in 1976.
Anybody remember seeing the “Rainbow” sleeping bag? Don’t remember the brand, but there was one that had colored baffles and was the sleeping bag I really wanted. But the North Face was about 1/2 the price and my $1.25 an hour working as a “Curbhop” required discretion! WW
I’ve made kits from both
Frostline and Altra, way back. Had a down filled vest with zip off sleaves that I used for years. I remember filling it with the down, insert the plastic tube, turn it inside out, hold the opening shut, and pull out the tube. Except it was wiinter, and the static made the palstic tube attract the down like a magnet. Which released it when you pulled it out, it looked like a small snow storm by the time I was done. Anyway, the stuff was pretty well designed, and as well made as you could make it. And it taught me a skill I still use today. When my daughter needs help sewing, and asks her mother, she usually says “Ask your father”.
Ah, the 70s
I started hiking with an REI down sweater purchased in 1974 (with my CO-OP membership) and a wood and nylon rope frame backpack made by an older brother from plans he found somewhere. What a torture rack! It was a pleasure to step up to a hand-me-down, steel-frame REI backpack with an ACTUAL WAIST-BELT in about 1977. I wore the down jacket out about 10 years ago. I think I still have the pack somewhere, time to empty a closet. I still have an old fiberfill mummy bag too, in surprisingly good shape.
Remember down booties?
And everybody shuffling around camp with them, looking like big-footed cartoon characters? The suckers were warm, though. At least until you sat with them too close to the fire and melted the nylon.
Rainbow sleeping bag
Re that “rainbow” sleeping bag. There may have been another source (maybe Camp 7?) but I seem to recall Altra kits made up a few of those as a promo item. I coveted it too, but the shop where I worked used it as a promotional raffle give away.
Working minimum wage selling that stuff at outfitters in my early twenties, seemed like most of my pay went to payoff my shop account of new gear I couldn’t live without. Every time UPS brought a shipment it was like Christmas! I lived on peanut butter sandwiches, rode a battered 10-speed bike year round for transport, got my clothes at Goodwill and shared a crummy rowhouse with 5 roommates, but I had top of the line backpacking gear! Those were the days…
ok so…
I always wondered why my dad’s old stuff was all rust and navy. Now i know! He still has some old Snow Lion navy blue down jackets and super fuzzy polypro jackets.
Anyways, down vests are back again even with the contrasting western shirt style yoke. Down booties haven’t gone anywhere and if you want low top pink ones North Face can hook you up.
Don’t remember the rainbow
but my down bag is a Camp 7 in purple (grape, I think is what they called it). 1973 graduation present and still going strong (I’ve gone throug a few synthetics, however). Snow Lion synthetic parka in rust (seen in pics from the other post). I still have an wear synthetic down booties from EMS, too.
Thaw
– Last Updated: Nov-04-10 8:29 AM EST –
I bought a down bag (not kit) from REI back then by a company that I believe was Seattle based called Thaw. It was my first lite weight bag as prior to that we had very limited places to find decent out door gear here in the Northeast as stores like EMS or IME had not even come on to the streets.
In the earliest of days (60's) we relied heavily on trying to find a large scale Army - Navy surplus store. Shopped for gear and clothing labeled as "Jungle weight" to be used for summer time use and "Winter weight" stuff for the colder months. The down bags were well constructed, beefy, but not the lightest and I think used feathers other then goose down. The clothing was tough, loose fitting and worked well in the outdoors. Used a lot in my early rock climbing days as cheap enough to replace if you blew holes in it and not to restrictive for movement.
Outside of either doing kits, Army - Navy surplus or mail ordering (REI) the remaining two options was Limmers the boot maker in Intervale, N.H. as off of their barn they had a small room with gear they imported from companies like Edelweiss, Millet or Salewa, Svea, Optimus or Lowe. I don't remember them having bags, but, ropes, pitons, carabiners, packs, stoves, gaiters, tents etc. in that room or set up on the barn's floor They even had white water kayaks from Germany, long before that sport had truly arrived. Over on the Franconia side in North Woodstock in the basement of the old Ski Meister ski shop you also could find a limited, but quality (for the day) climbing and hiking gear. Beyond that there was just a smiter of old Yankee combo Hardware- Sports shops that might have random gear like Lahouts in Littleton.
Many of us manufactured something of our own may it been an anorak or bag or gaiters and out of that came several who turned their self taught adventures into a business like Chuck Roast (Chuck Henderson) who started making and selling packs and gaiters then switched to be one of the first in the nation to see the merit of pile clothing or Log House Designs that was one of the first in the nation to see the merit of simple Gore-Tex clothing and shelter systems. Unfortunately the exporting of American jobs pretty much buried both of those manufacturers who did employ a number of people locally. You also had Stephenson Tents that originally started in the 60's in California then moved to the Lakes Region of NH to set up shop as one of the country's first manufacturer of truly ultra light-weight outdoor gear with their line of tents. sleeping bags, packs and some clothing. Decades later I am still using some gear from most of the above.
More fond memories
Yeah, the 70’s were certainly a hey-day for small local gear maker cottage industries. They drove many of the innovations that have made millions for the huge companies that now import virtually all goods from Asia. Stephenson tents were amazing. The independent shops I worked for stocked Log House and Chuck Roast – great products for reasonable prices which enabled many people of modest means to comfortably enjoy the outdoors. I still have a pair of Chuck’s gaiters. And, as you say, they supported a number of US workers. Tough Traveler of upstate NY was another that we carried (really neat and well designed day packs, duffels, baby carriers) – they would even make custom items on the spot. My aunt who lived near them had admired a TT shoulder bag I had and I told her it was made near where she lived. She sought out their factory shop and dropped in, got talking to the guy in the store and he walked back to the production area and had the stitchers make her one like mine in a two tone color combo while she waited. Hard to find that kind of personalized customer service today.
Even goliaths like Patagonia started that way. I’m old enough to remember Yvon Chouinard and Henry Barber coming around to the small outfitter shops in a rented car with duffels full of hand forged climbing hardware and their first foray into soft goods: canvas climbing shorts, cordura Supergaiters and New Zealand rugby jerseys. Great memories of me and the other outfitter staff taking Yvon and Henry drinking at a local watering hole and the two of them free climbing the 2-story stone wall beside the parking lot.
That sort of manufacturer has not wholly disappeared. Paddle sports may still be one of the exceptions. I’m a big fan of Feathercraft kayaks and one of the pleasures of owning them is having seen how they are made and meeting the very folks who proudly make them when I visited their terrific workshop on Granville Island in Vancouver. They gave me a private tour and even loaned me a kayak and paddle to use for a day around the harbor!
Remember the Danish Canned Bacon?
– Last Updated: Nov-04-10 11:27 AM EST –
How about the "Tropical bars?" The variety of good "Camp food" is so much better now, but as I recall, the canned bacon and Tropical chocolate bars weren't bad. WW
Wonder Lights anyone?
Wonder (France) made cheesy flashlights that used the 4.5v batteries that were so hard to find. Stamped enameled steel construction, contacts and switches that would make a Lucas employee cringe, and a reputation that made one “wonder if it will work this time?”
Jim
Woohoo, canned bacon!
Yup, remember the canned bacon, with the sardine can key to peel off the top. Yeah, it was tasty but I wonder how many grizzlies and other varmints were attracted to campsites by the ashes of the fatty waxed paper inner wrap, not to mention the pint or so of bacon fat you were left with after rendering the slices. Precooked bacon is one of the small delights of modern wilderness tripping.
White Stag?
– Last Updated: Nov-04-10 1:21 PM EST –
Made simple lightweight two pole high (in the front) low (in the back) canvas backpacking tents that you had to tie the door shut. No zipper. My first tent. They also made some sort of fiber filled sleeping bags and if my memory can go back that far, they are what our family camping bags were. I think they also did jackets and ski clothes.
Then you had the"Draw-Tite" tents that were pretty bombproof, but heavy as the dickens. I believe that is what the successful "63" American Everest Expedition used.
I believe you are correct
about the Drawtite tents. Specially made for the AEE-63 expedition, two parallel poles that arched from the rear over the tent body. As I recall, at the time most tents were traditional “mountain” tents requiring staking for tension. The idea behind the Drawtites was to make a non-flapping shelter that would fit on hacked-out snow platforms.
American industry really stepped up to the plate for that expedition. Maytag (yes, the washer folks!) designed and manufactured a revolutionary oxygen mask that could be cleared of frost by squeezing it with a mittened hand.
And the down-filled clothing and bags? Made by America’s premier outdoor equipment company, Eddie Bauer. Yes Kiddees, once upon a time EB was more than a brand name. I still have an EB one lb down bag liner. Cost me $25 new in the early 70s.
Jim
The canned bacon
is still available. Its still pretty good.