A day before the start of the 2013 Outdoor Retailer convention the Gear Junkie brings us the scoop on yet another interesting new product that should be arriving later this year. This time it is new tent from Eddie Bauer that integrates a solar charging solution from Goal Zero to create a shelter that can also power your outdoor gadgets.
The new tent doesn’t have a release day or price just yet, but we do know that it is an update on EB’s Katabatic four-sason model. The upgrade comes in the form of a built in solar panel on the roof that links internally to a Goal Zero charging system that uses the company’s Sherpa 50 battery pack. The Sherpa 50 is capable of charing a number of devices, including laptops, and is a fantastic mobile power source. So much so that I gave it high marks when I reviewed one earlier this year.
The combination of these products should make for a great mobile base camp for the outdoor adventurer and professional alike. The Katabatic tent weighs in at a little over 10 pounds and the Sherpa will adds another couple of pounds to that, so this isn’t exactly an ultra-lightweight option. But if you’re setting up camp in a single location for some time and need to keep your satellite phone, GPS, laptop and other gear charged, this is an interesting option.
As mentioned above, there is no release date or price yet, but Eddie Bauer sells the tent at $599 on its own and Goal Zero retail the Sherpa 50 system for $360. A little math will tell you this will be an expensive alternative but potentially a very good one for those who need this kind of set-up. The possibilities look promising anyway.
Eddie Bauer and First Ascent aren’t at Outdoor Retailer traditionally but I’m hoping Goal Zero will have one of these on display in their booth. I’ll try to drop by and take a peek and see if I can find out a few more details. I’m sure more than a few of you will be wondering how well the solar-tent performs and when you might be able to order one.
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Solar power mentions to the conversion of sunlight into electricity. This can either be finished directly, through the use of photovoltaic units or obscurely through the use of intensified solar power. intensified solar power schemes are fundamentally schemes that incorporate reflectors or lenses and following schemes that help to focus a large locality of sunshine up on a little beam. On the other hand, photovoltaic units live performance sunlight into electric powered current through the use of the so-called photoelectric effect.
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As you say, would be awesome if your setting-up a base for an extended period, not so good for the stealth camper who pitches up at night.
Do you think the charger will be detachable from the tent?
It seems that the solar panel is built right into the tent but the Sherpa 50 is a standalone unit for collecting the power.
This solar powered tent was so cool! It is really perfect to use in traveling and camping. Glad that you shared this to us. Keep posting.
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