The history of James Baroud

Recently, we had the opportunity to make contact with the team at James Baroud. Now, if you are into four-wheel driving, camping or overlanding, as some are calling it, you would have seen, heard about or used a James Baroud product. They specialise in making quality rooftop tents, awnings and accessories.

When they mentioned that this is a story close to 80 years in the making, we wanted to know more. Below is a breakdown of key people involved in the James Baroud story, as well as a historical timeline of key innovations and moments.

Mario Martins & Tony Partenio

To get started, let’s introduce Tony Partenio. A French ‘barouder’ who is super passionate about exploration. After camping around the world for years, he decided it was time to start using a roof-mounted camping solution and to test out what was available on the market at the time. After testing several models (at the time, over 20 years back), he wasn’t stoked with the overall performance of the options available, especially in the hard weather he faced (deserts, extreme sun, cold and rain).

Enter Mario Martins, who worked with his father, the founder and owner of a fabric and ground tents factory in Portugal. They were well-known for providing top-of-the-line camping material for the Army and the camping community.

Well, it turned out that Mario was an overlanding enthusiast, too, and after meeting with Tony, they decided to start a partnership based on the aim of improving the rooftop tent camping market. And how did they want to do that? By creating a product that could withstand the most extreme weather conditions and still be practical.

With their combined experience in overlanding and craftsmanship, they started creating tents with the best material they could find. Then set out to deliver them to the world. Every year, they put their products through the harshest paces to keep making improvements and adding features, with every little change in the products increasing the overall quality bit by bit. Real-world testing by the people designing and engineering their own concepts is the ultimate way to improve.

In Mario’s words

When asked about the journey, co-founder Mario Martins, (and still chief designer and engineer), had this to say. “Tony and I started James Baroud to Idealise and design the first tent because we are practitioners and lovers of off-road travel (now called overlanding around the world).”

“Since, at that time, there was only one brand, but it had been developed for the camping market and not the off-road vehicles. We needed a specially reinforced and robust tent for such demanding practice.  So with all the experience I had in the manufacture and development of military, campaign and camping tents, we developed the first pod tent. Adventure that responded perfectly to the demands and challenges we posed.”

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

So it turns out James Baroud isn’t an actual bloke.

There is a word in south Morocco meaning ‘explosive powder’. Centuries ago, French colonial troops started to use the word “tough battle” as slang. That word was Baroud.

From there, the word “barouder’ was used in common French slang. In military circles and for soldiers it referred to a very tough and seasoned fighter. In everyday speak, it was used for a very tough adventurer or extreme sports lover.

As for James? You’ve heard of James Bond…

James Baroud (the legend) was born.

Historical breakdown

To really get to the bottom of the James Baroud story, we’ll need to go back about 80 years. José Alcino was born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal in 1939. The middle child of three brothers. At the age of 10, and to help earn some extra money, he became an apprentice goldsmith and worked in that field until going into military service at the age of 20

The 1960s

After his military service, leveraging his skills as a sewing machine mechanic, he took a job responsible for a fleet of 200 machines in a textile and clothing factory. But his passion for camping was his real love.

The 1970s

Having a background in textiles, and with his passion for camping he thought he could make his own camping tent. And so, with the help of his wife, who was a seamstress, they produced a customised tent. As soon as they set it up at a campsite, they began to receive requests from several people to make more tents, and thus Movicampo Lda was born.

The 1980s

After a few years of manufacturing various models of tents, in 1980, he received his first order from civil protection to manufacture tents for campaigns and refugees, followed by contracts with the army and some civil protection organisations outside the country. This opportunity surfaced from a relationship with a general who trusted the quality and durability of Movicampo products and offered a government contract. 

What happened in 1985?

Around 1985, his son Mario Martins an industrial design student, began to collaborate with the company Movicampo. By this time, they had begun to manufacture tents and awnings for caravans and motorhomes. That year, they signed a contract with a German brand to manufacture part of its caravan awnings. To move forward with this collaboration, Mario completed several training sessions in Germany at the company’s headquarters.

The 1990s

Since joining Movicampo, Mario has been planning and designing new models of tents and awnings for caravans. With his product knowledge and levels of craftsmanship, Movicampo made contracts with several brands in Europe to manufacture awnings and various tents during the 90s.

What happened in 1998 and 1999?

In 1998, this is when Mario Martins crossed paths with Tony Partenio. A seasoned salesman, a fellow travel and outdoor enthusiast. Instantly, a strong connection formed between these two adventurers, sparking the beginning of a serious friendship. Together, they set out to design and test a rooftop tent tailor-made for the rugged and demanding world of off-road and overland exploration.

In 1999, Mario Martins joined forces with Tony’s vision. Together, they created James Baroud, reflecting the perfect combination of their skills. Even in the early days, it’s safe to say the pair had their roles in the business. Mario spearheaded design, production, and quality control, while Tony steered the marketing and commercial department.

These early days were challenging, and naturally, success didn’t arrive overnight. However, James Baroud’s quality products garnered trust from countless professionals. After just five years, the brand had earned global recognition in the 4×4 community and beyond as the chosen camping solution for the rally raid teams in the harshest desert race in the world; the Paris-Dakar Rally.

The 2000s were massive for James Baroud

• In 2004 customers were given the option to customise their tents to suit their vehicle with over 250+ colours from the RAL colour chart for their fibreglass tents. Today, James Baroud remains the only rooftop tent company in the world offering this customisation feature. 
• In 2005, James Baroud launched the first automatic opening tent, offering unparalleled convenience to adventurers. 
• In 2008 they abandoned the manual crank system, which they found very archaic, and permanently switched to automatic opening by struts. Industry defining at the time.
• In 2009, the team focused heavily on aerodynamics to reduce wind drag and to offer the most fuel-efficient rooftop tent in the world.
• In 2011 Autobivouac imported the first James Baroud units, became the official dealer for Australia and NZ, and began testing James Baroud products in the harsh and variable demands of Australia.
• In 2013 a quick-assembly awning was developed, which is light and rigid when closed to avoid extraneous noise when the vehicle moves.
• In 2014, the team created an automatic tent locking system, which, when open, increased resistance and stability when exposed to extreme wind and snow conditions. James Baroud enters the US market, further expanding its global presence.
• In 2015 they transformed the trend of roof tents by being the first to replace small ventilation openings with panoramic windows and 360º views. The windows are designed to be impervious to rain without having to be fully closed, thus reducing condensation. The team began working with the same textile manufacturer used by NASA and Audi to develop an aluminised canvas textile that is waterproof, heat-reflective and insulating, ensuring stable internal temperature conditions.
• In 2016, inspired by the rigours of the big lap and extended periods of adventuring, the team invents the ultimate two-story camping experience. They cut out a man-hole in the Awning and designed the Tunnel accessory to create a weather-proof entry and exit through the tent from under the Awning and the option to enclose the downstairs section with weather-proof walls.
• In 2017, James Baroud developed a series of new Awning offerings and began conceptualising a rooftop tent offering what we now know today as the Odyssey.
• In 2018, the product line expanded with the introduction of the Adventure Bag to solve the problem of shoe storage with easy access outside of the tent and the sleekly designed James Baroud portable fire pit and BBQ.
• In 2023, the most progressive innovation in rooftop tents arrived with the launch of the Odyssey Frontier model. Inspired by the bow head of the whale shark, it is a feat of aerodynamic and aesthetic excellence.
• In 2024, more new products enter the James Baroud line, including an in-tent clothes storage box that doubles as a camping table and an ergonomic chair designed to sit comfortably inside the tent.

James Baroud also pushed the boundaries of incorporating fiberglass material by designing the tent so it could have a hole in the middle for the new Solar Powered Vent that would reduce a long-known problem to overlanders … the dreaded feeling of condensation found after sleeping through the night without adequate ventilation.

Launching in Australia

In 2011, James Baroud launched in Australia after another French pair, Jean-Marie and Valerie, noticed these clever-looking rooftop tents on a trip through the countryside of Bordeaux.  They immediately knew this was what they needed on their exploration of the Australian outback, so they imported the first James Baroud tents into Australia.

This was the catalyst for James Baroud’s decision to expand beyond Europe. During 2012, the design of the exterior shells evolved with a more reinforced design and at the end of that year, the company Capaventure merged with Movicampo, integrating all staff, machinery, and raw materials.

The Australian market continued to inform the team in Portugal of the extreme conditions that Australian travellers faced, and thus, the tents have continued to evolve to meet Australian conditions, which, as we all know, are among the toughest in the world.

Awnings and accessories

James Baroud once again innovated in 2016 by launching a quick-assembly tunnel that provides water-proof entry and exit access to the tent through its awnings. James Baroud was the first to innovate the man-hole access in the awning for this purpose.

Their rear awning was launched in 2017, and it was one of the first awnings specially developed to be mounted on the rear of vehicles with the possibility of having walls around it. The very next year, the Baroud 270 Falcon Awning was introduced to the market. This self-supported, 270º wing-shaped awning not only provided the most extensive coverage on the market at its release but also set a quality standard owing to its complete construction.

These days and the future

Recently, the James Baroud engineering team challenged themselves to design a tent from scratch, which they feel pushes the boundaries of innovation. After three years of extensive research, development, and design, James Baroud released the new line of Odyssey Frontier rooftop tents. This line represents a departure from previous models, with the intention of appealing to a broader audience and having more people enjoying life off-road.

The same level of craftsmanship and attention to detail goes into every product James Baroud produces today. Everything they produce continues to be handmade in small batches in their factory located in the mountains behind Porto, Portugal. Mario still picks 84-year-old Jose up for work each morning, and they go to the factory to work together. Still obsessed with innovating, fastidiously improving, and passionately committed to developing the best outdoor camping goods in the world.

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