Hey, Camp Enthusiasts!
For today’s blog post I want to tell you about a very courageous company with whom Everything Summer Camp is more than happy to be working—and that company is CamelBak. What’s so brave about CamelBak? Just keep reading to discover the history that led to the success of this great company.
One might think that in our modern times, a company has next to no chance of success when it’s based on one of the most basic of human needs such as thirst. But thanks to a bicyclist named Michael Eidson and the Hotter ‘N Hell 100 biking competition that he raced in in 1988, he brought a semi-simple, yet brilliant idea to the hands of many.
The Hotter ‘N Hell 100 is indeed a hundred mile road race in the scorcher southern summer of Witchita Falls, Texas. To make it through this race, you’ve got to have water! And there are only a few different opportunities along the way to refill your water bottle.
Michael Eidson had enough forethought to fill up an IV bag with his drinking water which he then slipped into a tube sock. He then stuffed this apparatus in the back of his racing jersey. He put the thin IV tube over his shoulder and clamped it with a clothespin.
Pretty smart, huh?
Well, he didn’t look too cool and got laughed at by the other racers. But they all had to fumble around with their water bottles during the race. And more importantly, Michael Eidson had made hands-free hydration a simple possibility.
Once CamelBak developed the hydration pack, another competitive cyclist named Jeff Wemmer was so impressed with Michael Eidson’s product that he started bringing packs along with him to races so he could sell them to other cyclists. Eventually CamelBak hired Jeff and then, in 1993, sent him off on a road trip visiting every bike shop from Florida to California.
They were tough times for the company and for a while, every day, Jeff was bringing in just 
enough profit to continue opening CamelBak’s doors the next day.
It’s simply amazing to have turned an IV bag in a tube sock into quality hydration packs, but to then turn that into a successful company—that’s awesome. We’re proud at Everything Summer Camp to work alongside a company like CamelBak.
Thanks for reading, Camp Fans! Until next time.
- John