According to Chris Hilliard, product manager at Mountain Hardwear, tent design begins with basic human desires. “In Maslows hierarchy of needs, shelter is the number two need,” he says. “In the outdoors, shelter is vital to the success of what you are doing as well as to your comfort and well-being. Its a huge part of the outdoor experience. Tents have unique place in the outdoor specialty world as brand icons. It becomes vitally important to the reputation of your brand.”
Today, tent brands offer shelters for every possible application, from gram-counting fast-packers to all-the-comforts-of-home-minded base campers. Although each manufacturer uses brand-specific category names, end-use applications generally segment tents into ultralight, three-season, four-season and base camp categories.
Manufacturers report sustained growth in the ultralight and base camp segments. Interestingly, weight plays a central role at each end of the design spectrum. Kristine Carey, Sierra Designs brand manager, comments, “Something three to five years ago in the three-season category might have weighed more than 8 pounds. Now those weights are coming down to 5 pounds. Ultralights are now under 4 pounds.”
Whether you call it family camping, base camping or car camping, Mountain Hardwear is addressing a growing category. Hilliard says, “Were seeing industry-wide growth in family or car camping. The design revolves less around weight consciousness and more around comfort. The challenge that has been accepted and rewarded for Mountain Hardwear, and many of our competitors, is that we can actually bring a better product to market.”
Hilliard believes the needs of hardcore enthusiasts have expanded to include larger tent options. “They may have been involved in technical pursuits in the past but, for whatever reason, now find it more appropriate to use a bigger tent,” he explains. “The knowledge that we gain from expedition products helps us to build a better product regardless of its end use. A family camping tent from a technical brand is inherently going to be a better product.”
Jeff Blakely, Marmots director and category manager of equipment, describes a strategic effort to expand the customer base through price-competitive tent offerings. The Outdoor line is an entry-level product intended to offer Marmots quality at a lower price point.
“That core user who used the mountaineering tent now recognizes us as a family camping tent,” notes Blakely. “He doesnt have to buy a lower-quality product. Were getting creative in how we can take what we do with our expedition and light and fast tents and bring that down to a more price-competitive area.”
Black Diamond, new to the tent category, is taking a different approach. Having initially marketed just the Bibler brand of single-wall tents, the company is expanding its product mix. Nathan Kudor, Black Diamond category director, explains, “We divide our tents into single-wall and double-wall construction. Within those categories there are lightweight, traditional, three-season and four-season tents. Our core tent market has always been alpinists and mountaineers through our Bibler heritage.”
Design philosophy
Any retailer who has visited the tent city at an Outdoor Retailer Summer Market show knows there are dozens of ways to present a two-person tent. The tents shape, size, floor plan and pole configuration reflect each brands design philosophy. The approaches range from intensely personal visions to highly structured designs from product development teams.
Big Agnes, which entered the tent market just a few years ago, relies heavily on both staff and user experiences to influence design. Chris Pottinger, Big Agnes product manager, reports, “We are a collective mind working on product. Were all using the product and offering some feedback. The user experience feedback is expressed in our desires. On the other hand, were making what we want to make. Were not as concerned about what everyone else is doing. Were more concerned about making sweet gear. I think you get the best designs from using the product.”
Big Agnes founding partner and marketing director Les Zanni adds, “We are a company that is less likely to look at everyone elses two-person tent dimensions and design from that. Were more likely to design tents that we think people want.”
Marmots products are also heavily influenced by the designers accumulated experience. According to Blakely, “Our approach is based on doing it for so many years. Its almost a given. Heres what we expect in a tent. Those elements are built into the design matrix right from the start. Once you have an idea of what the end-use is, you can start to apply your feature sets.”
Phil Mesdag, Sierra Designs equipment product manager, describes a more methodical design strategy.
“Performance is always number one,” states Mesdag. “Sierra Design tents have always been designed with performance and function as key indicators for a good tent. It has to hold up and protect the user from the elements. We also pay close attention to how to best use available tools like designs from other industries, materials and connectors to meet target customer needs.”
Mountain Hardwears approach combines in-the-field experience and brand management processes. “Design is the balance of negotiable and non-negotiable constraint,” explains Hilliard. “Each market segment has certain design criteria that drive projects within each realm. We set out to create the most functional, livable shelters that we can that are adequately strong for the conditions in which they are intended to be used.”
Compromise is required in every approach. As Big Agnes Pottinger points out, “Thats what makes it fun. You need to make decisions based on cost, weight, size and packability-all those constraints that make this challenging. Its always amazing to see the sacrifices people will make for tents that fit their needs.”
Hilliard suggests that each audience segment has its own definition of acceptable compromise. He says, “Its important to recognize that comfort and shelter mean different things to different people. Its relative.
“We could have a single user who takes extended backpacking trips,” Hilliard continues. “For those trips, that person makes a compromise between weight and comfort and may choose a tent in the super-light category. A super-light user may be more willing to accept a smaller space because they understand that is the price of lighter weights. That same customer may take a climbing trip and bring along a mountain bike or kayak. The user will be living closer to the car and could want a second tent that is purely a comfort tent. The customer is balancing comfort, versatility and weight. I think people weigh that into their buying decisions.”
Innovations lead to new designs
In the last five years, advancements in fabrics and tent pole technology have created new opportunities for tent design. Sierra Designs Mesdag reports, “Fabrics continue to evolve. They are lighter, recyclable, recycled and stronger, but the biggest steps are in pole technology and connectors. This has allowed poles to be used in new ways that were not possible before. Connectors have also allowed for the new structures to be easy to set up because, for the most part, the poles are all connected.”
Advances in pole technology have had dramatic effects on shapes, floor plans and ease of set-up.
“Pole manufacturers have a wider range of tools to make tents,” says Blakely. “Ten years ago, you had to figure out how to design your tent around straight poles. Now you can come up with a shape or concept and, in partnership with the pole supplier, figure out how to create a hub system or new component to help set your idea out. It doesnt limit you in what ideas you have. Now your ideas are the starting point.”
Kudor agrees, adding, “Hubs have definitely changed how tent architecture withstands loads and provides lighter-weight frames. We look at innovations in fabric, construction and architecture as an opportunity to reset the bar in a much higher place.”
Rather than incorporating innovations as they become available, Mountain Hardwear is contributing to the advancement of appropriate technologies.
“We are influencing those innovations,” says Hilliard. :The key is actually going and working to develop the materials that allow us to innovate rather than waiting for something to be readily available and applying it in the design. Our model is a little different from the way other people work. We actively and aggressively go out to develop materials that will allow us to innovate.”
The impact of lighter-weight fabrics and cutting-edge pole technology can be seen in the growth of two- and three-person tents. Blakely reports, “The standard tent size 10 years ago was 35 to 40 square feet. Now the lightweight category is 28 to 32 square feet. The tents are getting smaller to reduce weight but people are still leaning toward a larger tent. Five years ago, 5 pounds, 5 ounces was a lightweight two-person tent. Now people are able to carry the same weight but get a much bigger tent.”
Mesdag also sees that trend. “Were definitely seeing more people buying three-person tents for two people. The lighter materials and new pole structures allow for a lighter and larger tent. Typical ultralight tents are still cozy due to the fact that they need to skimp down to the lightest variable. But new, lighter materials are allowing bigger footprints, steeper walls and higher peak height without weight penalty,” he says.
Keith Roush, owner of Pine Needle Mountaineering in Durango, CO, observes, “We saw a shift to more three-man tents a couple of years ago, and now have a big shift toward ultralight two-man tents for fastpacking. The single-wall ultralights have put a dent in the bivy sack business, since theyre not much more weight or money than the fancy bivies.”
Fighting for Retail Floor Space
Tents clearly play a central role in the camping experience. Purchases of sleeping bags, technical apparel, stoves and many other product categories follow a campers investment in shelter. For outdoor specialty retailers, the challenge is to consistently devote enough floor space to draw buyers attention.
Hilliard says, “Floor space is absolutely tight. Any specialty retailer worth their salt recognizes that its a necessity to provide an environment where a customer can come in and make a well-informed decision with the guidance of knowledgeable staff.”
Roush concurs. “Generally speaking, customers arent up on the market or brand changes and rely on us for input,” he says. “We produce a spec sheet that helps them to make comparisons.”
In addition to addressing consumer needs, retailers have to balance the interests of the brands they carry. Manufacturers covet the limited floor space retailers allocate to tent displays. “You can put a bigger logo on a tent than you can on just about anything else we make,” says Hilliard. “It is easy to make an influential marketing vehicle out of the imagery of tents.”
Carey adds, “The equipment sections have been getting smaller and smaller as lifestyle apparel and accessories sections grow. Since tents have such big footprints, allocating that space has been much more of a challenge.”
In response, Sierra Designs has created mini-tent models that can be put on a shelf. This way, says Carey, “A consumer can get a gauge of what the tent looks like without having to put it up.” She adds that personal attention is the most effective way brands can secure visibility. “The biggest thing we can do is get into the store and do clinics. Once you have that one-on-one relationship with the sales people, you give them an opportunity to get hands-on with the product.”
Blakely points out that design elements meant for the consumer also influence a retailers decisions. He identifies the questions retailers face when merchandising tents.
“Will the store staff want to set it up? Will the tent look tight when set up since they cant stake it out? Is there a logo on the side of the tent and the model name? Retailers want to be able to set up tents because they look cool. If one tent looks cooler it will draw people to it. There are a lot of little issues brought into the design that consider what the tent looks like on the floor,” says Blakely.
New brands must find a way to capture limited floor space. Zanni remarks, “As a younger, small company, we cant provide a lot of high-dollar point-of-sale displays. Were going after media exposure and [we want to] let the enthusiasm and interest built in those public relations efforts drive traffic to the stores. There may be better-known brands, or brands who do a better job with in-store displays, but were going on the enthusiasm people have for the Big Agnes brand and all the good editorial reviews and awards weve received.”
Tents Online
As is the case for many outdoor products, the Internet is becoming a larger force in consumer tent-purchasing patterns. On the upside, brands use their home pages to present comprehensive product information about the tents. Marmot, for example, includes Quicktime video clips that show how to set up its tents.
Hilliard comments, “The online shopping experience typifies what is becoming all too common. The customer is shopping on specs alone and literally making a buying decision based on a chart. Its very difficult, given the number of variables, to compare the merits of two designs. Interior volume is something that is difficult to express or pick up on with a chart, even with decent diagramming.”
Kudor believes that tents, just like a new pair of boots or a backpack, should be tried on. “Its the kind of purchase where you definitely want to get in and lie down and see how your body fits before you drop $250 to $300. The Internet does help, but its a category that still depends on brick-and-mortar stores,” he says.
Tents as Art
Designing a successful outdoor shelter requires a deft combination of engineering prowess, understanding of the human form, and an eye for aesthetic details. In the end, tents can be considered a form of architectural art. Hilliard addresses the search for proper form and function at Mountain Hardwear. “We strive to make something that is the perfect combination of aesthetic quality and functional value,” He says.
On a more personal level, Blakely reflects, “I thought making tents was cool because I used tents. Its like going to work and playing with Tinker Toys every day. Then one of my tents was reviewed in Metropolitan magazine with artsy photographs. Wow! I never looked at it that way. It changed philosophies in some of my tent designs. They can also be works of art.”
