Outdoor Equipment Has Come a Long Way

If you plan on enjoying the great outdoors, you will be taking part in a tradition that stretches back into antiquity. Mankind lived outdoors before we invented- or at least borrowed from caves; the idea of indoors. The first attempts at creating shelter were tents, and conveniently enough tents are still used in camping, hiking, and backpacking today. In fact, tents represent just one of a number of pieces of outdoor equipment that most enthusiasts own.

Back in the age where the full time occupation of humanity was the hunter gatherer lifestyle, we followed a nomadic lifestyle. This wandering took us into climates that were not always friendly to our sensibilities. The simplest and most effective way to deal with that was to take shelter during the night, as well as in inclement weather. Tents were an effective form of shelter because the tribe could bring tents with them wherever they went. They could fold up and easily transport over rough terrain.

The first tents were made of animal skins, with wood making up the frame of the tent. The process of tanning turned the skins into highly durable leather, rather than mere animal skins that would decompose quickly. The tanned hides could be rolled around the wooden frame to protect it while in transport.

But how do you carry a tent around? Opposable thumbs are great and all, but they don't seem to be much use for heavy lifting. (Seriously; try supporting a large amount of weight with your thumb sometime and tell me how that goes for you) Well, ancient men also had the foresight to invent several other things, one of which was the pack. Today there's an entire outdoor activity named after the pack; backpacking.

Modern backpacks, tents, and other outdoor equipment bear little resemblance to their ancient predecessors. For one, instead of being used in daily life, and meant to hold up to the wear and tear of use over the years, modern outdoor equipment is built for minimalists. It is all about the lightest weight materials providing the most impact per ounce. Whether it's your backpack, your tent, or your clothes, everything is min/maxed to the extreme.

That maxim holds true for almost all outdoor activities as well. Mountain bikes, kayaking, snow sports, climbing; they all attempt to give you the lightest weight equipment that will perform the job. This leads to interesting marriages of technology and the ruggedness of nature. Carbon fiber tent poles combine with space age fabrics... and sit on dirt and rocks. The irony inherent in the mating of two such divergent worlds should not be lost on any outdoorsman.