Bonkers tent design

That's amazing!

Out if stock in Leeds though, otherwise I'd have bought one......

No good for me, I've never camped next to a leccy socket. It's also larger than my house.

camping next to a socket is pretty ubiquitous in europe, where many campsites are aimed at people pitching up for a week rather than a weekend. Its still a very strange design

It uses a usb powered fan, I'm guessing you use a battery pack

I think the fan has a USB socket (as in you can plug your USB device into it so it can be charged) rather than running off USB. At 7w/hour itd rinse a typical battery pack in under 10 hours (and I bet it uses more power to inflate it the first time).

You could probably run it off a car battery with an inverter or off a ev with a socket

Can you run the fan air intake through a fridge to provide an air-conditioned tent...?

Withstands 30 km/hr force winds 😲😲😲

Better not sneeze.

The airlock has to be shut the whole time and the fan needs to be on/running 24/7 to keep it inflated

There's nothing like getting back to nature!

I suppose it has to be polycotton, to avoid huge condensation problems, but (as they say) it has to be 100% dry before you pack it away. That, and the wind speed limit, and the airlocks, and the size... yep, bonkers.

glamping-tastic.....

If you had the space for a few of them in your garden it might not be so crazy.

Mate rents out a greenhouse with a stove abs a bed in it for 65€/night and it's rented 3-4/7 days from spribg/summer.

Putting aside the obvious daftness of it.

That would fantastic on a dark sky starry night.

Looks like it would get hot in there as soon as the sun comes out.

Looks like it would get hot in there as soon as the sun comes out.

A bit like any tent then 🙂

Only a 2man tent?, I’ve held dj nights in smaller venues with dozens of folk bopping around

Only a 2man tent?, I’ve held dj nights in smaller venues with dozens of folk bopping around

Aye but you're from a part of the world where rave bingo is a thing and mobile discos are a Massey with a sound system and a decent sized trailer.

But that would be some hotbox.

Aye but you’re from a part of the world where rave bingo is a thing and mobile discos are a Massey with a sound system and a decent sized trailer.

Pah!, that’s a slur……our best mobile venue was a mates articulated refrigerated fish lorry that we hosed out and washed down each weekend, admittedly it did leave a certain stench but could easily handle 40-50 folk anywhere/anytime, usually in the midst of the Galloway forest.

The latest dogging pursuit ?. Mass orgies, with an audience.

So the fan needs to stay on all the time? And if there's a power cut at the campsite the tent deflates on top of you?

From the picture there are some poles at the “air lock” end, so in the event of a power failure it’ll sag rather than smother you in your sleep.

I bet it’s great to stay in for a night or two, but I wouldn’t want to own or maintain one.

And if there’s a power cut at the campsite the tent deflates on top of you?

Then you wake up with the cold wet fabric stuck to your face. Ahh, the joys of camping 😀

Can it be mounted to a roof rack?

Can it be mounted to a roof rack?

Inflated directly from the exhaust?

I'm expecting to see them on glamping airbnb for £110 a night near me soon.... if the price of yurts and shepherds huts and the like is anything to go by..

Seems like it would be fairly easy for someone to burst your bubble. And, £1.6k?

Next.

Shoot manager - right, just the interior shot to go.

Photographer - so where are we putting it then?

SM - here'll in the studio will do

P- but it's got a window in the roof, I can see the softbox How about we put in on the grass outside

SM- problem there - it need plugging in

P - a tent that needs plugging in?

SM - yep. Now hop in and get on with it.....but close the door behind you or it'll deflate around you........yep that's it.....a wide shot to show the whole lot.

P- I am literally shooting directly at the strobe. I can see the entire lighting gantry in shot.

SM - just get on with it

P - oh, I get it - you're going to shop in an alpine scene or a bit of northern lights to get rid of the aberration I'm currently photographing?

SM - nope - the ****s that buy this shit don't give a ****. The fact that the one positive of the entire concept looks like crap will literally not cross their minds!

pretty sure it has airbeams instead of poles, and doesnt actually require air pressure inside the accomodation area to keep inflated 😀

I've looked at this a few times now & am really struggling to answer the question of 'why?'

I can't work out what the advantage of it being inflatable, is?
Yes, you've got that stargazing window, but I can't really see why you couldn't just do that with a suitably designed inflatable pole tent, or even a traditional tent with normal poles.

The inflatable bit doesn't seem to solve anything, but just creates a load of ball ache, compromises & expense.
I bet with the clarity of the plastic window you can't even 'stargaze' particularly well. I know with the windows on our tent, at best you get a fuzzy blur of what's going on outside.

That tiny airlock looks like a right pain when trying to load the actual tent with all your stuff. Having to completely shut the door every time to prevent it deflating.
And there's very little way of getting a decent cooling effect through, some small vents that make the fan run at full blast from the sounds of it - our tent gets very hot on even a mild day, with all of the vents & the front door open. This thing is going to be like a greenhouse.

My initial thought was "that's a cool idea". But the more I look at it, the more ridiculous it seems.
It's like someone saw one of those classic car protection bubbles & thought it would be good to make a tent out of it.

I am sooooo getting one, and then strapping it to the roof of my Renault Twingo.

alan1977
Free Member
pretty sure it has airbeams instead of poles, and doesnt actually require air pressure inside the accomodation area to keep inflated

The video clearly shows 2 standard poles at the airlock end of the tent.
And there's nothing to keep the rest of it 'up'.

And the description says:

To keep your tent inflated DO NOT LEAVE THE DOORS OPEN AND DO NOT UNPLUG THE FAN.
Use the entrance doors to prevent your tent from deflating.

and

- Please note that the fan must remain on while the tent is in use.

and

- To keep your bubble tent inflated, the airlock doors must be properly closed after you enter or exit -

pretty sure it has airbeams instead of poles, and doesnt actually require air pressure inside the accomodation area to keep inflated

if you watch the video of it inflating you'll see there's no airbeams, and it relies on constant positive pressure.

And there’s very little way of getting a decent cooling effect through, some small vents that make the fan run at full blast from the sounds of it – our tent gets very hot on even a mild day, with all of the vents & the front door open. This thing is going to be like a greenhouse.

it might be that there's enough air being forced in (and thus out) means that the airflow keeps it cool. It is polycotten so it should warm up a bit less than a typical nylon tent

I suppose it has to be polycotton, to avoid huge condensation problems, but (as they say) it has to be 100% dry before you pack it away.

It is polycotten so it should warm up a bit less than a typical nylon tent

I've spent quite a few nights in proper TiPi's and borrowed a bell tent for End of the Road this year.  Having always camped in nylon backpacking tents before this it's remarkable how much more comfortable old school cotton canvas is.  Darker and doesn't heat up anything like as much in hot weather (or the moment the sun hits it), condensation just not an issue.  I've not had to deal with trying to dry them once they're wet but it's rare we don't have to get our 3 man tent out to properly dry it when home, and the big family nylon tent we borrowed last year (and packed away after a wet night) was a complete pain - you pretty much have to pitch it again at home (and we don't have the space)

wow OK i stand corrected...

it makes much less sense then

I’ve spent quite a few nights in proper TiPi’s and borrowed a bell tent for End of the Road this year. Having always camped in nylon backpacking tents before this it’s remarkable how much more comfortable old school cotton canvas is. Darker and doesn’t heat up anything like as much in hot weather (or the moment the sun hits it), condensation just not an issue. I’ve not had to deal with trying to dry them once they’re wet but it’s rare we don’t have to get our 3 man tent out to properly dry it when home, and the big family nylon tent we borrowed last year (and packed away after a wet night) was a complete pain – you pretty much have to pitch it again at home (and we don’t have the space)

the decathlon cool + dark tents are a step in the right direction towards that, not tried any polycotton stuff, but the faff & weight of cotton puts me off. If its only a couple of weeks till the next time we're using a tent (which it often is in the summer) I don't bother to dry it off at all (I do at the end of the season) - I don't think you can treat either cotton or polycotton in the same way

As a concept, I think it is brilliant. As an execution, it fails spectacularly. Surely they could design something similar that uses the AirBeam concept so it can actually be used like a tent.

I can't believe this made it past a prototype model. Surely they must have made one and then tried it in the field (pun fully intended) to see what it was like to live with. The fact that in the video he opens the flap for the plastic window in the front door and then steps back and closes the solid inner door show that it's a daft idea.

As others have said. Something similar could have been achieved with an air beam or pole set up. The main selling point is the big piece of clear plastic in the roof.

The main selling point is the big piece of clear plastic in the roof.

based on the North Face tent we had with smallish windows in the outer doors this will

- get covered in condensation so that you can't see out of it

- rapidly become opaque so you can't see out of it even if you wipe off the condensation

Yes, you’ve got that stargazing window, but I can’t really see why you couldn’t just do that with a suitably designed inflatable pole tent, or even a traditional tent with normal poles.

Gets great reviews though.....lol

Aye 5 star.

I’d just buy a cheaper normal tent and then lay down outside it and look up if I wanted to see the stars.

Does seem to be a fine example of just because you can doesnt mean you should.
I guess as a concept few years down the line with better materials it might be worth looking at but the downsides seem rather significant currently.

how does it compare price-wise to those permanent geodesic dome tents? I guess its more a competitor for one of them than a normal tent

how does it compare price-wise to those permanent geodesic dome tents? I guess its more a competitor for one of them than a normal tent

But they say that it is for occasional use only so it's not really a competitor to those.