Why Don’t More Tents Instantly Convert to Open-Air Shelters?

Tendo: The ultralight one-man tent that moonlights as a gazebo

July 25, 2018 9:00 am

Tents are evolving. They float. They have great balance. And now they wanna double as your outdoor living room out on the trail.

Designer Paul Van Laar conceived of the Tendo, a uniquely shaped, ultra-lightweight single-person tent that can serve as either your sleeping shelter or opened on one side to create an open-air lounge of sorts, allowing you to enjoy your surroundings with a bit of protection from the elements.

Tendo (3 images)

For now it remains a concept, but Van Laar was inspired by the supreme durability and packability of kites he used for kitesurfing in Brazil. Making many mock-ups out of paper and then increasingly more durable supplies, the end design of Tendo relies on a single valve for inflation (there’s a mattress built-in to the construction) and not a single peg or stake to keep track of.

No word on the weight of the thing, except that Van Laar says: “it has the comfort of a two person tent with the weight of a single person tent.” To learn more about the design process or keep an eye for production updates, visit his site.

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