Gear: Chapter 2

Speaker 00:00

This is not your mama's house. This is not summer camp. This is not overnight with a friend. This is not Burger King, 'cause you will never have it your way. You are now the property of the United States Army. What you will get is chapter two.

Avery Trufelman· Host0:19

Once upon a time, the outdoors was for the most rugged of Americans, the Teddy Roosevelts who wanted to prove their mettle in the manly arts of hunting and fishing and survival. But shopping for those outdoor activities was considered cheating, and if you shopped for gear, it was a dirty secret.

Rachel Gross· Guest0:37

Many guidebooks often told its readers, "Don't buy anything." If you do, you're essentially showing yourself to be a beginner who doesn't know anything really about what the nature experience is supposed to be.

Avery Trufelman· Host0:48

Rachel Gross, professor of history at the University of Colorado Denver and author of the excellent book Shopping All the Way to the Woods. But as previously discussed in chapter one, essentially most white American men did secretly buy their outdoor clothes, which were often buckskin suits.

Rachel Gross· Guest1:05

They often turned to Native American women, who were the recognized experts at sewing buckskin suits.

Avery Trufelman· Host1:11

So they would just buy them?

Rachel Gross· Guest1:13

They would just buy them.

Avery Trufelman· Host1:15

(laughs) This dirty little secret started to come to light as more and more clothing became mass-produced, and that included outdoor clothing. And one particular shop opened in 1892 that finally, once and for all, removed