OCR Text |
Show Sports Afield r By Ted Resting Two years ago a couple ol campers lost some wonderful picTures when rain ruined he ir film. These bitter men swwe W find some kind of protectee covering for their equipment, and "St of that unhappy expe ; ence came a real idea for sports mOne of those men was newspaper news-paper publisher Clelland Cole When he returned from trip he went to see a Plastics Manufacture,. In a few weeks he delivered to Cole several small plastic bags specially tail ored to fit his cameras. The bags were not sewed the seams were electronically bonded, and the top fla ps we re made long enough so they could be folded over several times. The result was a container fiom which moisture and dust could be shut out. The lightness of the bags set Cole thinking. Why not make tents out of slightly heavier sheet plastic? There was another an-other consulation with the plastics plas-tics man, and in a few days he ; delivered two plastic tents, each ; slightly larger than a pair ol . shelter halves combined. Each j tent" made a package about the size of the morning paper. And even with plastic ground sheets, the tents were pounds under the weight of convas tents of similar size. . , The next summer Cole trier, out his plastic tents and bags. They proved completely waterproof. water-proof. And the tents had a cold-excluding cold-excluding quality as well. During Dur-ing brittle wilderness nights, they were cozy and warm. Given the normal care any tent should be given. These plastic tents filled all the campers needs, and the advantage of less weight and bulk was pure gain. You can actually carry them in the glove compartment of your. car. Sheet plastic is, of course, vulnerable to fire and heat, and a tent of this material would have to be more carefully guarded guard-ed from campfire sparks than canvas. Punctures from the usual us-ual rough surroundings of a wilderness camp and the normal wear of " camp making and breaking are also a hazard. But plastic manufacturers are now experimenting with various materials ma-terials and you should be able to find plastic bags, and tents on the market soon. |