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How the CamelBak Company Got Started

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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.

hotter n hell bike raceThe 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 Camelbak Hydration Packenough 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

 


Klean Kanteen does more for us than supply water bottles.

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Hey, Camp Fans!

For today’s blog post I’ll be discussing one of the great water bottle suppliers whose water bottles can be found right here at Everything Summer Camp. Keep reading to discover the story behind Klean Kanteen’s success. This clean company is incredibly charitable and environmentally-conscious.

klean kanteen banner

Did you know that in 2002—just eleven years ago—there were no stainless steel water bottles? It also wasn’t very common knowledge that health and environmental issues were linked to plastic water bottles. But having understood the issues at hand from the start, Robert Seals, founder of Klean Kanteen, started putting together prototypes.27 oz Klean Kanteen

Only two years later, Robert started marketing the first 27 oz. Klean Kanteen. It was an introduction to a different route than plastic. Klean Kanteen’s stainless steel water bottles offered a safe, healthy, lightweight, and reusable water bottle option. It was a bottle that contained no BPA or any other toxic substances.

Back then, Klean Kanteens were sold at music festivals and environmental fairs. In another year, in 2005, the company was passed on to the Cresswell family who quickly faced challenges of growth and expansion. However, word was beginning to get around about the dangers of BPA. Consumers turned to Klean Kanteen.

According to Klean Kanteen as it says on their Web site, “Nationwide, even worldwide, we are seeing a massive shift away from single-use plastic bottles as more people choose a healthier, refillable option, often a Klean Kanteen.” Klean Kanteen’s success was about as sudden as it was certain.

Since the company sold its first water bottle, Klean Kanteen has been looking for ways to considerably lower their environmental footprint. In 2008, Klean Kanteen became a member of 1% For the Planet in which they donate 1% of their annual sales to nonprofits that are working to protect Mother Earth.

Everything Summer Camp is happy to work with people who are as environmentally conscious as Klean Kanteen. Stay quenched, campers!

 

- John


High Sierra Sport Company

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Hey there, Camp Aficionados!

Today I want to tell you about another great company whose products can be found right here at Everything Summer Camp—it’s High Sierra Sport Company. Read on to discover some rich company history that dates back to the late forties, though the brand High Sierra Sport Company was not incorporated until 1978.

It doesn’t matter what kind of gear you’re getting from High Sierra—whether it’s luggage for summer camp, a convenient duffel for a hiking adventure, or even a backpack for something as simple as school, you can bet that it’s a high quality product you can count on because High Sierra backpacks are built to last.

High Sierra is one of the world’s most trusted brands, being the Official Supplier of bags to the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding, and U.S. Free Skiing. The fact that High Sierra’s bags see so much action just goes to show how resilient the bags are.

It all started in the late forties when a man named Harry Bernbaum bought surplus Army supplies and sold them to wholesalers and retailers. But the company evolved quickly and by 1978 Harry Bernbaum was exporting Levis to Japan in order to raise capital for a new company, H. Bernbaum Import & Export Company which would soon be renamed High Sierra Sport Company to better portray their outdoor product lines.

By the mid-eighties, High Sierra had established themselves as the go-to company for quality backpacks, duffel bags, canvas bags, luggage, outdoor tents, other outdoor gear, jackets, and gear for foul weather. And by the late nineties, the company had introduced new product lines to adventure travelers and winter sports.

Most recently, High Sierra has added the new Tech Series collection along with their Pack N Go duffel bags, new Ski and Snowboard bags as well as Day Packs and the Evolution Duffel Bag. Everything Summer Camp is delighted to work together with a company that’s so vested and successful in their line of work as we are.

Thanks for reading, Camp Fans. Till next time!

 

John


BYOB: Bring Your Own bobble

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Hey there, Camp Enthusiasts!

It’s my absolute pleasure to tell you about one of the amazing companies with whom we here at Everything Summer Camp have the absolute pleasure of doing business. At twenty-six years old, some might consider Everything Summer Camp a young company. But that’s nothing compared to our friends over at bobble.

If we’re young, then bobble’s a baby. It was only three years ago that they got started. And since 2010, bobble’s retail network has grown with ferocity! You can find a bobble water bottle in more than 35,000 stores across each and every one of the United States. They’re in nearly thirty-five countries spanning five continents! In only three years, bobble has sold millions of water bottles the world over!

That’s quite a feat.water-bottle-bobble-group-on-white

The good folks that work at bobble are like-minded, creative individuals with a love for design and the planet. Their reusable, filtered water bottles both change people’s drinking habits for the better and help to remove millions upon millions of discarded, single-serve, plastic water bottles from our planet.

bobble has given the world a sustainable, reusable, portable, filtered water bottle. bobble makes a good point that tap water, unfortunately of wavering quality, has become a second-rate source of water despite the fact that it’s free and widely available. The smart design of a portable, filtered bobble water bottle is you can still use tap as a source of water without concerning over the water’s purity!

Single-serve plastic water bottles all sell nothing but the concept of pure water. But you don’t know that bottled water is really any purer than the tap that comes out of your faucet! That’s why the filter is kind of ingenious! After achieving so much in their first three years, you might wonder to yourself, what else can they do?

To answer the question in their own words, “We’ve only begun. We’re peering around every corner, at each item in our everyday life, and asking ourselves, can we do better?…More often than not, the answer is yes.”

Thanks for reading, Camp Fans! Till next time.

 

- John


Leading Outdoor Apparel: Red Ledge

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Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

Today I want to tell you about a great company whose products can be found right here at Everything Summer Camp. Red Ledge—a leading brand in outdoor apparel and rain gear  for the avid outdoorsy folk—provides its customers with attractive, comfortable, technical, and affordable products.

Red Ledge, a very charitable company that’s been developing their products and satisfying their customers for over fifteen years, seems to really enjoy thinking outside of the box and going above and beyond in order to help those who are in need.Red Ledge Youth Jakuta Jacket - Red - Front

The Red Ledge mission statement reads, “Rain doesn’t have to be such a bad thing, it does so much good for the world and WE can too.” Everything Summer Camp is more than honored to be working alongside such a charitable business that gives so much back to emerging countries and the people in the world who are truly in need.

How does Red Ledge help others who need it? Well, this year they’ve funded their first water project completely through charity. Water, Red Ledge’s non-profit organization helps brings clean drinking water that’s actually safe to consume to the people in developing nations who don’t always have clean, safe drinking water readily available like we do in America.

And so, Red Ledge painstakingly designs an attractive rain-jacket along with other rain gear, producing performance-driven fabrics with technical features to provide their avid outdoorsy customers with suitable clothing that can stand up to the elements only to selflessly dish their profits out toward funding projects that help the needy.

They did it this year and they aim to continue funding future water projects in the coming year. In doing so, Red Ledge hopes to cut down the stereotypes and typical behavior of successful companies. Showing the world some class and initiative about issues in our modern world is a great way to start! When you buy a Red Ledge rain jacket, you are vicariously helping those who can use fresh and safe drinking water.

The gang here at Everything Summer Camp salutes you, Red Ledge. Thank you for showing the world the compassionate side of a company.

 

- John