The wind tunnel test: notice the bend? Without the CamLock buckle, these two clips would slide in opposite directions, allowing the pole to squeeze out between them and subjecting the pole to excessive deformation. The pole will fail as a result at the apex of the deformation.

In 1996, Sierra Designs introduced the ClipLoc. For the first time, pole intersections on a tent can be made semirigid without the use of heavy aluminum hubs. This innovation proves to decrease the deflection and deformation due to wind of Sierra Designs' tents by 60 percent.

In 1999, we began to investigate ways to introduce this kind of strength innovation to tents like our Clip Flashlight CD that have no pole intersections due to their hoop design. While the Sierra Designs hooped tents are the lightest in their respective classes, the trade-off when shedding poles is always strength.

Independent designer and longtime Sierra Designs friend Bob Gillis began to work on a clip that would attach itself to a pole with a strong grip. (See a prototype.) Early hand-carved models were developed out of Delrin, which is a kind of modeling plastic. (See a hand-carved model.)

The CamLock design began to take on a rough shape, with hints of what it would eventually become. (See a further refinement of the locking mechanism.)

The grand-daddy of the Camlock: The Cliploc

After playing with these rough prototypes, we began to sketch improvements. (See the designer's noodlings.)

These sketches evolved into design drawings that could then be used to create the necessary molds. (See the blueprint for the mold.)

We went through two pilot runs with the CamLock, trying to insure just the right action on various diameter poles. Measurements had to be adjusted by hundredths of an inch to achieve exactly the right effect when attached to a pole. The clip had to be easily movable when not in the locked position and it had to have a very sturdy grasp when locked. In the end, the CamLock was perfect and we had a new, patentable way to add new strength to an old design. (Take a look at the final product.)