Eezi-Awn

Eezi-Awn was founded in South Africa in 1983 by Jack Stuhler, who had trained for five years in mechanical drafting before a commercial career in mail order under his father-in-law. A keen outdoorsman, he travelled Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa in the early 1970s, first in a Land Rover Series I and then a Series II long-wheelbase, and began making his own modifications: a steel roof rack, a bull bar and other accessories. The personal project became a business and he left the commercial world to establish Eezi-Awn, designing custom aluminium extrusions that competitors found hard to copy. One of his first products was an aluminium roof rack of modular extrusions, bolted together so it could be broken down for shipping.

The company's name is synonymous with the canvas roof tent, which it does not claim to have invented but which it re-engineered for African conditions: enlarged ventilation with fly mesh and privacy panels, a flysheet over the doors on spring-steel rods, aluminium mounting extrusions, a redesigned hinge that most roof tents now use, an extruded aluminium sliding ladder and a new international size of 4 ft 6 in by 8 ft opened out. South African canvas was chosen after a simple overnight water-bucket test and refined by local mills to Eezi-Awn's standard. To prove the products Jack Stuhler drove from Johannesburg to John o' Groats on a year-long expedition in 1996 and, in 2004-06, from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, then north to Alaska and Texas.

Jess Stuhler joined his father in 1989 after school and military service, his first project the assembly of aluminium-encased canvas awnings. Recovering from a motorcycle accident he conceived the K9 Expedition Roof Rack, built entirely of welded aluminium extrusions rather than bolted; K9 racks and load bars went round the world on the Expeditions 7 Land Cruisers, including a leg to Antarctica, and spawned a family of accessories from spade and high-lift mounts to jerry-can holders and under-rack slides.

Eezi-Awn remains family-run, Jess having taken over from his father, with its head office and factory at 176B Bridle Pass Street, Knopjeslaagte, Midrand, Johannesburg, a warehouse at Westlake, Cape Town, and distributors in Australia, Belgium, Botswana, the United States (Equipt Expedition Outfitters) and elsewhere. All products are still made in South Africa; soft-shell tents sell best in Europe and hard-shells in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.