This is the Springbar® Traveler Tent, it’s part of a series of American-made canvas tents that have been in continuous production since the 1960s.
The classic tents made by Springbar in Salt Lake City, Utah have been seeing a surge in popularity in recent years, as many move away from cheap nylon tents and look for something a little more timeless, and a lot longer-lasting.
Above Video: This is the official Springbar YouTube video that shows new tent owners how to set up and take down their new Traveler tent.
History Speedrun: Springbar® Tents
Springbar’s history goes all the way back to 1944, in the closing months of World War II, when Jack Kirkham Sr. returned to Salt Lake City after serving as a draftsman in Naval shipyards during the war and bought the AAA Tent & Awning Shop, a small 1,200 square-foot workshop.
In the early years, Kirkham made a huge range of canvas goods – tarps, awnings, horse blankets, covers for sheep camp wagons, and wall tents for outfitters, herders, and miners. Through the 1950s, as recreational car camping grew in popularity across America, Kirkham shifted focus toward camping tents and began experimenting with alternatives to the cumbersome and complicated pole-and-rope frameworks that defined conventional tent design at the time.
Kirkham’s breakthrough came in 1961 with the invention of the Springbar tent, a canvas tent design built around a patented system of tensioned spring steel rods and aluminum poles that distributed stress evenly across the entire structure.
The first model was a 10′ x 10′ tent (the design that would become the Traveler) with a list price of just $83. In 1966, Coleman licensed the Springbar patent to manufacture and sell their own Springbar tents.
Kirkham continued to work on the design and further expand the model line, and in 1979 he moved the business into a purpose-built 26,000 square-foot facility on State Street in Salt Lake City, renaming it Kirkham’s Outdoor Products – Home of the Springbar Tent.
The retail operation thrived through the 1980s and 1990s, carrying over 200 brands and employing 50 staff at its peak. In the 1990s, the business passed to Jack Jr., who had worked alongside his father since age 15. Jack Sr. passed away in 2008 at the age of 90.
In 2019, Pace Measom and partners bought the business from Jack Kirkham Jr., refocusing it back on Springbar tent manufacturing and design. The company continues to cut and sew its American-made tents by hand in Salt Lake City.
Total weight is 72 lbs broken down as 42 lbs for the tent body, 22 lbs for the pole set, and 8 lbs for the 20 included stakes. Packed dimensions are 21″ x 15″ for the tent and 56″ x 8″ for the poles. The Traveler is available in Driftwood, Pearl Gray, Bison, and Natural colorways.
The Springbar® Traveler Tent
The Springbar® Traveler tent is the direct descendant of Jack Kirkham Sr.’s very first 1961 Springbar tent, and it’s been in continuous production since the mid-1960s, making it one of the longest-running tent designs in history.
The Traveler remains the quintessential model in Springbar’s lineup and the one most closely associated with the Utah brand’s early identity. It has a 10′ x 10′ footprint with 100 square feet of interior living space and a peak interior height of 6.5 feet – tall enough for most adults to stand comfortably.
It has three full-height screen windows for ventilation and views, a 26 inch wide door with a mesh interior panel, and an integrated 6′ x 6′ shade awning that is compatible with Springbar’s optional Cotton Portico Panels for added coverage.
The walls are made from 8.5 oz 100% cotton double-fill army duck canvas, with a heavier 10.1 oz canvas on the roof. The fabric is dyed and finished with Sunforger treatment in Georgia for water repellency and long-term mold resistance.
The floor is heavy-duty 12 oz seamless vinyl, and the zippers are #10 YKK throughout. The pole set is aluminum alloy with steel reinforcements and tempered spring steel tension rods, machined and manufactured in Salt Lake City.
The mesh is 40D military-grade Berry Compliant “No-See-Um,” and the stakes are 12 inch galvanized steel wedge stakes made in Missouri.
The Springbar® Traveler tent is the direct descendant of Jack Kirkham Sr.’s very first 1961 Springbar tent, and it’s been in continuous production since the mid-1960s, making it one of the longest-running tent designs in history.
Total weight is 72 lbs broken down as 42 lbs for the tent body, 22 lbs for the pole set, and 8 lbs for the 20 included stakes. Packed dimensions are 21″ x 15″ for the tent and 56″ x 8″ for the poles. The Traveler is currently available in Driftwood, Pearl Gray, Bison, and Natural colorways.
Each tent comes with a canvas bucket bag, two awning ropes, a hanging organizer, a mesh gear loft, and an owner’s field guide. If you’d like to read more you can visit the store listing on the official Springbar website here.
Images courtesy of Springbar
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