When you're backcountry camping, you'll likely be carrying a tent while using a trekking pole. The Trek-Tent combines both of those things in one device, which can reportedly be converted into a tent in just one minute.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Trek-Tent was invented by camper/hiker Evan BeVier when he was studying Mechanical Engineering Technology at Northern Michigan University.
He developed the product with support from Innovate Marquette SmartZone, a group that boosts technology-based ventures in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It's now being marketed through his startup, TerraHike Outdoors.
While in its adjustable-length aluminum trekking pole configuration, the Trek-Tent looks kind of like a big folded-down umbrella. It has an ergonomic handle on top, the rolled-up tent fabric in the middle, and an interchangeable tip at the bottom. Depending on the terrain, users can swap in either a ski-pole-like basket tip or a grippy rubber tip.
When it's time to make camp for the night, the fabric is unrolled (while the pole is held in a horizontal orientation) and two sets of extendable aluminum legs are folded out from either end of the rig. The fabric is already connected to the legs and pole via integrated loops, in such a way that the legs form A-frame supports at either end of the tent, while the pole forms the tent's horizontal roof support.
In a final step, the four bottom corners of the fabric are looped onto the ends of the legs, pulling everything taut. The whole setup process is claimed to take about one minute, with teardown taking a slightly longer 90 seconds to two minutes.
Once it has been set up, the one-person tent features a zippered door at one end, a zippered mesh window in the middle for added ventilation, and multiple interior pockets for stowing odds and ends such as flashlights or smartphones. Light to moderate rain shouldn't be a problem, as the waterproof Oxford fabric is rated at 3,000 mm.
The whole thing is claimed to tip the scales at about 2 lb (907 g). It's important to note that those two pounds will be lifted by the user each time they swing the trekking pole forward, instead of sitting passively in their backpack.
Assuming the Trek-Tent reaches production, a pledge of US$199 will get you one. The planned retail price is $219.
Other multi-functional trekking poles we've seen in recent years include ones that also serve as the frame of a folding chair, a water purifier, a fishing rod, and a six-function survival tool.
Sources: Kickstarter, TerraHike Outdoors
