Saunders Space Packer

As a teenager in the 1970's a Saunders tent was something to dream of and aspire to owning. They were like nothing else on the market; The names Jet Packer and Space Packer played to an audience raised in the "Space Age" when the Moon landing was new and the Space Race was in full flow, but far from simply hooking into a name Saunders' tents reflected the massive advances in technology and integrated it into design in a way no-one else had ever done. That people are still using those same tents 30 and 40 years later says everything about the build quality and that designs today feature so many of Saunders' innovations says everything about his design skills. Before Robert Saunders the flexible hoop was unknown, the transverse ridge a mystery and "lightweight" nothing more than a pipe-dream.

Robert Saunders set out on his journey of designing and manufacturing innovative tents in response to a problem; the ever increasing costs of hiring Sherpas to carry heavy cotton A frame tents on HImalayan expeditions, but along the way he created backpacking - at least in the UK. Not satisfied with producing possibly the finest tents on the market Robert Saunders went on to introduce microfilament materials to outdoors clothing then in 1978 created the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon - now in its 34th year. By the 1990's you could find the name Robert Saunders on a range of products from tents to sleeping bags and clothes to rucksacks, bringing innovation and design to new areas. Despite the increasing range of products Saunders was, in essence, a cottage industry and never lost sight of the importance of its customers. From keeping a stock of every single material the company ever used to offering custom adaptations Saunders put its customers at the top of its priorities and in doing so built a loyal customer base that became the envy of even its biggest competitors.

In an age of innovation that saw some of today's best known outdoors companies starting out Robert Saunders not only stood head and shoulders above the rest, but unlike todays society he did it for everyone! No intellectual copyright law suits and complicated design patents, the transverse ridge, hooped poles and fitted groundsheets were there for anyone to use. Having ridden out 2 recessions Saunders, the company, finally succumed to liquidation in  and on Friday 20th April 2012 Robert Saunders, the man, left us aged 82. Bob died peacefully in his sleep following a long illness. If there's ever an outdoors "Hall of Fame" the name Robert Saunders should be the first name on it - his legacy is, and probably always will be, unequalled.

Note: This article was restored from the archives. It's published creation date is inaccurate.