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Testing Old vs New Camping Gear

Speeed

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What happens when you go camping with 100 years of gear?
We spent three days in Yosemite testing out camping tech from 1925, 1975, and 2025 — hiking, cooking, freezing, and slowly losing our minds — to see how much of a difference a century of innovation actually makes. From wool blankets and hardtack to freeze-dried beef stroganoff and titanium sporks, this was the ultimate test of comfort, suffering, and friendship. Part history lesson, part gear torture test, and part reminder of how ridiculously good we have it now.

Shoutout to Yosemite and our amazing National Park Service. Help support our parks here: https://www.nationalparks.org/

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Thanks to ‪@ford‬ for lending us the new Explorer ST for this --we fit ALL of this gear you see in the video, plus the 4 of us in it. And most importantly we were comfortable and looked cool.

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Chapters:
0:00 1925 — The Hard Way
19:31 1975 — The Golden Age of Backpacking
35:56 2025 — Peak Comfort
50:04 Reflections

20 Comments

@SpeeedCo Creator 10 months ago Pinned

Check out Cometeer! https://cometeer.com/speeed
If you liked this OLD vs NEW format, what should we try next?

@oh2sail 10 months ago (edited)

I’m a 71 yo woman. I had that exact Kelty aluminum frame backpack in 1975. I was wearing it one time when I was hit by a car. I was a passenger on a motorcycle. I was thrown forward into the air, clipped the car, then rolled and rolled about 50 yards down the road. I think that frame saved my life. It formed around my curved back, protecting it.

@half-stash 10 months ago

pitching tents with the boys, hell yeah!

@MountainMan1966 10 months ago

Imagine if your cameraman had to carry the type of filming equipment for 1925 or even 1975? 😅

@imacanoli897 7 months ago

No maps in 1925?

They had maps and compasses in 1925...lol

@ghostynine2815 10 months ago

"I trust a rock more than a leaf, there is no such thing as a poisonous rock." Made me laugh, although I think Uranium wants you to give it a call, lol

@number1yota 10 months ago

I think y'all got a knack for these 100/50/0 years ago comparisons.

@philipschienbein6067 10 months ago

Small quibble:
Hiking and camping were HUGE in 1925, not fringe. Baden-Powell kicked off the scouting craze with his Boy Scouts in 1908, and it took off like wildfire. Especially among urbanites. By 1925 the woods throughout the eastern US and Europe were positively crawling with hikers.

@OGdoorstop 6 months ago

James is 100% more enjoyable not playing that character he was at donut.

@charade539 10 months ago

I want to point out one major bonus to the 1925 gear: It's repairable. All that canvas and cotton and wool and leather can be sewn back together when it breaks. Those modern fabrics will fall apart as soon as they tear and will be impossible to sew.

@TheValkryie 10 months ago

That salami and cheese, plus the meat and beans from the 1925-era seemed higher quality and healthier than the '75 and 2025 eras though!

@anotherstupidhipster3551 10 months ago

"The quiet art of making things last." Is such an incredible line.

@ChocolateWitch13 8 months ago

What people need to remember with vintage and antique clothing; they wore underwear, long underwear. An inner layer that could be washed often, since the outerwear did not get washed unless it was showing visible dirty and stains, and also to protect the clothing from your sweat and oils.

@slatermd7607 10 months ago

The 1925 Duluth packs were meant for canoeing and portaging. They sit low on your back so when you put your canoe on your shoulders, it doesn’t catch or push your head forward. They weren’t really designed for all day backpacking.

They made packs with external frames and frame boards that would have been far more comfortable.

As a history guy and avid backpacker, I do really appreciate what y’all are doing, just think if you do something similar, a better pack could be utilized. Cheers fellas!

@robssoa 10 months ago (edited)

Man... getting out of Donut and creating this channel made James so free to produce any source of content!! it`s pleasent to see! Nice work out there!👏👏👏

@thomasf8100 10 months ago

Duluth packs were never intended for backpacking by foot. They are made to fit in a canoe and fit on your back wile portaging with the canoe over your head. They are still the template that modern canoe packs have evolved from, and many paddlers still call them Duluth packs. You even mentioned at the beginning that they were made for canoeing. In 1925, they had frame packs. Still wouldn’t be as comfortable as a modern pack, but it would have been a lot better, and a more accurate experiment. 1925 didn’t do this to you, you did this to yourselves.

@areus2016 8 months ago

The problem with modern ultralight gear is that it is obscenely expensive and feels delicate(even tho the material is strong). The old stuff is cheap and absolutely bombproof.

@DYFEA 10 months ago (edited)

Really been enjoying this channel. Wholesome men content that isn't performative or with a motive behind it. Just helping young men live in the current day and adjust to the changing times. Super glad y'all are succeeding!

@GarrettBroadnax 10 months ago

I'm just now realizing, at 40 minutes, that 1925 to 1975 is the same amount of time from 1975 to 2025

@TheArcticShockHD 10 months ago (edited)

As someone who is aware of the outdoor industry market, it would've been worth it to mention the pricing of the some of the older gear vs. how much outdoor gear is now. With how incredible the advancements of modern fabrics are, those Dyneema bags and tents are like $800+ each alone

Absolutely loved this video, it did an amazing job captivating the feeling of camping and I'm so glad you have the freedom to make the entertainment you wish to