EW catalogelling also
seen.Please Note: All Material below, and in all my "History of Gear" webpages, is copyrighted, and no usage of my material is permitted unless explicit permission is granted by me, Bruce B. Johnson, owner of OregonPhotos.com...... Editors: Please contact me if you have interest in publishing....Others: if you were involved with one of the old-line, vintage gear companies and have a story to tell in these pages, please contact me soon.
EW catalogelling also
seen.There are those who remember EW's earliest tents with great admiration and fondness. The first to be introduced was in 1972, a radically-styled, expedition capable tent named the "Omnipotent." (see uppermost tent in image above).... Later, in 1976, came the Goretex "Light Dimension.".... The Omnipotent was a non-Goretex, double-wall tent designed by Mr. Nicolai, reputedly after the failure of his traditional A-frame tent nearly led to his death on Early Winters Spire in the North Cascades of Washington State...He was a poor young man then, but his innovative direct marketing through catalogs grew his small company quickly.. By 1976, he introduced The Light Dimension, a single-wall Goretex design that some claim was a FIRST in the industry. There was also a fun little one-man, goretex mini-tent named whimsically "The Pocket Hotel," weight about 2 lbs. 4 oz., which included its four tent stakes!
If claims are true, then Early Winters company would merit a HISTORY OF GEAR AWARD, and that would be: DOUBLE FIRSTS-- FIRST TO USE GORETEX IN A GARMENT, and FIRST TO USE GORETEX IN A TENT, both in 1976.
A bit later, in 1978, EW introduced a Goretex geodesic dome designed by tent designer Bob Howe (see link). It was named the "Starship" (in image at page top, the Starship is on the lower right).
OCTOBER 2007 ALERT: MY BOOK ABOUT FROSTLINE KITS IS NOW PUBLISHED. IT CONTAINS A GOOD DEAL OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND NEW PHOTOGRAPHY. PLEASE VISIT MY FROSTLINE PAGE IF INTERESTED. NEAR THE TOP OF THAT PAGE YOU WILL SEE A "BANNER" THAT YOU CLICK ON TO GET TO MY PUBLISHER. NOTE: My next two books will cover the stories of Holubar and GERRY, and are already well underway.
I would highly appreciate READER INPUT ABOUT the Early Winters tents, AND ALSO WHAT BECAME OF THE FOUNDER, MR. NICOLAI...CONTACT ME.
Please Note: All Material above, and in all my "History
of Gear" webpages, is copyrighted, and no usage of my material
is permitted unless explicit permission is granted by me, Bruce
B. Johnson, owner of OregonPhotos.com. Editors: Please contact me if you have interest
in publishing....Others: if you were involved
with one of the old-line, vintage gear companies and have a story
to tell in these pages, please contact me soon.
