Hey there, Camp Enthusiasts!

Today’s blog post will discuss another one of the great companies whose excellent products we offer here at Everything Summer Camp. The last time we discussed such a business was with Crazy Creek. We learned about the rainy, horrible night that gave Rob Hart the idea for the Crazy Creek Chair and his good friend John who now owns the company.

This blog post features one of the coolest brands to buy since 1952! Kelty has established itself as the affordable and reliable place to go for outdoor, camping gear. Whether you’re an experienced camp buff or a nervous novice, Kelty gives everyone the confidence to really experience an involvement in nature and not have to avoid it.

For a few years in the late-forties and early-fifties, a carpenter named Dick Kelty started making packs out of his garage at home. He sold them to his friends and nearly made seven hundred dollars in his first year of business. Dick made each backpack frame by hand and welded them. His wife sewed them.

Business grew rapidly. In 1953, Kelty’s sales tripled. The next year, they doubled. A couple years after that, Dick quit his carpentry business to work on Kelty backpacks full-time.

I guess you could say that Kelty was hot from the start. It wasn’t long after that that, Kelty packs were used exclusively in an expedition for the first American ascent on the West Ridge of Mt. Everest. A couple years after that, Kelty was used again by National Geographic for an expedition in Antarctica! In 1975 they were used for the American ascent of K2.

Over the years Kelty has started offering a wider range of family and camping products like Kelty sleeping bags, kids sleeping bags, clothing, luggage, and child carriers. They’ve also revamped products. In 1974, they introduced their first internal frame backpack.

Today, Kelty continues adding to and improving upon the camping gear they offer. Most recently, in 2013, they introduced the first inflatable tent, the AirPitch™ along with DriDown™, their natural, hydrophobic down that isn’t scared of a little moisture.

Everything Summer Camp is more than happy to be doing business with a company that loves to evolve as much as we do. Thank you, Kelty.

Until next time. Thanks for reading, Campers!

- John

Hey, Camp Buddies!

Today’s blog post shines the spotlight on another company whose excellent product we offer. Previously, we took a look at Woolrich, discussing the products they make, their early beginnings, and the company’s longevity.

This blog post features everyone’s favorite camp chair place: Crazy Creek which has been bringing comfort to the outdoors since 1987. A very good year as it was the same one that delivered the birth of Everything Summer Camp!

It all started on a dark and stormy night in Colorado when Rob Hart and his Outward Bound campers found themselves wet, glum, and sitting on fallen logs and tree stumps. Camping is hard enough with weather that agrees, but without that weather, camping wasn’t very comfortable.

Rob knew it didn’t have to be that way, but how? He knew he wanted something better to sit on, but what? You can’t expect to go camping carrying a lawn chair on your back!

But it wasn’t long until the idea came to him, based on an old wooden canoe chair that Rob’s grandfather used to use on camping trips. Rob went straight to work creating many different designs and prototypes until he had come up with a warm, dry, and cushioned seat.

This was something he could relax in after a long, hard day of roughin’ it!

After quickly hiring his friend, John Elsberry as his business manager, Crazy Creek saw great success from their product. It became famous the world over. Finally!—a lightweight, portable, camping chair.

John went on to leave Crazy Creek after seeing it to such success and started a business of his own, Business Support Services. Crazy Creek then thrived for nearly a decade.

Sadly, nine years after John left the company, Rob Hart died in a tragic skiing accident. Fortunately for Rob’s family, the strong business he had created continues to support them with the help of Rob’s good friend and old business manager, John.

John and his wife, made arrangements to buy the company and with the help of everyone else at Crazy Creek, they keep up the excellent quality and service that the company started 26 years ago.

Everything Summer Camp is proud to offer these comfy camp chairs that have started such a craze! Thank you, Crazy Creek! And, as always, thanks to you for reading!

Hey, Camp Fans!

Just a few days ago we made a post on this blog about cool and interesting stories from companies with whom we do business. The other day’s blog post was about Kamik—the outdoor footwear and clothing place that got their start in 1932.

Today we’ll be taking a look at a company that got started over a hundred years earlier in 1830 by a man named John Rich who came to the United States from England and built his first woolen mill in Plum Run, Pennsylvania.

It’s funny to speak of Woolrich’s modest start—the company whose name has become globally synonymous with quality—but the company’s first sales came from men at the surrounding lumber camps. Rich would sell them socks, coverlets, and yarn from out of his mule cart.

Pretty humble beginnings.

But in the next fifteen years, he had built a new mill further down the road which still stands today in the little town of Woolrich, Pennsylvania which expanded the company’s products and sales. As people’s lifestyles changed along with the ever-changing world around them, Woolrich never failed to find new means of production and advancements in technology, keeping itself a healthy, thriving company.

Woolrich has witnessed a lot: the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, The Great Depression, both World Wars, the Cold War, the Space Race, and the emergence of the Digital Age—all of which influenced the changes and growth of Woolrich.

From wool bathing suits to hunting coats to vehicle robes and steamer rugs, Woolrich has certainly expanded its trade. They were even contracted by the government in the late thirties to outfit a three-year, Antarctic expedition led by Admiral Byrd.

Along the way, Woolrich has come to perfect their recipe of wool, cotton, and manmade fibers with their excellent clothing and heavenly bedding! Everything Summer Camp is more than happy to be working with a company that has so much history; it’s great to offer blankets from the same company that blanketed soldiers in the Civil War.

That’s all for today, Camp Fans. Until next time. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Enthusiasts!

When we first started this blog back in February, as an introduction I went over all the different topics we planned on posting about. Among a good handful of others, certain blog posts—such as this one—I’ll go into the intriguing details and stories of other companies with whom we do business.

On these posts, you’ll read all about companies who have become and still are essential to our country. Learn about the fun stories from companies like Columbia, 3 Cheers for Girls, and Crazy Creek—how their businesses got started and the success they’ve seen selling their particular products.

Today’s blog post concentrates on Kamik, a family-owned company based in Canada. Kamik has been successfully manufacturing and supplying footwear such as rain boots to Canada as well as the United States for over 100 years!

A lot has changed about the company since they first got their start in 1932—in fact, almost everything is different. They still make shoes, I guess. That’s about it. But in the midst of many modern companies shifting their business overseas, Kamik is still proud to be manufacturing their footwear with awesome success in North America.

Only several years after buying a footwear factory in Quebec, Mr. William Cook had to revamp the company’s products. They went from making old-fashioned women’s shoes to manufacturing modern footwear. This change ultimately saved the company from potentially closing its doors and losing the 200 jobs it provided.

Around the mid-forties, they were calling themselves General Footwear and in 1957, William Cook retired, leaving the company in the able hands of his son, Gordon.

Throughout the seventies, the company changed their name to Genfoot; and, though they wouldn’t really get to be known as Kamik until the nineties, they first started making footwear under the brand name Kamik which is the Inuit word for “foot covering”.

Not too long ago in 2003, Gordon Cook retired and his son Richard is now the president of the company. Kamik remains a thriving business that’s recently introduced a recyclable, PVC-free, synthetic rubber which keeps its flexibility and traction whether it’s a cold, wintry day or a summer camp scorcher.

As they say on their Web site, “We build footwear and clothing that let you embrace the elements and enjoy the outdoors in any weather.” So get into the Kamik spirit and enter the outdoors protected and ready!

Until next time, Readers! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John