The American company SmithFly Designs, based in Ohio, sells fly-fishing accessories, bags and accessories, some of which are interchangeable, allowing anglers to customize their equipment. It has just launched a new and rather nice piece of equipment, the Shoal Tent, a kind of inflatable dinghy covered by a tent, to spend a night on the water.
There are no tent poles as the structure is fully inflatable. The inflatable raft, which serves as a base for the tent, has three tubes, two in the lower tube and one in the structure. The high-pressure inflatable floor is 15 cm thick. Strong and waterproof, the tent fabric closes completely with a thick zipper. Smaller openings are installed on the other three sides of the tent. As with a ground tent, the fabric can be lifted out of each opening and rolled over the top of the tent to allow easy passage. Depending on the site, once inflated, the tent will withstand strong winds.
With an external dimension of 2.4 x 2.4 m, the Shoal Tent can sleep people up to 1.90 m tall. For taller people, the site manager advises sleeping either with your head on the socks or diagonally. The height in the centre of the tent is also 1.90 m.
Inflatable means transportable... This tent folds up easily and can be stored in a travel bag with the following dimensions: 152x61x46 cm. The kit includes a storage bag, a patch kit and a foot pump and weighs 35 kg.
This tent - priced at $1,499 (1,270 euros) - is in presale via the site and will be delivered in France (shipping costs will have to be added) from December/January. The tent available in red will also be offered in grey and military later on.
