Swiss watchmaker Reservoir’s new Airfight Titane expands the future by delving into the past. The Airfight Titane delivers an instrument panel as a timekeeper, with a retrograde minute hand, jumping hour window, and fuel gauge as a battery meter. Nothing like it has ever come across our desk, but its ancestors have prolifically flown skies both friendly and unfriendly.

To put it in the company’s words, the Reservior Airfight Titane watch “takes its inspiration from the functionalities and the aesthetic appeal of measurement instruments of days gone by.” Get behind the joystick with the deeply retro, but eminently functional, Airfight Titane.

Airfight Titane: Old-School Display as Update

The coolest thing about the Airfight Titane is that it uses anachrony to forge an update. But before you banish it to the same category as steampunk or lumbersexual, think again. Not only is the Airfight’s face novel and eye-catching, but it’s also highly functional.

Aircraft instrument panels have to be easy to read because it’s crucial for the pilot to limit distractions. So the Airfight watch’s display, by proxy, is equally functional. The retrograde minute hand has clearly marked 5- and 10-minute designations. The jumping hour counter has a high-contrast border. And we all know how to read a fuel gauge.

The watch’s stark black and white color scheme emphasizes its utility.

Specs

This Swiss watch has a self-winding mechanical movement that charges the watch for 37 hours. For those that don’t know, self-winding watches charge their own batteries through perpetual motion mechanisms. The mechanisms draw energy from random movement while on the user’s wrist. The movement can be observed through a 240-degree window on the back of the case.

The case is 43 mm, satin, and polished titanium. And if you pilot through any squalls with the Airfight on your wrist, you’ve got no problem if your open canopy takes on some spitting rain. 5 ATM waterproof capability protects the watch.

The NATO strap completes the tacti-cool look. The reservoir includes an extra, in case you lose one in a dogfight.

Take Flight: Purchasing

Reservoir prices the singular Airfight Titane at $4350 MSRP. It also annotates prices with HT, seemingly indicating it accepts Huobi Tokens, a cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain. At the time of writing, $4350 USD exchanged for 330 HT.

Purchase

As recently as 2017, Bestech was a fledgling knife maker that had just released its first designs. But the most recent addition to its line looks as mature as it gets. The Bestech Sledgehammer adapts a Japanese tanto blade for a distinctive EDC folder.

Bestech released the knife about 3 weeks ago, among a recent flurry of new designs that have the industry abuzz. But with any upstart knife maker, there’s the same question: is it a POS?

I took a deep dive into the internet to find out. I may have come out mildly more deranged than before, but I learned a lot about Bestech’s credentials along the way. Spoiler alert (or not): Bestech is ready to surprise you.

Why Japanese Tanto?

The main advantage of any tanto blade is its durable point. More steel near the point means less breakage. This is especially important for any puncturing activities, which was a big part of how Samurai used the original tanto (or “short sword” in Japanese).

Bestech’s take on the Japanese tanto has a steep angle at the final grind. The shape should make it ideal for chopping or slicing, almost like a cleaver. And, of course, the point should be rock-solid. Breaking that much steel (especially tough D2) would take some work.

Bestech Sledgehammer Specs

The Sledgehammer is right on the lower end of a mid-sized pocket knife at 7.2 inches overall length, with a 3-inch blade. The flat scales help keep it narrow in your pocket, and a 3-inch blade is plenty for most EDC tasks. The handle measures about 3.25 inches from the choil to the butt, which could feel on the small side for users with thicker hands.

D2 steel has been used for knives since its inception around WWII, and for good reason. Edge retention and toughness are its strong suits. Bestech makes a few Sledgehammer variants with coated blades to limit corrosion, which can be common in D2.

Finally: Is It a POS? Bestech’s Credentials

From my view, the answer looks like a confident “no.” It’s still very early to say for sure, as the Sledgehammer hit the market in mid-May. But the D2 chosen by Bestech has lived up to its reputation for holding an edge in early testing around the internet.

My curmudgeon side remains a little skeptical of construction consistency — Bestech is only 4 years old. But interestingly, its parent company has a lot of experience in the trenches of knife making. Yangjiang Outdoor Winner Industries, which owns Bestech, has built knives for over a decade. Reportedly, Yangjiang has spent part of that time operating as an original equipment manufacturer for SOG and Gerber.

At the end of the day, the only place Bestech looks to be cutting costs is on its website design. The Sledgehammer MSRPs at a we’re-serious $65. And its warranty and list of authorized dealers both look legit.

If you’re feeling adventurous, go to the source and order one of the world’s newest EDC pocket knives, the Bestech Sledgehammer.

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If you’ve never seen an angrier-looking little knife, you’re not alone. The CRKT Provoke Compact’s mechanism is highly unique in the category. And the Compact knife design downsizes from the first generation of Provoke karambits without sacrificing much functionality.

If you want an EDC knife optimized for self-defense that sends a message, give the Provoke Compact a close look.

Provoke Compact Knife Operation

Obviously, the Provoke Compact knife is no ordinary folder. But how does it work?

To deploy the Provoke Compact’s blade, the action applies kinematics: the geometry of motion. CRKT has trademarked the term, but science is freely available. The study of how forces act on objects in a system inspires the Provoke series.

In practice, the user applies downward pressure on the closed knife’s upper crossbar with their thumb. That pressure sets a chain reaction in motion, making the blade “lunge” forward. From our first looks, the action looks fast and authoritative. The biggest advantage may be that the user never has to reposition their hand on the handle; gripping the compact knife and deploying the blade requires the same hand position.

A safety ring at the butt helps the user locate the knife easily, and adds grip security in a pinch.

Sized Down: Compact Specs

Folded, the CRKT Provoke Compact knife is just 4.5 inches long. Equipped with an innovative thumb-pressure-activated pocket clip that CRKT calls a “world’s first,” the compact knife should carry quite discreetly. The blade is a self-defense-optimized 2.26 inches long.

The Compact is about half an inch shorter overall than the original Provoke. However, it doesn’t sacrifice much in terms of blade: the original Provoke’s blade is only 0.2 inches longer. By those metrics, the Compact basically looks like an optimized redesign.

The knife’s handle is 6061 CNC-milled aluminum. The blade is stonewashed D2, known for positive wear resistance at a bargain price.

Carry and Purchasing

The CRKT Provoke Compact is best thought of as a self-defense knife. The downturned shape limits the utility in a lot of situations, though it would work great for package opening, or in many cases where you’d use a razor knife. The action should definitely impress your friends, and make a different kind of impression on any enemies.

CRKT launches the new Provoke Compact at MSRP $150.

Purchase

If you would have told my 10-year-old self that one day we would see 3D-printed custom scooters, I would have thought you were an alien. But with startup electric scooter builder Scotsman, the future is now.

Scotsman leverages 3D printing to deliver a highly customizable electric scooter. Though it’s not yet in production, the project is primed; it’s currently almost 400% funded through Indiegogo. Once operational, Scotsman will build the world’s first 3D printed electric scooters, based on each specific user’s body shape and ride preferences. From there, users can choose from a variety of motors, colors, and accessories.

3D Printed Electric Scooter Concept

If you don’t know much about 3D printing, here is a helpful resource from 3DInsider. Without getting in the weeds, 3D printing is the process of creating a physical object from a digital file in, you guessed it, 3 dimensions.

The execution of the concept has matured mightily. Now, Scotsman takes the logical step of applying it to personal mobility. Each “unibody” scooter will be 3D printed in one continuous pass of aerospace-grade carbon fiber thermoplastic. Each user calls the shots throughout Scotsman’s design, build, and delivery process, promising a bespoke experience.

Modular components are numerous as well: users can choose from an array of lights, mirrors, colors, accents, and of course, batteries and motors.

Power: What Makes the Scotsman Electric Scooter Go

Electric motors will be available in 500W, 1000W, or a formidable 2000W iteration. Most 2000W electric scooters currently available can reach top speeds of up to 40 MPH. I’m betting Scotsman’s builds can do that and then some; its unibody carbon fiber construction strongly suggests very low weight. It does plan to size scooters generously (by comparison to competitors), but the material’s ridiculously high strength-to-weight ratio gives it some leeway.

Scotsman also builds in a dual battery bay to make sure users never get left high and dry. The extra juice figures to be additionally important due to the electric scooter’s high connectivity. It has a color display that Scotsman calls the “world’s first” with a dashcam, 4G cellular connection, and GPS navigator.

Indiegogo Status and Launch

If you’re trying to experience the world’s first bespoke 3D printed electric scooter, we’ve got good news: 50% off early bird specials are still available. Get to the Indiegogo page to learn more and select from any of the available motor sizes. The 500W variant starts at $1500, down from the MSRP of $3000.

As of this writing, 2 weeks were left in the campaign. First units were expected to ship in December 2021.

Industry heads and space nerds are over the moon about the partnership between GM and  Lockheed-Martin to build the next-generation lunar rover for NASA’s Artemis missions. The companies’ joint announcement of the project in late May opened the door for development, implying a marriage of GM’s engineering capability and Lockheed-Martin’s cutting-edge tech.

“This is the stuff you dream about as a kid in science class,” Madhu Raghavan, Global Research & Development Group Manager at GM, said. “People want to be part of this.” Raghavan is right on point. My editors may or may not have told me to stop writing about vehicles, but this time, I had to take one small step for man.

The Artemis Program: Humans on the Moon for First Time in 50 Years

NASA’s Artemis program will land humans on the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. It’s a scientific mission, engineered to gather critical information for the first manned missions to Mars.

That’s right: Mars. Artemis plans to put boots on moon dust by 2024. The next goal is to institute “sustainable missions” by 2028. At that point, NASA hopes to have the information it needs to send astronauts on the long journey to the red planet.

I don’t care who you are; if you don’t think that’s cool, you need to check your priorities. (Again, if my editors would continue to kindly look the other way….)

Lunar Mobility: Next Generation Lunar Rover from GM and Lockheed-Martin

Lockheed-Martin brings decades of experience working with NASA to the table. The company has built or contributed to various spacecraft dating back to the Viking missions in the 1970s; as well, NASA flew its iconic SR-71 Blackbird during the aircraft’s 36 years of service.

Lockheed-Martin will lead the team, but GM will bring valuable off-road engineering experience, a focus on human safety, and, notably, a technology from its growing electric vehicle program.

The finished product will need everything the team can pack it with: its challenges are steep. Lunar days and nights are two weeks long. Daytime temperatures reach 260°F; temperatures at night drop to a mind-bending 260°F below. Of course, the vehicle will also face intense radiation as astronauts deploy it on an array of scientific missions.

According to Lockheed-Martin, the rover will be tasked on missions intended to “increase our understanding of how the Moon formed and evolved, how it interacts with the Sun, and how water and other resources arrived at the Moon, and how they are transported and preserved.”

A Long Way to the Top: How to Drive a Lunar Rover

There’s only one way to get behind the wheel or joystick, of the new lunar rover: join NASA. And even then, you may not get to joyride it — GM and Lockheed-Martin also target full autonomous capability.

The closest you can get in the consumer market? Any electric vehicle made by GM, such as the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning. It’s hinted that R&D on the lunar rover’s battery tech could bleed over to electric vehicles here on Mother Earth.

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Damascus steel! Carbon fiber! Named after an adorable doggo! What more could you want from a pocket knife? If it’s heft and performance, the Civivi Bullmastiff has you covered. The impossible-to-ignore Damascus/carbon fiber iteration (newest in the line) guarantees your EDC kit will stand out. And the Mini version, with a capable but compact 3-inch blade, just hit a deep price drop.

Civivi Mini Bullmastiff Pocket Knives As Art

Damascus steel, though more common than it used to be, is something of a holy grail in the blade world. Its storied reputation is over a millennium old, based on an ancient technique for folding steel during forging. These days, much of the Damascus legend exists in the sands of time, and the alloy’s characteristics have become secondary to its artistic value.

Civivi puts it overtly on display with the Mini Bullmastiff’s 3-inch cleaver-shaped blade. The tall blade gives the owner or admirer plenty of room to get lost in the Damascus pattern. A deep channel adds an aesthetic touch.

The blade’s aqueous pattern contrasts sharply against the Bullmastiff’s gridded handle. The 4.2-inch G10 handle is overlaid with a layer of twill-patterned carbon fiber.

The Mini Bullmastiff Pocket Knife as EDC Functionality

Anyone can see that the Civivi Bullmastiff looks badass, but does its bite match its bark? All signs point to yes.

Though it doesn’t sound like much, the 3-inch blade promises to impress with its sheer heft. The knife is 7.17 inches long when it’s open, and weighs in at a robust 3.46 ounces. Because of the clever shape and lightweight G10 handle, the knife should feel naturally heavier toward the blade. The 4.2-inch handle should accommodate most users’ hands very comfortably. A relatively deep choil helps secure the grip.

A cleaver is an unusual choice for an EDC blade, but it makes sense in a lot of applications. For opening packages, I often grip my knife blade near the edge between my thumb and forefinger (pro tip: it’s a depth gauge). The Bullmastiff’s blade facilitates this with plenty of room in the vertical. I know it’s painful to damage something beautiful, but if the chips are down, a wider blade is better for prying or bottle opening. And if you ever find yourself chopping food, say at a campsite, a cleaver is clearly the tool for the job.

A Deal on Damascus Steel

From what we’ve seen, we’re impressed with the Civivi Mini Bullmastiff’s fast, loud action and unignorable appearance. Find out for yourself at Civivi’s website, where the Mini Bullmastiff is currently down from MSRP $100 to $75.

Purchase

GoodMaps Explore identifies a critical, but often overlooked necessity in navigation technology: mapping indoor spaces. Every inch of the planet’s outdoor surface has been digitally mapped, and Google has codified most of it with LiDAR mapping and GPS. You’ve seen the Google cars driving around with the periscope? GoodMaps fits LiDAR backpacks on human operators to map indoor spaces.

The tech is revolutionary for vision-impaired populations or anyone who finds themselves in unfamiliar territory.  Surrounded by signs in languages you don’t understand? Fire up GoodMaps Explore to pull back the linguistic curtain and navigate your foreign situation. The app, available on the App Store and Google Play, continues to evolve since its recent debut.

Enhanced Indoor Navigation: GoodMaps Tech and Concept

GoodMaps starts with boots on the ground — literally. Then, using a LiDAR backpack, a GoodMaps employee walks the space to be mapped (museum, airport, mall, sidewalk crossing), and the pack collects data.

Digital imaging takes over from there, generating a model of the space that’s as accurate as possible. As soon as the map uploads to the GoodMaps Explore database, it’s accessible to any user. Smartphone camera-based positioning cuts down on abrasion and cost for the building host by eliminating the need for beacons or other devices.

Travel Tech

The user experience can help travelers as well as the visually impaired. By announcing upcoming points of interest, like emergency exits, restrooms, and intersections, the app helps blind users similarly to the way signs help sighted people. And anyone who’s ever been in a foreign city without being fluent in the local language can understand the app’s utility. Need a bathroom but don’t know if that door on the left might lead to some unknown portal? Cue GoodMaps.

GoodMaps Explore App Status

GoodMaps Explore App Status

As of this writing, the GoodMaps Explore user experience looks pretty rudimentary. It launched late last year and currently has 100+ downloads on Play Store. But it does promise capability once it gets humming, with a “Favorites” section for saving locations and “Lookaround” for exploring directionally, just by pointing your phone in any direction. In addition, choose-your-own-adventure types can use the “Getting Warmer” feature to make their own route to any specified location.

The main obstacle seems to be with available data. Based on my testing, I’d consider it in beta. Explore did accurately identify some locations around my neighborhood, but it also shunted me to Google Maps a lot. And it wasn’t always on point — I confirmed that a place called “Davy’s Delicatessen” on “Bologna Boulevard” does not, in fact, exist 828 feet from my office.

Winner, Winner

But you don’t win an Innovation award at CES (GoodMaps did in April 2021) for nothing, and the company promises to expand its reach throughout the year. Once the data catches up with the technology, the pioneering app stands to empower visually impaired populations dramatically.

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Dust off your bucket hat collection and download some Ja Rule ringback tones; flip phones are back. A recent leak has given us our first look at the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, the second generation (second, not third) in the series. We scoured the rumor mill and aggregated the results to prepare you for the flip phone’s expected late-2021 release.

Photo Credit: Snoreyn – LetsGoDigital

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 Leak

The first snippets of information about the Galaxy Z Flip 3 trickled in via leaked promotional videos from Samsung. The internet went bananas, and a few form factors and design particulars emerged. A glossy black cover display houses the camera array, giving the Z Flip 3 a two-tone look similar to the Google Pixel 2. The display looks to be a fair amount bigger than the original Z Flip’s display, which should bolster its utility.

The Z Flip 3’s major form redesign looks like, predictably, thinner bezels for the foldable screen. With the iPhone 12, Apple Watch 7, and others, the tech world moves inextricably toward more screen and less edge. Shrinking the Z Flip 3’s bezel will help Samsung keep the pace.

Several color options, including lilac and green, will be available.

In the video, we can also see that the phone is wrapped in Gorilla Glass Victus. The material, manufacturer of Corning’s most advanced glass to date, seeks to maximize both scratch and drop resistance. It looks impressive — according to Corning, it survived drop tests at up to 2 meters in the lab. Many comparable aluminosilicate glasses break at 0.8 meters.

(Controversial?) New Battery

Internet consensus has established that Samsung will shift to using ATL batteries for the Galaxy Z Flip 3. The device’s first iteration used Samsung SDI batteries, but China’s Amperex Technology Limited will supply the new batteries.

Interestingly, ATL batteries last made the news during the Galaxy Note 7 fire scandal. Ultimately, batteries (both SDI and ATL) were identified as the causes of the fires. Samsung appears to choose ATL to drive down cost, but reports indicate it shouldn’t matter much at the consumer price point. The cost for smartphone batteries typically ranges between $10 and $15, so the ATL battery’s price significance is pretty limited.

Photo Credit: Snoreyn – LetsGoDigital

Galaxy Z Flip 3 Production & Pricing Estimates

Samsung has reportedly started production on the accompanying Z Fold 3, but there were no reports confirming production for the Z Flip 3 as of this writing. Most rumor mongers point to a late July/early August release date for the Z Flip 3.

Twitter leaker FronTron made waves by suggesting the phone will MSRP at around $1000 to $1200. The majority of sources have adopted that assessment, which would be a significant reduction from the current $1450 Z Flip 5G.

Find Out More Here

LetsGoDigital

Tom’s Guide

Photo Credit: Snoreyn – LetsGoDigital

Photo Credit: Snoreyn – LetsGoDigital

Even if you’re not a Revolutionary War officer or an early 20th-century African safari-goer, canvas tents are great for camping. I’ll admit, I thought canvas tents were anachronistic before researching this article (if that wasn’t already clear). Turns out, the best canvas tents have their advantages. No, they’re not lightweight, but they do retain ambient temperature, filter sunlight, and endure the elements well. And yes, they are waterproof.

Say you’re camping with your family (or your regiment of 247 brave musketeers and a marching piccolo player). If you want to do an extended stay in one spot, quality canvas tents can feel a lot homier than synthetic ones. Natural fabrics with natural colors will always be more soothing than bright-colored synthetics. Some canvas tents even have sturdier structures or solid floors. Such features facilitate glamping to the max; you can hang a mood-setting lantern inside or even put down a rug! (I’ve done both.)

The best canvas tents give campers the most relaxing experience. If you’re reading this, I’d be willing to bet that’s at least part of your goal. After all, what’s better than enjoying the great outdoors from the cozy security of a sturdy dwelling made of natural fibers?

Without further poetic waxing (and before I convince myself to buy one, quit my job, and move to Walden Pond), here’s the full buyer’s guide.

The Best Canvas Tent

White Dusk Avalon Bell Canvas Tent

The White Duck Avalon bell canvas tent is built to last and deliver high-quality camping comfort. It gives campers options and confidence with a big selection of mesh-protected openings, stove jack, and galvanized steel backbone. All in all, the ten-person bell tent looks prepared for anything.

It looks like White Duck has put careful thought into the tent’s strength and breathability. The door, twelve windows, and four vent openings are all double layered with canvas and lightweight mesh. The structure is breathable and open but also highly reinforced. It uses galvanized poles and White Duck’s proprietary grounding system to absorb shock and withstand heavy weather. This large camping tent also comes with a sewn-in polyurethane groundsheet to keep your feet (or rug or furniture legs) dry.

The 5-foot stove jack is made with fire retardant material and silicone-coated so you can stay warm and cook safely. If you’re the serious glamper type, you’ll probably utilize Avalon’s electrical cable outlet.

White Duck coats the Avalon’s 100% cotton canvas with a water repellent material, so it should be good to go right out of the box. Thought standing 11.2 feet tall in the center, it weighs 98 pounds packed. All in all, the Avalon is a heavy-duty canvas tent for all seasons.

Purchase

Kodiak Swag Canvas Tent

Kodiak Canvas fills a cool niche with the Swag 1-Person Tent. Usually, single sleeper tents are designed toward ultra-lightweight utility, with little regard for fit and feel. But with the Swag four-season canvas tent, lone adventurers can enjoy the great outdoors with the soft, natural feel of a canvas enclosure.

Measuring 6-feet 8-inches long and nearly 3 feet wide and tall, this four-season tent is plenty big enough for most burly mountain men. The simplicity of setup is one of its calling cards. Kodiak Canvas builds it as a reimagining of a cowboy’s bedroll. The idea is to simply unroll it, plug the poles in and throw your bag inside. It even has a built-in 2-inch foam pad with a washable flannel cover.

The outer material is cotton canvas, waterproof treated with Kodiak Canvas’s trademarked Hydra-Shield, and silicone sealed. By compromising some of its natural appeals, Kodiak Canvas makes the Swag’s material highly waterproof yet breathable. The floor has a puncture-resistant vinyl insert for durability and dryness. Screened windows at both the head and foot facilitate airflow, and the canopy rolls back to give a wide view of any starry night sky. Its inclusion of a “handy doormat” is borderline endearing.

If there’s any drawback to the Swag 1-Person Tent, it’s the weight. You’re not gonna take this thing backpacking unless you’re really into suffering under heavy loads: it weighs over 20 pounds packed. But it’s still an ingenious system for anyone who likes camping solo and wants a more curated tent built from natural materials.

Purchase

White Duck Alpha Wall Canvas Tent

White Duck’s Alpha wall tent is the clear choice for a canvas family tent. Even the most reticent campers should feel at home in Alpha, partially because it’s got most of the characteristics of a house. The cavernous 16- x 24-foot model delivers 384 square feet of enclosed comfort. Nearly all of that space is completely usable — the peak height is 10 feet, and the side walls are 5 feet tall. A PV groundsheet keeps campers’ tootsies dry. A stove jack keeps it warm inside.

Considering all this, it’s a great idea to put a tent-like the Alpha on a constructed platform. With so much material to soak up moisture, the tent is susceptible to mold and mildew. White Duck makes it in graduating sizes, starting at 8 x 10 feet. That size sleeps six; the grandaddy 16 x 24 feet sleeps 18.

The Alpha is a true four-season canvas tent with a storm door and six triple-layered windows. White Duck states it considers a stove jack an integral part of any canvas tent. Naturally, it builds a jack suitable for 5-inch or 6-inch pipes into the Alpha. Galvanized aluminum poles finish out the build.

You can upgrade to either a waterproof or waterproof/fire repellant version of the Alpha. If you’re gonna get the big one, get ready to carry it. Spanning 16 x 24 feet, the Alpha is heavy — the waterproof tent weighs in at 441 pounds, and the fire-repellant version clocks 461 pounds.

Purchase

Teton Sports Mesa Canvas Tent

The Teton Sports Mesa is a cabin-style canvas tent built for chill campsite life with electronics enabled. Multiple “e-ports,” as Teton Sports calls them, let glampers glamp to the max and make this model one of the premier canvas tents for camping. The uniform height means no awkward bending over. And a polymer floor keeps the weather from seeping up from below.

The Mesa’s unique cabin build delivers enough interior space for up to 8 without an enormous footprint. At 10 x 14 feet, Teton Sports claims a comfortable fit for six and maximum accommodation of eight. The roof is a uniform 6.5 feet high, so every inch of the interior space is usable. Teton adds gear organizers to keep the essentials straight.

With one front door and one back door, the Mesa fits the bill of a shotgun shack. Elsewhere, built-in vents facilitate airflow. An awning out front increases chillability.

The Mesa looks like a good choice for front-country shenanigans, and electrical ports help drive home the effect. Ports in the corners help campers get their screen time on in the great outdoors. Teton Sports says the 100% cotton is waterproof but does not specify any coating or treatment. Users may need to weather the tent themselves to waterproof it (see our FAQ below for details).

For more top-quality camping equipment, check out our guide to the best inflatable tents.

Purchase

Teton Sports Sierra Bell Canvas Tent

The Teton Sports Sierra is a scalable bell tent, available in sizes that sleep 10-16 people. I’ve been in yurts that would only just do that; for a portable bell-shaped structure, the Sierra is a beast. Bell tents do perform well in snowy conditions, but unfortunately, Teton overlooks adding a stove jack.

Thus, the Sierra is best used as a 3-season tent. Its built-in vents facilitate airflow, and the floor even zips away to convert the tent into an open-air canopy. Teton specifies the material as only “waterproof 100% cotton canvas.” As such, be aware you might have to weather the tent to waterproof it.

The 10-person Sierra is a 12-foot circle with an 8’ 4” roof peak. It has one door, 2 windows, gear pouches, and ports for electrical cords. The double-layer door has zippered mosquito netting for fair weather. As I mentioned, it’s missing a stove jack, which does limit its utility.

But, the 20-footer is legitimately as big as a yurt and can comfortably sleep 12 people (16 total capacity). At its peak, it’s over 11 feet tall. At that size, it’s a pretty lightweight option as canvas tents go at 114 pounds packed. The scalable Teton Sports Sierra should be a go-to for 3 season gatherings where big groups need open-air versatility.

For more great options for winter, check out our guide to the top cold weather tents.

Purchase

Canvas Tent Buying Guide & FAQ

Features to Look for in Canvas Tents

Material

Most of the tents in this guide are made from treated canvas. Waterproof and fire-retardant treatments are common, and many canvas tents are coated with silicone. This drastically changes the natural properties of the canvas. Read on for an explanation of each canvas type.

Canvas is made from one of two distinct materials: cotton or polyester.

• Polyester canvas seems like a bit of a copout for the canvas crowd — it’s not a natural fiber by any means. But it’s lighter than cotton, and because it’s a petroleum product, it repels water even better than cotton canvas. As well, it’s more resistant to mold and mildew. If you want the most waterproof canvas tent you can get, choose polyester.
• Cotton canvas has advantages in terms of sustainability, breathability, and overall feel. The bottom line is that no petroleum-derived product is renewable or easily biodegradable.

Cotton canvas is both. As well, it usually breathes better because its fibers are naturally derived and woven looser. These are major advantages for glampers, who will also appreciate cotton canvas’s soft texture.

However, cotton canvas does require a labor of love: it’s heavy, and it’s susceptible to mold, mildew, and even shrinkage. Careful care is a must.

You may see the term “duck canvas” around. Don’t be fooled: it’s just an Americanization of the Dutch word for linen canvas, “doek.”

Size

Good news: no matter how big or small your group is, there’s probably a canvas tent that will accommodate it. Our featured tents sleep anywhere from one to 18 people.

You can find the right size canvas tent whether you’re housing your team of cartographers, astronomers, and prophets on your doomed voyage to find the edge of the world or just your doggo and partner for a weekend getaway.

Waterproofness

Ah, waterproofness. Right up there with keeping unwanted snakes and scorpions out, rain protection is a central consideration for any tent. If you have an untreated cotton canvas tent, you need to “weather” it to make it waterproof.

Why? Because the fibers need to swell together to create a waterproof seal. At first, the canvas weave usually isn’t tight enough to keep water out. But the fibers swell when wet and then hold their new shape.

Though generally, every canvas tent is waterproof, polyester repels water better than cotton. We will list waterproof capabilities in each individual product’s section.

Breathability

One massive advantage of a canvas tent over a synthetic one is breathability. Why do synthetic tent interiors always condensate and smell, in the parlance of our times, like bigfoot’s dick? Because nylon and polyester do not facilitate oxygen transfer.

But cotton does! Therefore, choose it for the highest quality, breathable canvas tents. No more condensation, no more schmelly schmegma smell; just high-air-quality glamping.

Bug Proof

Many canvas tents have mesh zippered openings to keep flying critters out. Some smaller canvas expedition tents have bathtub floors to keep ground-living insects safely (even happily?) outside your tent.

Sun & Snow Protection

When you’re camping in a winter wonderland, a canvas tent can deliver a pronounced advantage over a synthetic one. Because they hold heat well, you’ll be cozy as the powder falls. And because they’re breathable, many even accommodate a wood stove.

Canvas also doesn’t condensate nearly as easily as synthetic material, so you’ll be better off in that department.

Pay attention to the snowpack on top of your tent, and keep clearing it as it piles up! Large canvas tents with a lot of roof areas are especially susceptible to the snowpack. If you don’t know why, consider that water is heavy, and your roof is collapsible.

Canvas tents also offer UV protection that borders on bougie. Consider a brilliantly sunny day. If you’re sitting inside a synthetic tent, you’re slowly cooking in the sweltering soup of your own body heat. That’s because the material can’t block the sunlight or let the hot air out.

Conversely, canvas tents stay cool inside by blocking sunlight and, again, facilitating all-important air transfer. Heat rises, right? All good if you’re sitting somewhere cool and the heat has somewhere to go.

Maintenance

Canvas tent owners need to be particularly careful to store their tents dry. Every tent needs to be stored dry, but the cotton canvas is especially susceptible to mold and mildew.

As well, aficionados recommend natural materials like hemp for guy lines. Beyond those particularities, follow the usual steps. Guy it securely so that it doesn’t flap; don’t put too much stress on zippers or seams, and don’t fold it the same way every time for storage.

The Camping and Caravanning Club put together a helpful guide for tent maintenance. Here’s a link to the PDF.

Canvas Tent FAQ

What type of canvas tents are out there?

All kinds, but really only one: the kind that’s cooler than other tents. Canvas tents commonly come in-wall, bell, or flat-roofed shapes.

And they come in all sizes (our guide features tents built for groups from 1-18 campers).

Some belong in the backcountry; some are grumpy AF. Bottom line: up to you!

How to take care of canvas tents?

It’s very important to store a canvas tent dry; the material is much more susceptible to mold and mildew. The most particular canvas tent people recommend natural fibers like hemp for guy lines. But otherwise, it’s the same as any other tent — just more intensive.

We recommend starting with The Camping and Caravanning Club’s tent care guide. Here’s the PDF.

Why are canvas tents so expensive?

It’s true, cool canvas tents don’t come cheap. For me, experiential enjoyment has to justify the cost. How cool is it to live in a semi-permanent, waterproof outdoor structure made of natural materials and fibers? Instead of sweating inside a minimally breathable plastic capsule that filters sunlight awkwardly, luxuriate in a cool, breathable, shady enclosure that smells organic.

Hell, it’ll trap heat better when it gets cold, too, and if it has a stove jack, you can heat it with a tent stove.

Now from the practical side: if you care for them well, they also last. Canvas resists ripping better than synthetic tent materials. And it’s thicker, so the kind of furry critters that like peanut butter and M&M’s have a harder time chewing through it.

If it does rip, just get out the sewing kit and patch it (detailed info here).

Do canvas tents need to be waterproofed?

Most of the canvas tents in this guide are treated with a variety of waterproof coating. In these cases, just follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

However, if you have an untreated canvas tent, it’s different. Cotton canvas tents do need to be weathered to bring out their waterproof qualities.

What does that mean? The fibers are often too loosely woven to be truly waterproof at first. But when they get wet, they swell and push against each other. Then, as they dry, they hold their shape. When the tent is fully dry, it’s a waterproof tent. Cool, huh?

You can weather a canvas tent by setting it up in the yard, hosing it down, and letting it dry.

How long will a canvas tent last?

Great question. I’ve stayed in some old ones that I’d presume got their starts in the ‘80s or ‘90s.

One in particular — a big wall tent my buddy lived in while doing on-site restoration carpentry in the Adirondacks — still smelled good and kept the weather out. Equipped with a wood stove, armchair, and rug, it was a great place to drink.

Anyway! I digress. Internet consensus suggests about a 20- to 30-year lifespan for most canvas tents. However, a canvas tent can last forever if you take care of it. Many users report their decade-old canvas tents are still as good as new.

Sources:

1. Caring For Your Canvas – Camping and Caravanning Club
2. How to Patch a Canvas Tent the Right Way – TentHacker

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Orbitkey Key Organizer: Why?

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Orbitkey v2 Multitool: Why?

When I first scoped Orbitkey’s v2 multitool, I instantly thought, “what?” followed immediately by, “why?” I was certain it was a bottle opener with a ruler on the spine — big deal. Then when I learned about its claim to wield 9 functions, I was incredulous.

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Pricing

Orbitkey lists each of its three limited Black Edition key organizers at $55 MSRP. You could call that a loud price for a keychain, but how loud is your current set-up, Mr. Jangle-Jeans?

At the time of writing, the tool was too new to be associated with any published reviews. So, if you pick it up, let us know what you think on our social channels.

Purchase