Mike Parsons memoir extract
Backpacking’, which sold 60,000 copies. John Hillaby wrote his classic book‘ Journey Through Britain,’ after undertaking a walk from Land ' s End to John O ' Groats. Chris Townsend, on reading this, said;“ I hadn ' t realised such adventures were open to ordinary people like me.” Chris started backpacking immediately, first the Pennine Way, then many of the multi month long routes in the USA, pioneering a new route along the length of the Canadian Rockies. He has written an amazing 40 books, and still continues today!
History Flashback!
Thomas Hiram Holding established cycle camping in the 1890s and published his‘ Phantom kit’. This weighed only 6 lbs for tent, pegs and pwoles, ground sheet, ground blanket, down quilt, cooking apparatus, and sleeping bag. The Camtors‘ Itisa’ tent, developed in 1919, was considered‘ the perfect lightweight, single-pole tent’ it weighed 1lb 3 oz( NB this is 1919, the tent weighed less than 500g!) See my full Blacks story.
I got to know and supplied products to many of the movers and shakers of the backpacking boom period. They created a whole new community. Writing inspirational books, publishing and setting up the Backpackers club. Kate and Peter Lumley were influential in setting up the OWPG.
London office-based journalist Derrick Booth returned from a trip to America where he had met the Phoenix, USA based company called Camp Trails. Peter Lumley also liked his Camp Trails pack very much, taking weight off his bad shoulder. These new products were revolutionary in concept and oozed the American industrial high productivity of this period.
For me, as a designer, gear maker and gear user, the packs were both an inspiration and a severe threat to my business. I had an aluminium pack frame in my range. However, it was no match for the Camp Trails design, very effective and produced at low cost in the USA, and then in Eire.
I was very mindful that when the technology in an industry changes significantly, then the market leadership usually changes. Scary!
Gearing into action! A hip belt only functions correctly if the hip belt and upper shoulder strap attachment is the correct length for the wearer’ s back. The Camp Trails pack frame and fabric pack
History Cameo!
In 1948 Dick Kelty, a Californian outdoorsman, made a pack frame from aluminium tubing, curving the parallel vertical tubes to the shape of the wearer’ s back, an immediate improvement of balance compared to the straight-sided wooden‘ Trapper Nelson’ pack. One day, he noticed some friends were inserting the ends of the vertical tubes into the rear pockets of their jeans, thus taking the load off their shoulders! So he made a belt fastening around the waist which served the same purpose: inspiration! Kelty packs remained a minor‘ cult’ product until Camp Trails’ transformed the costs and logistics, welding the aluminium tubular frame in Arizona and sewing the packs in Mexico. combinations were rather complex for retailers.
I took 3-4 years learning how to bend aluminium tubing, using expansion bolts instead of welding, commissioning a custom made hydraulic powered machine to punch 12 holes at once which were used for the expansion bolts. The final design concept was 2 different frame sizes, each adjustable, with the option to fit any of 7 different packs.
My advertising promotion was‘ Tailor Make Your Own Pack’ and this became very successful.
P6 TOP Peter Lumley on the cover of Practical Camper, October 1975, P6 BOTTOM Early Karrimor equipment demo at a press launch in Dentdale, ABOVE Peter Lumley’ s wife Kath, who was involved in the formation of the OWPG
Summer 2025 OUTDOOR FOCUS 7