1970s MYOG: The Frostline Company

Make Your Own Gear was big in the 1970s, even bigger than today. Here we learn about Frostline and we use one of their tent kits to show both the genius of Gerry Cunningham, which gives us an opening into the shelter systems of the latter part of the Backpacking Revolution.
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[@jamesellsworth9673]

My wife sewed several of these back in the day and we used them for all our family backpacking and camping adventures. Her mother sewed at a high level and had up-to-date upmarket machines. She was also available for advice as needed.

[@sargevining]

My best friend Mike's older brother was big into sewing Frostline stuff and that trickled down to Mike. But we wuz po folks and all I could afford was Army Surplus from Mickey Finn's on Elm Street and Sears where Dad worked and had a 10% discount.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

I LIKE how you put this video together, with the outdoor scenes as well as the armchair scenes.

[@sargevining]

That's the main reason behind the Big Steel Tent and why I need to have the electricity I have in it. I was able to shoot the outdoor parts, convert them from the HVEC format to MP4, and edit them into segments while I was out there. I need to tweak my personal filing system though as the biggest challenge was the editing at home with two folders with the same info in each, but one with the outdoor footage. My intention was to edit the whole video so I just copied the file with the research and photos into the portable hard drive and every time I needed something I had to figure out which folder named "Frostline" things were in. Lesson learned: do the outdoor editing in the field and finish the video at home with armchair stuff.

[@luddite2k465]

How fun! I had my mom make me a few of these kits back in the '70's. A down jacket and sleeping bag as well as a pair of gaiters. Got a lot of use from them :-)

[@sargevining]

I really like the vest, and am dying to find the down shirt. The sleeping bag is a keeper, too. I still have the temptation to make the Altra kit, but bounce back and forth about the ethics of making a collectible kit. Thanks for watching!

[@griffcrammond6640]

We finally 'retired' our yellow Trailridge II Frostline tent. My wife and I made it when we were first married in 1976 and we used it for years, with dogs, with kids, car camping and hiking. What a great, bomb-proof shelter. But sadly, it just wore out.

[@sargevining]

Fifty years ain't bad for a few yards of nylon. There's stuff on shelves today that would wear out if they sat there for a year. Thanks for watching!

[@behindthespotlight7983]

In the early 1980’s I hung around with men 15 years older than me who were all part of the backpacking revolution in the SF Bay Area. They took me to the old REI in Berkeley and bought me my first piece of gear. An Outdoor Products navy blue duffel style gym bag. A perfect cylinder shape (when stuffed full) and featuring wrap around handles crafted from seat belt material. Made in USA. That bag is now 42 years old. I somehow went from 10 to 52 in what seems like 20 years. I remember backpacking in the Western Sierras and seeing the older guys (which meant they were 25) wearing those super popular terry cloth crushable bucket hats. Remember those? Heck I was probably wearing a pair of OP shorts and blue Trax tennis shoes with a pair of Rags pants rolled up in my rented green Kelty pack. Rented from Mel Cottons in Milpitas, CA. All one need do to understand the manufacturing tragedy of globalism is compare what we used then compared to much of the Walmart level crap sold today. From knives to matches, to match safes, our gear was made in America and we still have most of it. Question to those who don’t mind reading longer comments: if you were lost in the woods would you rather have strike anywhere matches made by Ohio Blue packed in a Boy Scouts match safe, a Buck 110 and a legit Vietnam Era US GI poncho….or the stuff on the camping aisle at Walmart today? (deep sigh)

[@sargevining]

Yah, I often wonder what kind of math was used to make me go from 21 to 71 in 10 years. I have a bucket hat, just not one of the terry cloth ones (I probably should find one as they'd be good soaking up the sweat generated by hiking in the heat and humidity of coastal Texas). Cut offs, combat boots, and a concert tee shirt was my style. I agree on the diminishment in quality of mainstream outdoor goods, but there are still a number of domestic cottage vendors making packs, tents, and hammock systems that have the "expedition level" quality of the past, and I think there always will be. The tragedy is that the material is all made overseas now. (one of the reasons I like making 1920s/30s reproductions is that there's been a revival of heritage natural fiber fabrics made here in the US) But, even with the lower quality Walmart stuff, the real limitation is knowledge and experience. If you know the limitations of your gear, you can make it last.

[@charleschristensen663]

I dearly miss Frostline! Assembled quite a few of their kits and some still in use.

[@sargevining]

I haven't seen any Frostline kit that was put together poorly, that's the amazing thing to me. A great number of these were put together by folks with no sewing experience, and no KZbin channels to show them how to sew. Thanks for watching!

[@markbrandli]

I for one am thankful for the " bathtub " floor design that SEARS used in a HUGE tent my father bought in 68 to 70 ... six kids a dog and 2 adults were camping at a state park near Hot Springs Arkansas , Dad chose poorly on a campsite ( it was a low area ) because in the middle of the night a huge rainstorm came and flooded the camp with 6-7 inches of water , the tent did not leak any where top or bottom but it was like sleeping on a water bed. In the morning you could see the " wallered-out " spots where every one had slept , quite uneasily I might add . We were wondering if the tent would come unstaked and float away .... we had many family camping adventures like that. As for the hat ... I grew-up in Texas but I grew to favor the Dorfman Pacific canvas hat , it stayed on the head better. Thanks for another wonderful lesson . See you on the Guild.

[@sargevining]

I had a similar experience at Turner Falls campground in OK. In that case, I heard the flash flood come roaring down the creek bed before the rain hit. Luckily, I didn't get the campsite I wanted and was a bit higher up than the guy who did.

[@ScottCarlson-cz7wj]

During the later 1970's, during Jr. and Sr. High, my Dad, seeing the future, made me take typing 1, 2 ,3, and home-ec. One skill we learned was basic sewing. I recall several students (not me, no $) sewing Frost-line, ect. vests.

[@sargevining]

I took they typing classes, which later got me a job in Army Communications, but like you, I couldn't afford anything fancier that Army Surplus. Thanks for watching!

[@ScottCarlson-cz7wj]

I wrenched and inspected in the USAF ( which later got me 36 yrs inspecting at boeing). My Dad, brother, and I are all hams. My Dad played with an army surplus teletype on the air for years; fun stuff. Thxs for your service.

[@FredFreiberger-pk6wc]

Sadly people don't build things anymore I just subbed you thanks to James Bender for suggesting your channel

[@sargevining]

Thanks for watching! You'd be surprised how many gear makers there are out there. There's a bit of a resurgence in sewing stuff, but these days its mostly men sewing camping gear where in the past it was mostly women sewing garments. Getcher self a sewing machine and join in on the fun!

[@DF4Trap]

Enjoyed the presentation, thank you for sharing.

[@sargevining]

Thanks for watching. Poke around in the playlists, you'll likely find more that you'd like.

[@aureomiragliagundefensesys4401]

Awesome history!!!

[@sargevining]

Thanks for watching!

[@clintstinkeye5607]

I dunno, sir. I was a youngster in Texas during the 1970's. I wore a Lone Star baseball cap with squirrel tails hanging from it, 'cept for the bill. Kept my ears and neck warm in the winter and MY squirrel tails were much fluffier than most. I was proud of my tails.

[@sargevining]

Thanks for watching! Everybody I knew had either a crushed straw hat or a 30 year old Stetson they'd gotten from Paw Paw. 'Course we weren't youngsters, just foolish manchildren in our 20s.

[@ROE1300]

👍 Nice history lesson of 2 innovators of the the 20th Century. Plus, more examples of people developing a great idea into a successful business venture than cashing out by selling to large corporations. Ahhh, the American Dream.

[@sargevining]

Well, in Gerry's case it wasn't cashing out, he was getting cash to expand his business. He just didn't realize he was selling his soul to the corporate devil (and I suspect Dale might have advised him to do it). He stayed with the company for a couple of years, but the change from working out of his home in Ward to having to put on a suit and go into the office in Denver just to do battle with bean counters didn't suit him, so he walked away and Dale did the same at around the same time. The ironic thing is that one of the things Gerry did battle with the bean counters was about the CWD pack, which the company finally did release after Gerry's departure. I don't think Dale cashed out as much as he could see what was on the horizon. We'll be talking about that in a future video. I was going to shoot that this weekend, but I just made a deal for an artifact to use and it won't be here until Wednesday or Thursday. The good news there is that might mean I get to spend another couple of days in the woods setting up tents-----

[@ROE1300]

@@sargevining Corporate America has and has always had one goal, increase shareholder equity. Which if you are a shareholder is not a bad thing. If that can be done through innovation and manufacturing quality products, great; if it can be accomplished by expense cutting (labor), reducing the quality of the products, reducing or increasing products sold, that is “OK” as well. Anyone who does not understand that is naive. Gerry & Dale don’t seem like naive guys to me; so, I would argue they saw a good payday by selling their companies and possibly thought they would have some input as they became part of the corporation (perhaps they were a bit naive). It is typical when a large company buys a smaller company to keep the previous owners on board for a couple years to provide an image of continuity for customers. I did not intent to disparage Gerry or Dale, by selling their companies to large corporations probably made good business sense at the time. After all, the goal of every company (large or small) should be to make money for the owners. In any event, here is wishing you luck on spending some days in the woods playing with new toys.

[@57WillysCJ]

Those kits were the bees knees back then. I would like to see them produced today but they pay so little for sewing they make more profit. The puffer coat has been the go to emergency jacket since they hit the market. Just about every outdoor book back then said to carry one stuffed as small as possible, but carry one. Ha my strraw hat is so bad off that I super glued it together because it's hard to replace and that one won't be work hardened. Say what knife were you carrying out with the tent set up?

[@sargevining]

There are a couple companies today that cater to MYOG, but its mainly fabric and patterns and the biggest portion of that sector is in the hammock camping community. I don't know how much savings we could get out of kits these days unless the patterning is done overseas, and for the same reason the sewing is done overseas. I've had the had for at least 20 years. I bought it when my late wife and I got a place out in the country and I needed to look cool while mowing the back 40 on the lawn tractor. The knife is a Kephart clone made from an Old Hickory butcher knife by a "local craftsman" who made the sheath as well. I know why Kephart preferred the style. Best genera duty knife I've ever owned.

[@57WillysCJ]

I use my Condor Kephart most of the time, but second is a camp knife from Russell Green River.@@sargevining