Camping equipment has come a long way since the days of the Romans and their leather tarpaulins, and yet it's still similar in so many ways. Traditional tents for nomadic cultures, military tents for travelling armies, or recreational tents which saw a rise in popularity from the 19th century onwards, all give humans shelter in the wilderness, and bring them closer to the natural environment.
Throughout our own exploring, we have relied heavily on this beauty shown above. Such a simple structure, and quick to put up and take down, it gave us some of the best 'window' views we've ever had.
It was also generally sturdy...apart from when the desert wind sheared one of the tent poles and we had to take refuge in the car for the night. But not to be dissuaded, we rose to the repair like any self-respecting engineer, with Duct Tape and a few spare tent pegs.
We also made a few other vital improvements to our tent, as it appears American equipment does not cater for rain coming from all angles. You will note the very fetching orange cover that we attached for shielding ourselves from downpours in the rain forest, as the tent was only mesh on that end.
Not only is the tent crucial, but there is now a plethora of styles to choose from when it comes to sleeping bags, mats, stoves and chairs as well. It's practically luxury.
Development from the earliest equipment has seen the change from rigid support poles of wood, steel, and eventually plastic, to flexible and collapsible poles of fibreglass or aluminium alloys. This in turn allowed for greater variety in tent shape and lighter tents for carrying. Over the last few decades in particular, tent designers have made many adjustments to the basic style, there are now tunnel tents for more internal space, inflatable tents with inflatable beams for minimal weight, pop up tents that use a series of hoops for almost instantaneous set-up, and geodesic tents with criss-crossing beams to make them hardy for coping with extreme weather conditions (noted for next time!). There is now even a degree in Outdoor Product Design and Development that you can take in Utah.
According to the Outdoor Industry Association, more than 140million Americans make outdoor recreation a priority. It was estimated back in 2012 that over $646billion was spent on outdoor products in the one year (I'm afraid I don't know if this includes Recreational Vehicle sales!)
The amount of research and design that goes into this sector is incredible, and it includes a lot of engineers. One company started when a design student working with MIT engineers to design a spacesuit, funded by the NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts, saw the potential to use the new technology in outdoor equipment.
In 1981, a Physicist started up his own company, Outdoor Research, to develop better materials and kit for outdoor use.
Even in the UK we have places like the Centre for Technical Textiles, and the Climate Chamber at the School of Earth and Environment, both in Leeds.
In 2015, Camp-a-Tent, a fully compostable tent made from cellulose fibres and plastics which can biodegrade in 10 days, was shortlisted by the Royal Academy of Engineering in their Launchpad competition. This fully rain resistant, lightweight, and cheap to produce tent was designed to solve the major waste problem that is tents being left at festivals in the UK that is thought to equate to approximately 200 tonnes of landfill waste each summer. Although I would ask, why can't people just pack their tents up and take them home!?
Only this year, a group of engineers in LA have designed solar powered tents for the many homeless people living in the city.
And last but certainly not least, it was a chemical engineer, Mr. Wilbert L. Gore, who had an interest in polymer engineering, that ended up creating what would come to be called Gore-Tex, in his basement with his son.
On a larger scale, you may have seen the increasing number of tents used for events, weddings, festivals etc... and I discovered that in the US there is a growing need for these to come with full structural documentation such as drawings, installation guides, flame retardancy certification and design data. In the UK you'll be please to know that there is of course a British Standard for temporary structures.
So next time you're in a tent of any kind, have a look around, at the structure, the materials and maybe enjoy the fact that it's not a Roman leather tarpaulin.
Finally, just a little question that we've been debating between us - the green chair shown above - potentially the worst purchase ever made or design at its most efficient? You will notice that once sat in, it will only have two points on the ground, and your feet give the stability of a third/fourth point...or not, if you misjudge it. Maybe engineering and design can go too far after all.