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?
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?
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.