This is the new AirBridge Buffalo Backpacking Air Tent, it’s billed as “the world’s first tent with a high-pressure air frame” and it’s said to weigh less than a laptop, and to have a set up time of under two minutes.
We’ve featured tents with air-filled frames many times on Silodrome, but until now they’ve all had larger diameter frames filled with air to about 7-8 psi – a fairly low pressure. The Buffalo Backpacking Air Tent has a frame that is much smaller in diameter, and as a result it uses 40 psi of pressure.
Above Video: This short video shows the process of setting up the tent, as you can see it only takes a couple of minutes with an electric air pump.
The AirBridge Buffalo Backpacking Air Tent
The team at AirBridge say that they’ve been developing a new type of air tent for 10 years, as noted above they chose to use a high-pressure system rather than low pressure, as it results in a much smaller frame and a lower overall weight.
Air tents from the likes of Heimplanet have been on the market for many years now, and they’ve built up a considerable following among adventurers who like their low weight, easy set up, and the fact they typically have excellent wind resistance.
The AirBridge Buffalo Backpacking Air Tent has all these same benefits, coupled with a much smaller-diameter frame. They explain that the frame can be filled to 38 – 42 psi, but they recommend 40 psi – that’s more pressure than the average car tire.
Although the tent doesn’t need guy lines in normal conditions, they are recommended in high winds, or when major weather systems are expected. The tent is attached to the ground using standard tent pegs, and it’s recommended that you lay out the tent and insert the pegs before you inflate.
Inflation is said to take just a couple of minutes, deflation is quicker still, and a small electric air compressor can be used.
Inflation is said to take just a couple of minutes, deflation is quicker still, and a small electric air compressor can be used. Many overlanders, four-wheel drivers, and adventure motorcyclists already carry these small electric compressors for managing their tire pressures when going from on to off-road.
The AirBridge Buffalo Backpacking Air Tent is now being funded on Kickstarter and it already has over $50,000 USD pledged of the original $2,000 funding goal. If you’d like to read more or pre-order one for yourself you can visit the Kickstarter page here.
Images courtesy of AirBridge
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.