Post-war America turned camping into a national pastime. After the National Park and Forest Services were established, and especially once surplus military gear flooded the market, families packed heavy canvas tents into the car and headed for the parks. Baby boomers — born between 1946 and 1964 — grew up on those trips, and the way they camped looks almost nothing like today's ultralight, tech-loaded version of the same hobby.
The old tents were brutal by modern standards. Military-surplus canvas models came with metal poles described by one writer as roughly sharpened angle iron — replace a lost one with iron pipe. Most had no floor, so you either brought a cot or slept on dirt. The canvas wasn't waterproof either: touch the roof during rain and it leaked. Campers dug trenches around their tents just to stay dry. Meanwhile, kitchens got emptied into the trunk — regular pots, plates, a tea kettle, and in one family's case, a cast iron skillet measuring about 32 inches across and weighing 35-plus pounds, used to fry eggs, bacon and lake fish for groups on multi-week Canadian wilderness expeditions.
Some of what's changed is clearly for the better. Nobody should envy the boomer habit of drinking straight from mountain streams — the National Park Service now warns that even crystal-clear water can carry bacteria, viruses and parasites, and dozens of Pacific Crest Trail hikers caught norovirus in May 2026, with at least one needing an air rescue. Filtration and purification aren't optional anymore, right down to brushing your teeth. Clothing has changed too: cotton and blue jeans gave way to synthetics after outdoor culture adopted the grim maxim "cotton kills" — wet cotton dries slowly and can contribute to hypothermia in cold conditions.
But not everything old deserves the bin. Camping gear was once just household stuff, and the writer's point is fair: car campers don't need a marketing-approved lightweight pan when the cast iron at home does the job better. And navigation is the habit most worth reclaiming. GPS and trail apps fail — the National Park Service itself warns that popular apps give inaccurate directions in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, sending drivers the wrong way down one-way roads or to dead ends. A paper map and a compass, plus the skills to use them, are cheap insurance in remote areas with no signal.
For anyone planning a camping trip this year, the takeaway is a sensible blend: take the modern wins (water purification, synthetic or fleece layers, lighter shelters), but keep a map in the pack and remember that the priciest gear in the shop was never the point of camping in the first place.
