To fully understand the identity of James Baroud, you have to go back 30 years. At the time, Tony Partenio had already covered thousands of kilometers on trails. For him, the only vacation he can give himself is behind the wheel of his 4x4. Like many before him, he first studied in France, then he set off for the North Cape and Iceland, before moving on to a destination that he had dreamed about for a long time: Morocco.
This county was a revelation for him (he has since returned almost every year). After a few 'Wet" and difficult bivouacs during a previous trip to Iceland, Tony decided to offer himself a roof tent for more comfort and to settle in more quickly at the end of the stage in the bivouac.
Thirty years ago, there were only two types of hard-shell roof tents on the market: automatic tents with trifold opening, triangular opening, activated by cylinders, and "manual" tents with horizontal opening activated by a crank. In the interest of space and comfort, Tony chose the manual opening mechanism. This first experience with a roof tent didn't go very well.
After two weeks in Morocco, the tent became jammed mid-course (a recurring problem with this type of tent). Tony is a good handyman. After a good hour of effort, he managed to close his tent, but could no longer open it and, for his last week in Morocco, he was forced to spend each night inside his car.
Upon his return, Tony got rid of his tent. But he didn't stop there. Was there nothing else on the market? Never mind: he'd make his own roof tent! For him, the concept was excellent, it just needed to be improved.