CamelBak is an outdoors equipment company based in Petaluma, California, best known for its hydration products. CamelBak is also a supplier of hydration packs, protective gear, and other products to the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies around the world.
The company was founded in 1989 by bicycle enthusiast, Michael Eidson. He was competing in the "Hotter'N Hell 100," a 100-mile road race in the grueling summer heat of Wichita Falls, Texas. Water is vital to surviving the race, and there were few places to refill a water bottle. Eidson, an emergency medical technician by trade, decided to fill an IV bag with water and slip it into a white tube sock. Then he stuffed the contraption into the back of his bike jersey, threw the thin hose over his shoulder and clamped it with a clothespin.
Hands-free hydration was born.
Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines: Have a news tip? Email us at snewsedit@aimmedia.com This weekend: SNEWS Assistant Editor Amelia Arvesen is heading to Bend, Oregon, to attend a new outdoor festival called Outdoor City USA. Bikes will be abundant, ...read more
Maybe you've lost count of the number of Outdoor Retailer shows you've attended. Or maybe you're new to the industry, but have been a gearhead for years. To ace this quiz, you have to know which big outdoor conglomerates own which brands. Think you can score a perfect 10? This ...read more
Keep up by reading Industry Buzz. Here are today's top headlines: Have a news tip? Email us at snewsedit@aimmedia.com ICYMI: Black Diamond cut 70 positions from its manufacturing division last week. Their last days are between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31. The move is part of the brand's ...read more
"Excuse me. Can you tell me where the CamelBaks are?" I asked a hovering, green-vested employee in a big metro REI store last fall. "We don't carry CamelBak anymore," she said. Obviously well-versed, she continued, "Their parent company also owns a semi-automatic rifle ...read more
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You most likely have more than one drinking vessel. The dozen backups in your cupboard at home. The extra few at work. The forgotten one rolling around in the trunk of your car. Then, the chosen one you never leave home without. This summer, we want you to bring that one to ...read more
Last year, the Super Bowl, one of the largest events in the country with more than 100,000 attendees, sought to keep 90 percent of waste out of landfills and send 10 percent to a waste-to-energy plant. Due to its magnitude, some were skeptical. But they pulled it off. Now, it's ...read more
When baristas offer single-use cups and food vendors offer reusable utensils, most of us have begun to say, "No, thanks, I'll use my own." We do this because we understand that single-use plastic is a burden to our beloved planet. As we count down to Outdoor Retailer Summer ...read more
Truth: Single-use plastic sucks. We all know it. So let’s do something about it at our biggest convergence as an industry: Outdoor Retailer. Minimizing our impact on the planet is central to so many of our brands, yet we consume untold amounts of single-use plastic at our most ...read more
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Whether you're mountain biking, running, or hiking, water is a must. And if you'd prefer to drink on the go, hydration packs are the best option over water bottles. Vote for your favorite brand and then tell us in the comments what outdoor activity you use a hydration pack for ...read more
CamelBak, a global leader in personal hydration gear for nearly three decades, has a new president. Greg Williamson fills the new role. He brings to the table two decades of experience in consumer products and large global brands, most recently serving as chief marketing officer ...read more
How good of an investment is the outdoor and recreation industry on Wall Street? A SNEWS analysis shows the sector has outpaced broader market indices such as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average with healthy gains during the past five years, albeit still lagging behind ...read more
Today, Vista Outdoor Inc. reported that it’s exploring the idea of selling off Savage Arms, the maker of semi-automatic weapons and the brand that was at the heart of a boycott back in early March. According to a press release issued by Vista’s media relations department, the ...read more
When Backcountry Hunters & Anglers President Land Tawney reflects on the history of land and wildlife preservation in the U.S., he notes how great things have been accomplished during times of darkness. In the early 1900’s market killers were wiping out big game to put food on ...read more
REI has placed a hold on future orders with Vista Outdoor brands, such as CamelBak and Giro, as a global gun control debate mounts. The U.S. cooperative's decision comes the same day as its counterpart in Canada, Mountain Equipment Co-op, severed ties with several outdoor brands ...read more
Everyone in this industry knows the problem by now: The rise of online shopping has turned the traditional outdoor marketplace on its head. Consumers now turn to the internet first when they need new gear; brands seize the chance to sell it directly through their own websites or ...read more
Last month, the Department of the Interior abruptly ended a six-year-old ban on the sale of bottled water at some of our largest National Parks. The intention of the original ban was simple: allow parks to opt-in to a process to eliminate the sale of single-use plastic bottles ...read more
It is 2017, and we are now #adultsummercamping. Don’t judge: That’s pretty much the No. 1, unspoken rule of the wild and wonderful new CamelBak Pursuit Series. It is the opposite of the “Gore-Tex Vortex” you’ll find in places like Boulder, and it’s a beginner outdoorist’s ...read more
*This article is part of our summer-long outdoor events series. Nylon and mesh UFOs float in an aspen grove at the base of Deer Valley Resort in Utah. As I step into the trees, I spot ratchet straps anchored to tree trunks. Lofted tents and hammocks take shape. “Come on up,” ...read more
Sally McCoy womansplains the outdoor industry When Sally McCoy was 10 years old, her father asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. “A ranger,” she told him, because it was the only job she knew of at the time that would let her work outside. “‘That’s good,’” she ...read more
After 9 years as the company’s CEO, Sally McCoy, announces her resignation from CamelBak today. McCoy spoke exclusively with SNEWS about her departure: “You know the old saying ‘Leave your campsite better than you found it?’ I feel 100% confident that I’ve done that with ...read more
