If you’ve ever wanted to channel your inner Huckleberry Finn and raft down the Mississippi – or if you’ve just wanted to camp out on the lake and not beside it – you need the Shoal Tent from SmithFly. This ingenious raft is the first of it’s kind – an inflatable, floating raft with a built-in pop-up tent, letting you sleep right out on the water. You can camp out on your favorite pond, river or nearby creek in a very unusual kind of way.
The structure is entirely inflatable, and there are no tent poles used in setting it up. Instead, the body of the raft has three air chambers – two in the lower tube and one in the structure. The floor is 6″ thick, a drop-stitched high pressure floor that is thick, soft and comfortable enough to function as an air mattress–no need for a sleeping pad in this tent. In addition, the tent fabric is waterproof – obviously – and sealed with heavy duty #8 zippers. To use, simply inflate to 3 PSI and the drop stitched floor inflates to 10 PSI. When not in use, the whole thing packs down into a portable roll and comes with a storage bag.
Looks like the most interesting method of camping we’ve seen yet, but man, are we excited to try it out. You’ll probably want to anchor yourself down before going to bed, but that’s one way to solve the problem of sleeping on the cold, hard ground. It’s not cheap, but you can pre-order it now and it will ship by New Year’s – making it a good Christmas gift to yourself.
Shoal Tent Features
- Inflatable raft with pop-up tent; camp on your favorite lake, river or stream
- 6″ thick drop-stitched fabric
- No Tent poles
- Inflates to 10 PSI
- Thick enough for sleeping on – no need for camping mat
- Waterproof, sealed fabric
- Ships Late 2017
The world’s first floating tent!
