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The Legendary Eddie Bower: America’s Down Jacket King
Are we prepared for just a little Eddie Bauer historical past lesson? Are you prepared to find who’s Eddie Bauer? Classic Eddie Bower is among the most attention-grabbing manufacturers of all time. For 40 years, Eddie Bower himself was the authority on down jackets. Right this moment, we’re relating what made him that legend.
Increase! Eddie Bower strikes into full wartime manufacturing and makes 1,000 sleeping luggage for the US navy, sends them to the US Army, and so they principally say, “Holy crap, you are the only actual company that did this. Everybody else is delinquent. Can you make more?”
Most down jackets, , you might actually crush them and compress them. The B9 has so many feathers that it’s identical to a rock. I keep in mind my uncle telling me in Russia that they had these massive jackets stuffed with goose down. It may appear type of ineffective at first, however we now have a really quick zipper. It really solely goes to right here. We now have all this further room. Why is that? And that is the start of the story.
Seize Your Popcorn For This Epic Clothes Model Story
Please strap in, get some popcorn and a sizzling beverage, and take heed to considered one of my favourite clothes model tales of all time. Eddie Bower was a bit totally different clothes model when Mr. Bower himself was on the helm of the corporate, and by a bit totally different, I imply the best American out of doors clothes model of all time.
I’m at present carrying the jacket Mr. Bower himself designed to get America on the highest of Mount Everest. It’s a tank and it’s referred to as the Everest Parka.But in addition, there’s a jacket from 1943, and if you happen to have been flying a aircraft in 1943, you wished this jacket. This was the best jacket you might probably get.
He was so genius that principally all the United States navy stored calling Eddie Bauer and being like, “You got to help us,” to the purpose the place once they ran out of feathers and down plumes, which we’re going to distinguish these two as a result of these are crucial, they referred to as Eddie and have been like, “What can you do?” And he was like, “Oh, I have an idea. Curl chicken feathers! Feather fill!” Attention-grabbing.
The Man Who Made Down Jackets Well-known
I do know I mentioned this one million billion instances, however the massive factor with Eddie Bauer historical past is that he’s the man who popularized down jackets. We’re going to skip that half. That is most likely his second most well-known jacket ever created.
That is the K2, referred to as the “finest cold weather high altitude article of clothing I have ever seen,” by a person who fell off of K2, one of the crucial harmful mountains on the planet.
Level of all that is Eddie Bower and his spouse, as soon as they retired from creating this model, which was on the time thought-about one of many best out of doors clothes manufacturers, they received tennis, {golfing}, extra capturing competitions, and a canine competitors. They carried perfectionism all through their complete life.
They dominated all the things. So it’s solely becoming that in the event that they made a clothes model, it will be the best on the planet, and for some time, it actually undisputably, was. The Bowers died inside 15 days of each other, and Eddie Bower referred to as Stine Bower his best out of doors companion. Stine Bower was additionally a unbelievable painter. I very very similar to her work.
From Russia To Seattle: The Bower Household Story
Eddie Bower was born in America, however his household came to visit from Russia and cozied as much as the Dennys, who have been principally the founding members of Seattle. They have been making Seattle, and so they obtained so cozy with them they gave the Bowers 2 acres of land in downtown Seattle, which that’s like an unfathomable amount of cash.
That’s an unbelievable worth right this moment. Eddie Bower’s dad, a crack businessman, bought it 9 years after he obtained it so he may go work at a plum farm and dry prunes. So, oops.
Shuttlecocks And The Start Of A Business Empire
Quick ahead just a little bit, and Eddie Bower is assembly rich land homeowners and serving to them farm recreation birds and all the things like that, entering into the enterprise, and he begins his first enterprise: Eddie Bower’s deal with store.
It primarily focuses on restringing tennis rackets and badminton rackets as a result of badminton and simply out of doors leisure actions, basically, have been getting very talked-about across the Nice Melancholy. Shuttlecocks have been wanted for badminton, however the shuttlecocks have been very costly as a result of they have been coming from Europe. So Eddie mentioned, “I can fix that,” and he did.
Shuttlecocks, as , across the exterior importantly use feathers, so Eddie needed to meet individuals that might get him feathers. The enterprise exploded, and hastily, he was like, “Wow, I need my own shuttlecock factory,” which he made proper above his deal with store.
Bing, bang, increase! He has a flourishing enterprise, cash is coming in, and he is aware of loads of rich individuals. Money is essential. That’s the massive theme right here.
The Close to-Demise Expertise That Modified Every part
The genius factor for Eddie, although, is that he ran a seasonal enterprise as a result of when it obtained chilly, most individuals didn’t care if their tennis or badminton rackets weren’t robust. They didn’t want shuttlecocks.
So Eddie left, and he went searching and fishing and doing all this nice enjoyable out of doors stuff. On a kind of journeys, Eddie had a giant factor of fish on his again, and he mentioned to his buddy, “Here, take my really heavy wool coat, ’cause these fish are heavy,” after which he basically died. He virtually died.
I assumed Eddie Bower was saying the issue along with his wool jacket was that he took it off as a result of it was too heat, however in actuality, what he mentioned on this interview was he took it off as a result of it was too heavy, and he wished to create a down jacket as a result of that was mild sufficient the place he didn’t care concerning the further weight on his again when he was trekking by the woods holding one thing that was additionally very heavy. It was to save lots of weight, not add heat.
Inside Eddie’s Thoughts: The Start Of The Down Jacket
So I’m assuming Eddie Bower recovers from his hypothermia, and he’s like, “Oh, wait a minute, the solution is I remember my uncle telling me in Russia they had these big jackets filled with goose down. My shuttlecocks use feathers. I think I saw this advertisement in 1928 about a sleeping bag with baffled feathers. I’ll put all that together and make a really light jacket.”
And the ultimate factor that type of tied all the things collectively was that Eddie Bower was already a profitable businessman who was doing effectively and had purchasers that have been additionally doing very, very effectively as a result of wool was far cheaper than down and feathers as a result of the US didn’t have loads of byproducts from waterfowl. That simply wasn’t within the weight loss program of the American individuals.
Alaskan Bush Pilots And The Down Flight Go well with
The vital factor about this jacket was Eddie Bauer made a down jacket after I really feel like everyone else was making an attempt to decrease prices together with engineering it to be lighter at each potential place that he might be with the material, with the fill, all the things like that.
We’ll discuss what mode my hood is in proper now, however basically, Eddie Bauer’s jackets, as I mentioned, have been successful proper out of the gate. Individuals love them, particularly skilled pilots.
The down parka and the down trousers, when put collectively, made the down flight swimsuit, and Alaskan bush pilots have been like, “This is the most amazing jacket I’ve ever had in my entire life.” After which, hastily, all the things modified very, very quick.
When Conflict Calls: Eddie Bower Solutions
There was a ship going from Seattle to Alaska that sunk, and on that ship, there have been down sleeping luggage, a bunch of different chilly climate gear, and snow shoots, most significantly. So what occurred was the US authorities, the navy, referred to as Eddie Bower and mentioned, “Eddie, it’s gone time.
You must get each single chilly climate sleeping bag and chilly climate gear you’ll be able to probably get in the USA of America and ship it to us now.” Planes are flying, struggle is happening, Saving Non-public Ryan is being filmed, all these things is occurring.
And Eddie Bower calls the USA out of doors American legends themselves: Mr. Leon Leonwood Bean, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Fitch, Mr. Woods. Legends of the USA out of doors service, no matter you need to name it, are being phoned by the legend himself, Eddie Bower, and Eddie’s saying, “Send everything!”
The Wartime Manufacturing Mastermind
So now vans in Maine, Wisconsin, New York Metropolis, and throughout all the nation are being loaded up with the best gear the nation could make and being despatched to Seattle to Eddie Bower’s home, the place he’ll then distribute them. Increase! One other bomb drops. Rapidly, the US authorities says there isn’t a business use of feathers or down merchandise in any respect. Must go to the navy.
So Eddie Bower collaborates with Geese Limitless and says, “Hey, hunters all around the United States, if you are shooting waterfowl, send in the feathers, send in the down to me. I will clean them. We need them for the war.”
Increase! Eddie Bower strikes into full wartime manufacturing and makes 1,000 sleeping luggage for the US navy, sends them to the US Army, and so they principally say, “Holy crap, you are the only actual company that did this. Everybody else is delinquent. Can you make more?”
Eddie Bower makes a thousand extra, and the US navy is actually like, “This guy is our guy. Eddie Bower is our guy.” The federal government orders 10,000 pack boards and requests them to be delivered in 2 days. Eddie Bower pulls in one other producer. They hit the deadline.
Since Eddie Bower designed the jacket that everyone was copying, he was means quicker. He was undercutting the competitors. He was making issues cheaper, higher, and quicker, and even packing them extra effectively so you might retailer extra and transport extra on the similar time, lower your expenses, and be simpler. A monster!
The Legendary B9 Parka: A Beast Of A Jacket
I’m carrying the legend from that period—the B9 Parka. That is an extremely heavy jacket, one due to the supplies on the within, and it’s very lovely, and that is like silk.
It’s beautiful. However this isn’t stuffed solely with down. It’s down and feathers as a result of the US didn’t have a surplus of each.
One 12 months earlier than this precise jacket is made, Eddie Bower will get a name that claims, “Hey Eddie, I know you’re making 200,000 sleeping bags a year for us, but we need you on something even more important in Ohio. Please get here immediately.” Eddie Bower says, “Sorry that your voice cracked. That was awkward.”
That decision that Eddie Bauer obtained was basically the US navy saying, “Hey, design this jacket, the B9 Parka, a jacket that needs to keep a pilot warm at -70° for 3 hours while they are flying a plane.”
It’s not the puffiest jacket on the planet, however wow, I do. I overheat in it very, very quick. It’s like 30 exterior, in order that’s most likely why.
B9 Parka Tech Specs: Rock-Strong Heat
Most down jackets, , you might actually crush them and compress them. The B9, this one particularly, has so many feathers that it’s identical to a rock. It doesn’t actually compress, and that makes it means, means heavier.
Your complete sleeve is strengthened with one other layer of cotton. We even have this double gusset system beneath the arm to present you much more mobility. It may appear type of ineffective at first, however we now have a really quick zipper.
It really solely goes to right here. We now have all this further room. Why is that? Nearly all of the time that you simply’re carrying this jacket, you may be sitting down.
Then, lastly, we now have this large bump on the again of my neck. I feel I’m doing this proper. That is the collar mode of a mouton hood. It converts right into a hood that you might put on like a daily hood, and it’s not a giant large hood that goes over your face.
It’s for max visibility, so you’ll be able to look out aspect to aspect, but in addition, it was crucial that this hood was sealed fully round your face to maintain within the most quantity of heat.
However one thing we even have proper here’s a actually cool neck wind blocker, and what I like about it’s what number of instances we will tighten it.
The K2 Jacket And An Epic Mountaineering Story
K2, the second-highest mountain on the planet, is among the most harmful mountains on the planet. This can be a jacket that was designed for climbing, and this jacket, this particular one which I’m carrying proper now, this unhealthy boy was owned beforehand by a mountaineer, somebody that was climbing mountains, and the person carrying it virtually died on Mount Whitney. So that is actually as powerful as it may get.
And a lot of the climbers have been from Seattle, so clearly they went as much as their man Eddie Bower and mentioned, “Hey, can you design us a jacket that is very light, very strong, gives us a lot of movement?” It additionally ought to have the ability to be cinched across the waist and, though I don’t actually use this one a lot in any respect, ought to have the ability to be cinched down across the backside of the jacket as effectively.
Eddie Bower mentioned, “Absolutely! I would freaking love that. That is great marketing for me. Let’s go, boys!” So that they got down to do it, and so they obtained all the best way to Camp 8, after which there was a horrible storm. So that they hunkered down for some time, after which a person named Artwork Gilkey was going from one tent to a different.
He was a geologist—not that that issues for the story. On his means, he collapsed from ache in his leg that he thought was a cramp. His legs have been clotting, each of them, which is clearly no good when you must climb one of the crucial harmful mountains on the planet.
The Belay Heard Round The World
Right here’s the place the Eddie Bauer historical past lesson will get thrilling! So, the staff deserted their climb and began to go right down to Camp 7. Descent was going fairly effectively, however hastily George Bell slips and falls and principally begins a sequence response, and 5 different males begin falling as effectively.
Pete Schoening, the youngest member of the staff and one of many members who didn’t have expertise climbing mountains this excessive, is on the prime with a belay, an ice axe, and a boulder in entrance of him. All people’s falling. He begins to see the slip. He clams his ice axe behind the boulder, holds on, and arrests the autumn of all the males.
There was a brand new nylon rope that they mentioned stretched to half its size, nevertheless it nonetheless held, and that complete group of males was dangling as Pete Schoening was simply being the freaking Hulk. And the rationale they mentioned that they had him on the precise expedition was as a result of he at all times had a cheery demeanor.
Regardless that the climb was not successful, the story is clearly a legend, and the jacket that went with it was referred to as one of many best chilly climate excessive altitude jackets ever made, and the press was insane. The story is that Kara Koram was born.
The “Strange” Eddie Bower Model
I made a brief about this jacket and this masks already, and I mentioned Eddie Bower was once just a little unusual. Individuals took situation with the truth that I mentioned “strange.” Are we seeing the identical factor? Does this not appear unusual to you? Do you see this while you stroll your canine daily?
All people’s like, “Hey neighbor, how’s it going?” That is Eddie Bower’s down balaclava masks from the Nineteen Seventies. Huge ribbing within the again. It is rather heat in your face. I can’t think about climbing a mountain carrying this and sweating into this. I really feel like it will be depressing.
Conquering Everest: The Iconic Expedition Jacket
In any case, that is the jacket that was made for America to get on prime of Mount Everest, particularly by a person named Jim Whitaker, though his brother was additionally very concerned, his twin brother Lou Whitaker.
And it’s cool to see this historical past as a result of there are nonetheless like 4K interviews with Jim Whitaker, which is superior. Looks like a really good man.
That is that jacket designed to climb Mount Everest, and it does look so much cooler when Jim Whitaker, who’s a lot greater than me, is standing on Mount Everest waving the USA flag and carrying it.
You wouldn’t assume it’s the identical jacket. It’s only a monster of down. That’s actually it. And it additionally makes use of a brand new enjoyable—effectively, two enjoyable applied sciences: the primary one is velcro, after which, after all, we’re utilizing nylon now.
This jacket is completely simply stuffed to the gills with down, and the massive level of nylon was you might make the jacket even lighter and stuff extra down in it to make it heat whereas having it’s actually, actually compressible. In order that’s the massive deal right here. And oh, and we now have this hood, which jogs my memory of a extremely unhealthy hair dye job.
Wolverine fur on the within as a result of that’s probably the most frost resistant, after which coyote guard fur on the surface to complete the job to maintain just a little heat pocket of air round your face so your breath doesn’t freeze.
Jim Whitaker’s Epic Comeback Line
The best story about Jim, effectively, apart from climbing Mount Everest, the good story is 50 years after his ascent at an occasion celebrating his ascent, his jacket was in a museum. It was all fancy preserved correctly.
He stood up, Jim Whitaker, in entrance of everyone in his 80s and mentioned if he was going to climb Everest once more, he would wish to get his jacket again. You recognize, Jim was within the automobile being like, “Oh, that’s going to hit so hard when I say that.”
There’s an entire documentary on Mr. Whitaker’s ascent, so you need to positively watch that. It’s very, very cool. However that’s the place we see a giant, massive change in Eddie Bower and the way we get to Eddie Bower that we now have right this moment.
The Insane Hood System: Eddie’s Last Masterpiece
However there’s one final jacket that I wish to present you, ’trigger the hood is insane. The hood is the very best a part of the entire jacket. Discover the fur on this jacket. That is the Kara Koram expedition in avocado, referred to as avocado by Eddie Bower himself.
Oh, you’ll see they tucked in very first thing. They tucked within the storm cuffs, so now they’re just a little extra protected. But in addition, we now have the sick Nineteen Seventies Eddie Bauer buttons, that are so cool.
This jacket represents an important collection of occasions. One: Within the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies, out of doors actions and stuff like that have been exploding. North Face, Patagonia, all these manufacturers are rising.
Fleece is getting tremendous standard. Jackets are being made cheaper in several areas in several methods. Individuals have preferences. Eddie Bower isn’t the undisputed king, and in addition, I, possibly it will have been, however Eddie Bower bought his firm to his companion in 1968 to spend time along with his spouse, Stine.
Eddie Bower obtained bought so much, loads of totally different management, however take a look at this hood. Let me present you this actual fast. This complete loopy hood system was designed in response to fur not being standard on down jackets anymore. So it’s fairly insane.
The very first thing you’ll discover instantly provides you full Homer Simpson and the quantity of heat on this little cone of down is extremely immense. It’s warming up my complete head. You might really feel it. After which this little down-stuffed brim is Eddie Bower’s resolution to not having fur on the surface.
Watch This Evaluation
Convey Again The Classics, Please!
I dwell in Maine now, as , and if I’m going to a thrift retailer and I see L.L. Bean boots from the ’50s or the ’60s or one thing, they appear the precise or near the very same that they do now. You’ll be able to’t actually inform. This can be a Nineteen Sixties Kara Koram. That is their Kara Koram for contemporary days.
If modern-day Eddie Bower simply—they simply made a number of, they don’t should make a ton, I do know it received’t promote, you’re going for the cheaper market and all the things like that—they simply made a number of fairly interval correct K2s, Skyliners, B9s, simply made them monsters, I’d simply be throughout these issues.
You will get a duck boot from anyplace these days, nevertheless it’s like, I would like the L.L. Bean one as a result of they made it. They invented it. I’d go gaga in the event that they did that.
The excellent news, although, is we basically have an Eddie Bower in spirit, and that’s Crescent Down Works, made in Seattle, Washington. The founding father of the model, Ann Mickelson, labored with Eddie Bower in his down testing lab in 1969. That’s as shut as you will get to Eddie Bower of previous.
Okay, anyway, that’s about it for who’s Eddie Bauer? right this moment. Thanks for watching. I actually do respect it. I’ll see you all quickly! Okay, bye!
This text was tailored from Michael Kristy’s video on The Iron Snail, with edits from FashionBeans, and was reviewed by Michael to make sure the integrity of his unique content material. Watch the total video right here.
The Iron Snail is a males’s vogue vlog (and now article collection!) starring a younger man named Michael and that includes a snail no greater than 1 / 4. The 2 are set on taking on the world of vogue by making a clothes line to finish all clothes traces. Till then, we’re right here to let you know EVERYTHING you could learn about the very best clothes on the market, from the best high quality uncooked denim denims to the warmest jackets to the sturdiest boots…the Iron Snail has obtained you coated.
