Early 20th Century Cruiser And Explorer Tents

Possibly the most influential tent design of the 20th Century, but the impact on tent design wasn't felt until 50 years after it was first made. David Abercrombie's Ideal Cruiser and Explorer tent.
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[@MickAlderson]

My Boy Scout troop back in the 1960's had Explorer tents. They used an internal upright pole to support the center ridge bar rather than the external shear poles (forming an internal T pole), but the same basic design. They were great for week-long summer camps. Quite roomy for two boys for a week. Loved those tents. They were heavy, but a great design and quite easy to set up.

[@sargevining]

Yes. My Buddy Nathan has a later model A & F Cruiser that has a tee bar frame. I've gotten the dimensions from him and am in the process of fabricating one for my Cruiser. Once that's done, I'm going to see about making one for my Explorer. Thanks for watching!

[@WayPointSurvival]

I really enjoyed this! As always, your explanation and history is spot on and I appreciate the honesty and going back and fixing something and making a correction when necessary! If you ever decide to get rid of that tent, let me know!

[@sargevining]

Thanks! It was kind of a good way to kill two birds with one stone: correct the record and showcase the new tent. I might get buried with that tent----

[@greywindLOSP]

Excellent Sir, thank you....ATB

[@sargevining]

Thanks for watching!

[@57WillysCJ]

Good histoy lesson. John J. Rowland's Cache Lake Country starts with him as a timber cruiser. There were a lot of them where I live and I have a timber cruisers ax which you could call a double bit camp or boys ax. They could come in by canoe or the logging company would send in a crew with camp supplies. They would set up a place for camp, buck a bunch of firewood because the cruiser was paid more and they wanted him to do the survey not waste time around camp. Many forget how many wealthy people started out from Chicago to camp in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Many started with trains before moving to autos. Even stage and movie actors.

[@sargevining]

I think it was wise for Abercrombie to choose the name. Just about everybody back then knew what a forest cruiser was.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

This revision and extension of this video essay are very good. I was happy to revisit the company's history. I liked the side-by-side comparison of the two tents.

[@sargevining]

Thanks! I hope to put both of them up at the Kingsbury air fair in April.

[@tomconway8881]

Good video. Thanks

[@sargevining]

Thanks for watching!

[@Tipi_Dan]

This tent certainly filled a niche during a time--- bridging a gap from something like a Whelan to modern nylon. Especially for those unwilling to endure the rigors of tenting without mosquito net. To me the tent seemed ungainly. Better a Whelan with separate net. A similar minimalist approach to camping is the old Siberian/Nordic practice of constructing an open laavu--- a sort of half-tipi or round lean-to, partially open. These structures, built to various standards of permanence, included more temporary materials like hides or canvas or felt with bark bridging the gap to wattle and turf--- open-sided ones mostly retained for hunting camps. Today our closest rough-and-ready approximation is a diagonal fly tent. With a tarp and little tipi poles you can achieve a very similar open-air effect to this tent:

[@sargevining]

Keep in mind that at the beginning of the 20th Century, A & F marketed almost exclusively to the affluent who would be mor of the "unwilling to endure the rigors of tenting without mosquito net" type. As the century progressed, camping became more mainstream with a lot more city dwellers who had limited time on weekends so would be looking for something quick and easy to put up. Later in the century as Conservationism began to take hold, shelter methods that required felling or cutting vegetation began to be frowned up, exploding with full force into the Leave No Trace movement in the post WW2 period. What I love most about this period is the way that campcraft techniques of the late 19th century existed at the same time as modern techniques and gear in a situation similar to cavemen coexisting with dinosaurs. Thanks for watching!

[@paulotoole4950]

Would not the Stormhaven or Icelandic be the most sold tent? I can see the arguement against the bell as it was surplus. To add to something you have already said would not a modern material version with a hiking pole T pole be really interesting.

[@sargevining]

Both of those are essentially wall tents and, technically you are correct in that wall tents have been on the market for hundreds of years. I should have referred to these as trekking (or cruising), aka backpacking, tents. Yah, I do think a version of this design using a modern fabric would be great, and probably sell fairly well. Thanks for watching!

[@toml.8210]

No public park or campground would let you erect the cruiser tent, unless you bring your own supports. Public places don't allow you to string your tent between trees.

[@sargevining]

That's one of the main reasons why I do about 95% of my camping and backpacking in National Forests. Thanks for watching!

[@cliffordbaldwin9157]

Then why don’t they still sell them or somebody else pick it up and start selling it because I really like to look at that thing and thank you for the video very enjoyable

[@sargevining]

There's a lot of vintage gear that I think would be superior performers if made with moder materials. This thing weighs 8 pounds using cotton drill and non-breathable lightweight cotton. Make this out of something like sil-nylon and you'd really have something.

[@wetcanoedogs]

it's heavy and clumsy but just about all the gear was.

[@sargevining]

8 pounds wasn't bad in a world where canvas was king. If you look in the Tent Playlist, you'll see a link to a video about the first sub-four pound tent ever made. Thanks for watching!