eena - the beaver who builds the best lodge

Beckel Canvas Products founder, Bob Beckel, showing off his original TT tent design back in the day.

Our products are strictly made one at a time in the USA by our small team of craftspersons.

THE (HI)STORY OF BECKEL CANVAS PRODUCTS

We are a small business and all of our canvas products are measured, cut, and sewn right here in Oregon, We take pride in making sure that each piece that we create is made just as Bob Beckel would have. Bob served as a parachute technician during World War II. After his he started a business to make curtains and tent for VW buses. He realized that the VW accessory market was oversaturated, so used his skills and pivoted to making camping tents for horseback and hunting, in 1964. Bob and future Beckel generations have made countless canvas products since.

Bob eventually handed off the business to his daughter Kathy, who expertly ran the business up until 2019. Kathy retired and passed the torch to a former employee, Katie. Today, the business is ran by Brandy Lamb, who also owns Life Intents - suppliers of canvas bell tents and camping gear. The business remains a boutique run small business, that continues to cut and make each canvas product by hand, without the use of any fancy new computer technology or machinery.

OUR CANVAS TENTS

Our canvas tents are typically custom made to order with the finest 10.1 oz Marine Finish Army Duck canvas, making them extremely water repellent and mildew resistant. We offer a range of different sized Wall Tents - porches, floor tarps, fly tarps, screen fronts all available - and a wide range of smaller, more lightweight tents and accessories, such as our TT or Miner style tent. Our tents follow the patterns that Bob designed himself, but each allows for slight customizations based on the customers need.

OUR CANVAS BAGS

Our canvas bags are made to be raw and rugged. The ruggedness of our bags come from the heavy canvas that we source in the USA. Coupled with the heft of the canvas, our team double stitches the seams to ensure that they will last for a decade - at least. We keep the internal finish raw so that you can see the craftsmanship that went into each canvas tote and bag. The leather that we use is a heavy waterproof hide that adds strength and style to each piece.

WHY CANVAS

We love canvas. It naturally tough, just like the products we make. Canvas threads are plain-woven (criss crossing vertically and horizontally), which allows the fabric to endure daily wear and tear - perfect for tents and bags. This tough fabric is very versatile when it comes to making shelters and bags - if we can dream up a structure - likely we can use canvas to make it.

For tents, canvas is naturally water resistant as one once the material gets when, the threads swell, creating a natural defense against rain. For bags, canvas holds its shape well and is tough enough to carry heavy gear.

Best of all, canvas if fairly sustainable. Tents and bags made from canvas can get repaired, instead of tossed in a landfill. But if the day comes that a canvas product is no longer usable, it will quickly biodegrade and not leave a permanent stain on our planet

CUSTOM CANVAS PRODUCTS

If you don’t see exactly what you need here, please let us know. Though our history is rich with custom canvas projects, we are fairly limited in customizing products that don’t involve a template based on our existing tents and bags. But we can make custom canvas tarps and covers.

Please get out there and enjoy our products. They are built and meant to be used to keep you and your loved ones well protected.