Coleman was founded by William Coffin Coleman, who began selling gasoline pressure lamps in 1900 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. In 1905, the company provided a demonstration for the 1905 Cooper vs. Fairmount football game (now called Sterling College and Wichita State University). Coleman gas lamps were provided to play the first night football game west of the Mississippi River. In 1996, the company acquired the French Campingaz. Through a series of acquisitions via Sunbeam Products and Jarden, Coleman is now a subsidiary of Newell Brands.

Throughout its history, Coleman has produced a wide variety of equipment primarily aimed at the camping and recreational markets. Perhaps their most famous product is the Coleman Lantern, a series of pressure lamps that were originally made to burn gasoline. Current models use Coleman fuel (white gas) or propane and use one or two gas mantles to produce an intense white light.

The Coleman Company, Inc. added many recognizable brands to our family of goods after the dawn of the new century. Under the Coleman tent, you’ll now find Sevylor® floats and towables, Stearns® life vests, Mad Dog Gear® ATV accessories, Helium® sports vests and AeroBed® airbeds. It’s a challenge to outfit yourself for outdoor fun and not have something from the Coleman® family of products with you. What started out as a lamp that could light up four corners of a barn has become a company that has helped light all four corners of the globe. Coleman products have journeyed deep in the Sahara desert, and been along on treks all the way to the South Pole. Coleman lanterns guided aircraft to safe landings in the Andes Mountains in South America in the 1920s, and helped climbers reach the top of Mt. Everest in the next century. Hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, boating, swimming, four-wheeling, relaxing, tailgating…Being in the outdoors has so much to offer, and Coleman has everything to help you get out there.

In the past, the company also produced a range of cooking stoves and domestic irons. Today, Coleman also manufactures camp stoves (Coleman produced the original "G.I. Pocket Stove"), sleeping bags, coolers, hot tubs, generators, watches, sandals, tents, dog toys, and backpacks among other things. They also make a line of small boats, including canoes, pontoon boats, johnboats and the unique scanoe. In the past they also sold pop-up travel trailers, Skiroule snowmobiles and the Hobie Cat brand of sailboats. The company has recently started producing a backyard barbecue grill, which is sold at Canadian Tire. A separate company, Coleman Heating and Air Conditioning, sells home heating and air conditioning units. Coleman Heating and Air Conditioning is owned by Johnson Controls, and uses the Coleman name and logo under license. Coleman also produces ATVs and mini bikes under the Coleman Powersports brand.