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Siesta4: Heat & Light Blocking Tent with Fans

Ultra-Reflective fly fabric + built-in fans = the best sleep when camping. Even in blazing sunshine!

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Siesta4: Heat & Light Blocking Tent with Fans

Siesta4: Heat & Light Blocking Tent with Fans

Siesta4: Heat & Light Blocking Tent with Fans

Siesta4: Heat & Light Blocking Tent with Fans

Siesta4: Heat & Light Blocking Tent with Fans

Ultra-Reflective fly fabric + built-in fans = the best sleep when camping. Even in blazing sunshine!

Ultra-Reflective fly fabric + built-in fans = the best sleep when camping. Even in blazing sunshine!

Ultra-Reflective fly fabric + built-in fans = the best sleep when camping. Even in blazing sunshine!

Ultra-Reflective fly fabric + built-in fans = the best sleep when camping. Even in blazing sunshine!

Gareth Price
Gareth Price
Gareth Price
Gareth Price
2 Campaigns |
San Francisco, United States
$682,694 USD by 1,742 backers
$128,512 USD by 398 backers on Nov 10, 2015 with another platform
Production
The project team has begun turning their prototype into the final product. Their ability to ship the products may be affected by product development or financial challenges.
Check Check Warehouse Truck
Concept Prototype Production Shipping
Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects
Overview
We’re Outback Logic, a boutique tent manufacturer on a mission to revolutionize camping by developing gear that offers unprecedented levels of comfort and versatility. Our SIESTA4 & SIESTA2 tents block over 85% of the sun’s energy, making them dramatically cooler in direct sun, without sacrificing warmth in cold weather. Our game-changing tents are produced in small batches which sell out quickly, so reserve one today by pre-ordering here on Indiegogo!

UPDATE: Siesta4 is sold out for summer 2018

If you're looking for a tent with incredible heat blocking performance you can still grab a new Siesta2, which will be shipping soon. Click here for details.


 

The Siesta4 Disco

Inspired by the festival community, we modified our heat reflective fabric to give a spectacular new look. The fly fabric looks silver in the shade, but when sunlight bounces off the tent it creates an awe-inspiring kaleidoscope of colors that changes with the angle of the light:

The performance and features of the Siesta4 Disco are identical to the original Siesta4 with aluminum poles, YKK zippers and premium materials throughout. Basically, we’ve just added rainbow sparkles! Check out this short video to see more of the Disco fabric:

The dazzling rainbow effect changes constantly with the light:

 

Our Story

Whether you spend your evening chatting by the campfire or dancing all night at a festival, being woken up at sunrise sucks! Less sleep means less energy to get the full potential from the rest of your day (or night), so we set out to improve the camping experience for everyone and make bright, overheating tents a thing of the past!

 
Featured in:

 

The Siesta4 is a four person tent, made from a specially developed lightweight, durable, waterproof fly fabric that reflects infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. Compared to typical nylon and polyester tents, the Siesta4 is dramatically cooler and darker inside when in direct sun.

The photos above and below show the original Siesta4 Prototype.

 

The Siesta4 is the world’s first tent to feature ducted side vents, into which two ultra-quiet, 8 inch, USB-powered fans can be installed. The fans draw cooling fresh air directly into the inner tent through a special fabric duct that connects the inner tent to the fly. 

 

Sure, the Siesta4 beats any other tent hands down in hot weather, but what about rain, wind and cold? Well, the full length fly and closable mesh give excellent protection when the weather turns nasty. Far better protection, in fact, than a 3-season tent. We'll even go so far as to claim the Siesta4 is the most versatile tent ever made!

In terms of wind resistance, aluminium poles, full length pole sleeves and plenty of guy rope attachment points give you best-in-class performance.  In response to early feedback, we've already decided to add even more guy rope attachments to the production model to help in very strong winds.

A common problem with tents when the temperature drops is condensation. We've got that covered too! The inner tent is made from breathable polyester fabric, which combined with excellent airflow under the fly makes the Siesta4 extremely condensation-resistant.

 

Waking up in the Siesta4 is more like waking up at home with the blinds/curtains closed than waking up in a tent. Unless you set your alarm, chances are you’ll carry on sleeping until you wake up naturally.

Basically, you won’t be woken up by bright light, and you won’t feel a burst of heat when the sun hits your tent. It's comparable to pitching a regular tent in complete shade, such as under a large tree… only it’s darker inside, and you don’t need to find a tree or move your tent when the angle of the sun changes!

 

What's the temperature like?

This chart compares the air temperature inside the Siesta4 to a tent made from regular tent fabric. This data was recorded on a typical summer morning in Spain. As a general rule in any climate, the temperature inside the Siesta4 remains relatively close to the temperature of the (ambient) air outside the tent. We've also marked on the chart the time at which one fan was turned on. As you can see, the Siesta4 is dramatically cooler than a regular tent even without a fan running. In this example the doors were closed so you can see how the fan helps keeps the temperature down when the tent is nice and dark inside.

By contrast, the air inside a normal tent gets extremely hot. In reality you’d be much hotter than the air temperature indicates because this doesn't account for the additional heat you feel as a result of infrared radiation. Infrared energy doesn't heat the air - it’s only converted into heat when it’s absorbed by your skin (or your tent).
 

How dark is it?

A small amount of light comes in through the 4" gap around the bottom of the fly.  This isn't enough to wake you up, but it's enough to be able to find your way around the tent. If you want more light you can simply open the doors of the fly.  It's more of a dim glow that's diffused by the wall of the inner tent.

To accurately demonstrate the difference between fabrics, we made an identical tent out of standard tent polyester. These two photos are taken using the exact same camera settings.

 

The Siesta4 is a double-walled design. The inner tent is made from breathable polyester fabric (210T ripstop taffeta), and has two huge double doors with full mesh panels. There are two circular side vents with zips to attach the fans, and there are also two smaller mesh vents in the roof of the tent.  All the mesh panels can be zipped closed, so the inner tent can be fully protected against wind-borne sand and dust.

Having two doors means both ends of the tent can be opened up for great cross-flow of air, giving the best possible ventilation. Opening up all the doors also turns the tent into a great hang-out space if you need a break from the heat during the day! 

In crowded campsites, such as festivals, the tent can be easily pitched without guy ropes. Just stake out the corners and vestibules. Of course, we advise you to add extra stakes and guy ropes if it’s likely to be very windy.

Only four poles and a familiar dome style design means the intuitive setup is quick and easy. The inner tent can be left clipped in, so everything can be pitched in one go.

Other features include:

  • High quality aluminium poles for strength and durability
  • Full length pole sleeves for additional structural stability
  • 2 vestibules give loads of storage space for bags, cooler etc.
  • Adjustable fly door positions (using toggles on the inside) make it easy to increase ventilation without letting in too much light
  • High-sided, heavy-duty, waterproof floor
  • Top quality YKK zippers
  • Central lantern loop
  • 16 additional hanging loops
  • 6 mesh storage pockets
  • Power cord access zippers
  • Reflective guy ropes
  • 16 x Super-strong 8" aluminum stakes

 

We spent many months developing our unique, ultra-reflective fly fabric. The base fabric is 210T polyester taffeta cloth, the same as is used to make other high quality tents. The difference is that ours undergoes a special process that applies a reflective coating on one side, and a polyurethane coating on the other. Both coatings are waterproof, and the seams are sealed at the factory with industry standard PU seam tape. This also means you can repair the fly with a standard tent repair kit should any accidental damage occur (always apply the repair patch to the underside of the fly, not the reflective side).

To demonstrate how reflective our fly fabric is, here’s a comparison with some other materials using an infrared thermal camera. This image shows several different fabrics, placed on a hotplate:

 

The dark colour is due to aluminium cooking foil and our fabric both having low emissivity (they don’t radiate much heat), which shows that they are also excellent heat reflectors. In contrast, normal polyester tent fabric absorbs and radiates heat very well, which is why it’s almost the same colour as the hotplate itself.

You can see an even more dramatic effect when the whole tent is viewed by a thermal camera on hot sunny day:

 

 

In a camping world first, we have designed a ducted vent system that keeps out heat and light, whilst allowing fresh air in from outside. A fabric air duct connects an opening in the inner tent to the vent on the fly, and the outer end of the duct has insect mesh so bugs can’t use you as a tasty treat.

 

Inside the tent the vent opening can be left uncovered for natural ventilation, or one of our custom fans can be zipped in. The duct can be left in place when the tent is rolled up, but the fan(s) have to be removed and packed separately. 
 

The fan(s) can be run from any 2A USB power source. Power consumption is very low so battery life isn't a problem . The fans are supplied with a 2-speed USB power adapter. This allows 'eco' mode for extended battery life or 'max' mode of maximum cooling.

We recommend portable rechargeable power banks like the ones used to charge cell phones and tablets, and/or solar charging kits. 

For most camping trips (less than a week), a portable battery (USB power bank) can run the fan for a few hours each day without needing to be recharged. We evaluated the options for supplying our own portable battery packs, but we can’t currently compete with the prices you can find online from Amazon, eBay etc. Therefore we've created a table to give you an idea of what size battery to buy. 

We recommend buying from a reputable brand (check the online reviews) as not all battery packs provide as much real world capacity as the suppliers claim. If in doubt buy a slightly larger capacity pack than you think you'll need. If you want to run two fans, simply double the capacity. Also look for a model that has a 2A or higher output capacity.

If you wish to use the same battery pack to charge your cell phone or other devices while camping, don’t forget to add extra capacity for those devices as well.

 

As an example, with one fan a 20,000mah power bank should last most people for a week of camping without needing to be recharged. For more examples, search ‘usb power bank’ on your favourite online shopping site.

 

What about solar?

A solar panel with 5v USB or 12v output is a great option for powering the fan(s), especially in hotter climates.  You can leave it connected overnight and the fans will start as soon as the sun hits the panel in the morning. Furthermore, you can leave the fans running during the day so the tent remains at a lower temperature in case you fancy a nap at any time.

For a single fan we recommend 8-16W panels. If you want to run two fans from a single solar panel a 20W or higher panel is recommended.

Solar panels can be a little more expensive than USB power banks so for shorter trips, a USB power bank that can last the duration of the trip may be a more economical option. Please feel free to email us if you’d like advice about which is the best option for your particular type of usage.

 

 

 

All shipping will be from our Los Angeles warehouse. All free shipping and $29 flat-rate shipping options are for the contiguous 48 states. For other areas please contact us for a quote.

We're happy ship internationally, but please consider customs duty and any applicable taxes that you may have to pay. Please contact us for a quote.

 

Outback Logic LLC is a US company founded by a team of entrepreneurs from Australia, America, and England, who got together to bring Gareth’s idea for a heat-reflective, light-blocking tent to life. We’re a multidisciplinary bunch with a wealth of commercial experience. We partnered with leading fabric, tent, and specialist coating manufacturers to develop a world-class product and make the Siesta4 a reality.

Gareth originally had the idea while camping at a festival in the Australian outback. Having camped in a number of warm climates, including Australia, Southern Europe, California, and Nevada, he realised there was huge potential for a heat-reflective tent, and undertook extensive research, design and development to prove the concept and ensure commercial viability.

 

Why are we here?

The manufacture of tents at a competitive price is only possible at volume, especially as we’re also producing our own custom fabric, which is more complicated and more expensive than typical tent fabrics. We use a crowdfunded business model to help cover the upfront manufacturing costs and more accurately determine what quantities of tents and fans to produce.

 

Risks & Challenges

Since our Kickstarter in November 2015 we’ve completed all tooling and development, and produced four production runs of tents. During this time, we’ve refined our production processes and further strengthened our supply chain. All manufacturing carries some risks, but with the experience we’ve gained over the past two years we can be very confident of another smooth production run and timely delivery.

We've seen how frustrating it can be for backers when project owners are not open and transparent about delays or problems. We promise to post regular updates and in the unlikely event of any problems we'll let everyone know exactly what's going on and how we're going to fix it.

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