Camping and technology have not traditionally gone hand in hand. In the age of super-powered tablets and smartphones with a battery life that’s lucky to see out the morning let alone the week, camping has become something of a tech free zone. However, that has now changed with Katabatic solar-powered tent, which promises to be the solution for anybody who isn’t quite ready to endure a tech-free holiday.
The tent uses a special sun-absorbing fabric and was designed by Eddie Bauer, in partnership with Goal Zero. The Katabatic tent is able to soak up the suns rays all day, which charges up a set of batteries within the tent. These batteries are then able to power a plug socket, whicvh in turn lets you plug in and charge up your gadgets. Alternatively, you can skip the battery charging phase, which is typically quite inefficient in any solar device, and charge your gadgets immediately. In the latter case, energy is transfered to your gadget via a USB socket.
Joe Atkin, President and CEO of Goal Zero says:
Technology plays big role in the time we spend outdoors. It allows us to track, photograph, and share our adventures with friends and family. The Lighthouse 250 and Katabatic 2 tent provide the power and light to help take advantage of that technology in even the most remote locations.
Interesting in the other specs? The tent stands at 92 inches tall and delivers a sizable 36 square feet of camping space. All of this comes at a weight of just 8 Lbs, and it must be said that this is a stunning application of green tech in a useful way. Fortunately for those in the UK, the tent is all weather equiped, although we would need to test it further to determine how well the solar charging works in poor conditions.
Such technology does not come cheap – costing $800 – but for the tech fan, it might be just the ticket to get out and explore the great outdoors.
