Used to be you pitched a tent on the ground.
Then somewhere along the way, all the tent designers got together and realized something: the ground is uncomfortable. The air, less so. And that’s how you end up with tents that can float, hang and otherwise rest at comfortably elevated heights.
The latest example, the “7 seconds to the stars” Flying Tent, is a hybrid shelter that draws inspiration from the floating tent’s backcountry cousin, the hammock. Billed as the “world’s first all-in-one floating tent, bivy tent, hammock and rain poncho,” the convertible Flying Tent can be used on the ground, in the air or on your back.
Designed by Austria-based Startraveller Equipment, the compact shelter weighs less than three pounds, has an intelligent ventilation system and comes with integrated mosquito netting.
In order to bring it to market, Startraveller launched a just-closed Kickstarter campaign that pledged to plant two trees for each pre-ordered Flying Tent and raised more than $500 grand. The company ended up with more than 4,000 preorders for the MSRP $319 tent and, although production is already delayed, it plans to start making deliveries in four months.
Until then, enjoy the dirt.
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