Although rooftop tents are designed to make camping easier, setting one up in the rain or late at night can still be a hassle. The Air Cruiser was designed with that fact in mind, as it goes up without much more than a single button-push.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Air Cruiser is the result of a collaboration between outdoor gear companies Cinch (UK) and Wild Land (China).
Among other things, Cinch previously brought us a solar-powered modular tent. Wild Land (under the name of Q-Yield) has in fact previously offered an instant-up rooftop tent of its own, although that one had an aluminum frame. As its name implies, the Air Cruiser's frame is inflatable.
When not in use, the tent takes the form of a covered 55 x 39 x 10-inch (139 x 97.4 x 26-cm) roof-rack-mounted package. It reportedly tips the scales at 80 lb (36 kg), accessories not included.
Once it's time to set up camp, the user does have to get out of their vehicle, unclip and open the package, pull out the built-in ladder, and extend the frame that makes up the tent's platform. From there, it's just a matter of plugging the power cord of the tent's integrated pump into the vehicle's AC power outlet, then pushing the pump's Start button.
The two- to three-person tent proceeds to pop into shape in just a few minutes. Once it's fully deployed, its interior measures 83 inches long by 51 inches wide by 57 inches tall (210 x 130 x 145 cm). Its walls are made of a waterproof ripstop polyester-cotton blend, tested from -4 to 150 ºF (-20 to 66 ºC).
Some of its other features include an integrated memory foam mattress, six screened windows (two of which are in the roof), blackout curtains, dimmable LED interior lighting strips, and exterior boot-holder pockets beneath the door.
Assuming the Air Cruiser reaches production, a pledge of US$2,199 will get you one – the planned retail price is $2,999. You can see it going up, in the following video.
Source: Kickstarter
