Palatial Camp Tent Inflates in Minutes: Rise Out of doors AirNEST Evaluation

Rain was imminent, perhaps 20 minutes away, and I’d simply arrived at camp. With no time to waste, I upended the stuff sack and unrolled the tent — not a single pole or stake to be discovered.

As a substitute, I plugged in an computerized air pump, flipped the change, and because it whirred to life, I watched my Rise AirNEST tent steadily stand itself up. With time to spare, I walked into the entryway with out crouching after which laid out on the built-in air mattress.

The primary drops simply began to patter on the rainfly outdoors. Time for a nap.

I received an early testing pattern of the AirNEST from Rise Out of doors and hit the hills, prepared and desirous to see what this factor might do. It’s large enough for wherever from two to 4 individuals and is all one built-in piece. The model even advertises that this tent floats.

I check lots of tents, however this appeared like a really distinctive piece of tenting gear. the webpage, it seemed a bit like a bouncy home. And who wouldn’t need to camp in a type of?

In brief: The Rise AirNEST ($1,100) is a single-piece inflatable tent for automobile tenting. It units up rapidly with the included Rise Airbank, stays totally inflated, and is each wind- and waterproof. It’s very spacious inside, has loads of pockets and space for storing for group, and even features a built-in clothesline. For households that camp collectively, it is a enjoyable, sturdy, easy-to-use inflatable tent that provides some enjoyable aptitude to any campsite.

Rise AirNEST Inflatable Tent Evaluation

Inflatable tents aren’t new, and GearJunkie has reviewed them up to now. They’re nonetheless a novelty within the tenting world, however they appear to be rising in recognition. They use air to create stability and pressure as a substitute of a inflexible pole construction.

There are advantages and downsides to this design, although. On the upside, inflatable tents are quick and principally hands-free to arrange. There are additionally fewer elements and items to lose or break. Inflatable tents are additionally sturdy in windy circumstances, as they’ll flex and bend extra simply than inflexible poles, which might bend or break.

The Rise AirNEST claims to be extra than simply your commonplace inflatable tent, although. It’s described as a “totally built-in outside shelter system” as a result of the mattress is constructed into the ground of the tent, and there’s no removable rainfly or footprint. It’s all only one large unit. You merely take away it from its duffel/backpack carrying case, unroll it, hook up the Airbank pump, and let ‘er rip.

Supplies & Building

Rise Out of doors used 50-denier, 3,000HH (that means it might face up to a column of water 3,000 mm excessive) SilPoly for the waterproof fly. The ribcage-like airtubes that give the tent its construction are comprised of 420-denier puncture-resistant Oxford nylon and 210-denier Dacron. It’s each abrasion- and puncture-resistant. Once you maintain the supplies in your hand, they really feel fairly bombproof.

All seams are totally taped, and the zippers are water resistant. The doorways are double-layered, with a water-resistant outer layer and a no-see-um mesh.

Rise Out of doors used Halkey-Roberts (HR) valves on each the tent and the mattress. These are the identical valves used on SUP boards.

Setup

The Rise Out of doors web site claims that the AirNEST could be utterly arrange in simply 2 minutes. That could be true when you’ve finished it a number of instances, however anticipate the primary inflation to take a bit of bit longer.

I made the error of not checking all the HR valves my first time. I ran the pump for about 10 minutes, ready to see one thing occur, earlier than I noticed I hadn’t closed all of them. As soon as all the valves had been closed, it went up fairly rapidly.

The Airbank pump fills the AirNEST in two phases. The primary is quantity. The pump fills the entire tent to 0.9 psi, evenly distributing air. Then, it kicks into the next gear (you’ll be able to truly hear the pump begin making a unique noise when it does).

From there, the tent takes form rapidly. At 4 psi, it must be standing upright. In chilly or windy circumstances, the instructions recommend filling it to five or 6 psi. Nevertheless, it notes by no means to fill it greater than 7 psi. As soon as the tent is inflated, you utilize the identical pump to fill the mattress. The instructions advocate 2 psi, however I like a firmer mattress, so I stuffed mine to three psi.

Built-in Design

A lot of the tents I check have a physique, a rainfly, and a footprint — all separate items. Then there’s your sleep system, which is bought and assembled individually. The great thing about the AirNEST is that it’s all a single piece (minus your sleeping bag and pillow). There’s no rainfly to connect or footprint to put down forward of time. You simply throw the tent out, fill it up, and also you’re able to go.

Having 37 sq. toes of built-in sleeping house is fairly rad. Your entire ground of the tent is taken up by the built-in (however detachable) mattress, so my accomplice, canine, and I all had loads of house to sleep, roll round, flip over, and unfold out. The inflatable mattress held as much as the canine’s traipsing round, and with an R-value of 4, it insulated us effectively from the chilly, moist floor.

The built-in rainfly labored as marketed. Initially, when it began dumping rain, I felt some trepidation. However over the course of a really moist 3-day weekend, I gained lots of confidence within the waterproofing. There have been no points with leakage or seepage.

Pockets, Group, Vestibule

I’m a sucker for well-designed pockets in a tent, and the Rise AirNEST didn’t disappoint. Inside, there are six separate pockets of differing sizes you could retailer keys, wallets, telephones, flashlights, and larger objects like blankets, further layers, and even the Airbank and hand pump that the tent comes with.

The vestibule provides two extra giant pockets, for a complete of 14. There isn’t any scarcity of house to stay your issues on this tent.

The AirNEST’s vestibule is certainly one of my favourite components of this tent design. It provides nearly 40 sq. toes of house to retailer duffel baggage and backpacks. You may additionally arrange a few camp chairs beneath it, cook dinner a meal, and luxuriate in some drinks whereas staying sheltered from rain and solar.

The vestibule door has two vertical zippers on both aspect, so it may be opened up, rolled, and fixed out of the best way.

Packability & Transportation

The AirNEST comes with a duffel bag that doubles as a backpack. Altogether, the tent weighs about 23 kilos, which, although heavy relative to most two- and three-person tents, isn’t outrageous. Whereas a backpacking journey might be out of the query, you would nonetheless comfortably carry this tent a methods out of your automobile to set it up.

The duffel bag is rectangular, and I discovered it to pack simply into the again of my truck with all my different tenting gear. It’s a simple Tetris piece to slot in.

It Floats?

Sure, it floats. Why? That’s a greater query. I’ve seen a number of inflatable tents that float over time, and I simply can’t fathom a motive why anybody would need to sleep on and get up in the midst of a lake or pond.

For one factor, you want a ship to get to land and make espresso within the morning. That’s an added barrier between me and my morning Joe that appears pointless.

Then, what occurs when you lose air in a single day? Positive, the AirNEST appears fairly hermetic, however stuff occurs. In the event you spring a leak or in any other case lose air in a single day, waking up inside a sinking tent could be a terrifying expertise.

That’s all to say, the AirNEST can float. I didn’t check this function, however others could be extra inclined.

Rise AirNEST Inflatable Tent: Within the Subject

I set my AirNEST up in my yard the primary time, simply to get a way of the way it labored. Then, throughout a very wet stretch of August, I took it on a 3-day tenting journey in Twin Lakes, Colo. So admittedly, I don’t have long-term testing impressions to relay.

That stated, I used to be actually happy with its efficiency over that lengthy weekend. When the wind picked up, the tent didn’t bend, buckle, or fold over on itself. The inflexible inflatable tubes that give it its construction held sturdy and retained their rib-cage form. When it rained, water beaded simply off the waterproof exterior with out penetrating even as soon as.

Hanging out on this tent was a deal with in comparison with the a lot smaller backpacking tents I typically check. There was ample head and shoulder house to kneel, sit up, and transfer round inside. We performed video games within the tent throughout the rain, and it was so spacious I might lie sprawled out whereas we did.

Rise additionally included a clothesline that runs down the middle of the AirNEST. After a scorching spring swim, we hung our bathing fits up, and so they dried whereas we slept. That additionally served as a helpful place to hold our nighttime lantern.

Each doorways shut totally, but in addition have a no-see-um mesh layer. You may depart the mesh doorways up for a pleasant cross-breeze with out bugs getting inside. Or, shut the doorways utterly for extra privateness, to maintain the wind out, and retain extra physique warmth inside.

At first, I may need been skeptical about utilizing this tent on a windy, wet weekend in Colorado’s excessive nation. However after my expertise, I really feel completely snug utilizing this tent three seasons a 12 months, rain or shine. Actually, it was nicer having this tent on a wet weekend as a result of it provided a lot house to hang around inside, sheltered from the storm.

Room for Enchancment

Whereas the three,000HH waterproof fly could be very efficient at conserving water out, it doesn’t expirate fairly as effectively. The final evening we camped on this tent was chilly, and I zipped up each doorways utterly. I awakened within the morning to a drop of water splashing on my brow, after which one other. Once I sat up and knocked the aspect of the tent, a bathe of condensation droplets fell on each of us. With out recent air, this factor builds up some actual condensation.

My solely different gripe needed to do with the vestibule’s skirt. It’s lower in such a means that it flaps lots within the wind. The primary evening, it seemed like a flag whipping round outdoors, and I received up and weighted it down with a bunch of rocks. That solved the difficulty, however a extra everlasting resolution from Rise could be to make that skirt smaller or take into account a unique form.

Rise AirNEST Inflatable Tent: Who Is It For?

This tent could be wonderful for household automobile tenting journeys. It simply suits two or three individuals (4 could be a squeeze). There’s ample space for storing, it’s fairly hassle-free to arrange, and it’s much more enjoyable than an ordinary inflexible pole tent. I’d have completely beloved this factor as a child.

I adore it as an grownup, too. My accomplice and had been extraordinarily snug over the three days we camped within the AirNEST, and we’re planning on utilizing it for the remainder of the summer season and into fall every time we go automobile tenting.

Clearly, the load and dimension rule it out for many backpacking journeys. However with the backpack duffel carry system, it might nonetheless be possible to hold this factor a methods from the automobile and set it up.

There are some small design quirks that Rise nonetheless must work out, however general, that is the good, most sturdy, and stable-feeling inflatable tent I’ve interacted with. I’m genuinely excited to make use of it once more subsequent time.