Pioneers of American Outdoor Clothing

T he Holubar story is a typical example of the realization of the “American Dream”.

The company began operations on a completely informal basis in 1946, when Alice and Roy Holubar went to Denver to buy World War II mountaineering equipment from an army surplus warehouse. Their idea was to supply this special equipment to the numerous outdoors enthusiasts in the Boulder, Colorado area. The Holubars began to sew and sell down-filled sleeping bags, later expanding their range to include parkas, backpacks and climbing pitons.In 1947, they began to send out the first few dozens of illustrated postcards depicting their range of products.

This initiative was well-received by the public, and after the Arctic Institute of North America placed a major order, at the end of the same year the Holubars purchased a business license and rented

“Dakota Hunter” from the 1973 catalog

their first workshop at 1215 Grandview Avenue, which enabled them to transfer their operations from the basement of their home.Alice and Roy Holubar had met in High School in Boulder at the end of the 1920s, and they remained friendly as fellow students at Colorado University. Finally, in 1937, they married, and Roy began to teach mathematics at the University. Together with Alice, Roy spent every moment of spare time cultivating his great passion for the outdoors.Little by little – and in part to supplement his meagre teacher’s salary of $150 per month – this passion turned into a small business, until Holubar Mountaineering was officially founded in 1947.

At first, the new company focused mainly on a typical mail order business: the Holubars began to publish one or two catalogues each year illustrating the products manufactured in their workshop (down-filled sleeping bags, polyester or down-filled jackets and parkas, backpacks in leather and nylon and field tents), as well as articles imported from

Europe, such as skiing and climbing boots and pitons. In 1958, the Holubar catalogue contained no less than 143 products, and tens of thousands of copies were distributed in twelve states.

The Holubar brand rapidly gained ground, first in Colorado and later throughout the U.S.A., thanks to the excellent quality of the products and to the pioneering approach of Alice and Roy Holubar, who introduced various technical innovations that over the years influenced many of America’s leading manufacturers of outdoor gear.

These innovations included the use of nylon – at the time a revolutionary and almost experimental material – which they used already in the early 1950s as a shell material for their clothing and sleeping bags, and the combined use of nylon and down filling. Another first was the innovative “V-Baffling” structure of the internal cells of sleeping bags designed for high-altitude expeditions, which offered excellent thermal

insulation and virtually no risk of down leakage. Yet another was the pioneering use of a blend of cotton and nylon known as NP-22 – in a 50/50 blend at first, and later 60/40 – for a number of now-classic models such as the “Mountain Parka”.

Starting from the store in Boulder, which was next door to the first workshop and the offices where the mail-order operation was handled, Holubar

An Original! HOLUBAR “Mountain Parka”

created a chain of mono-brand stores in a number of states outside Colorado, including Arizona, California, Utah, Minnesota and New York.In a parallel operation, Holubar underlined its leading position by creating a mail-order business selling kits for the manufacture of garments, sleeping bags and backpacks, known as “Holubar Kits”.

The client received a kit containing all the items that were needed to make the item at home, and so was able to own a Holubar product at a price that was on average 30% lower than the store price.

Images fromthe 1978 catalog.

One of the main reasons for the success of so many of the innovations introduced by Holubar had, right from the very beginning, been the fact that Roy and Alice Holubar had always been in close contact with the world of climbers and outdoor enthusiasts in general: Roy had been a member of the Colorado Mountain Club since 1931, and became its Vice President in 1953. Thanks to this constant closeness to amateur outdoor enthusiasts and professional mountaineers, each technical innovation introduced by Holubar was the result of an exchange of ideas with the very people who actually used the products, and responded effectively to their real needs.

Another important demonstration of the excellence of Holubar’s products was the appointment by the Alpine Rescue Team – an organization that had been created to provide assistance and rescue services to mountaineers or expeditions in trouble – to supply the Team with technical equipment, jackets and sleeping bags.

As with other important brands of American Outdoor Gear, Holubar too began to build a reputation and earn recognition with non-professional users. Gradually, the company became one of America’s leading manufacturers of outerwear for the general public.

Holubar is currently the subject of a major revival which, starting from Europe, aims at re-launching the brand in the United States and worldwide.

Image from the 1970 catalog.

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