18 April 3, 2022The Sunday TimesTravel
THULE TEPUI EXPLORER
AUTANA
Rooftop tents for cars offer
the satisfaction (unusual in
camping) of heading upstairs
at bedtime. This three-person
model is towards the larger
end of Thule’s range, with a
detachable annexe enclosing
the fold-down ladder. Your car
will need an appropriate roof
rack, but the tent has its own
in-built thick foam mattress.Details From £2,299
(thule.com)GORILLA FESTIVAL TENT
The three designs for the
waterproofing of these tents
(peace signs, psychedelic
graffiti or fluoro-yellow
smileys, above) call out to
either the first or the second
Summer of Love, but one trick
they share is their “tent-
finder”: a device that sets offUV lights in the tent from up to
50m away. Ideal for festivals.
Details From £39.99
(gorilla-tents.com)STINGRAY 3-PERSON
TREE TENT
The UK company Tentsile
sells hammocks, tree tents
and “camping stacks”, which
bring to mind not so much
Caribbean beaches as the
Ewok village from Star Wars.Using three trees
as anchor points,
the aim is stability
while off the ground —
with no sleepers rolling to
the middle of the tent. The
flagship Stingray model comes
with a rainfly (canopy) in a
choice of designs, including
camouflage and snakeskin
effect.
Details From £729, plus £20
shipping (tentsile.com)OXFORD BELL TENT
A night in one of this range
of bell tents from Boutique
Camping won’t leave you with
khaki-coloured dreams — as
well as a soothing “sandstone”
canvas, you can opt for a coral
red design, or two kinds of
festive stripes. The tents are
3-5m in diameter, and the
larger ones have a choice of
canvas thickness, so you can
prioritise durability or lighter
transport and easier pitching.
Details From £239
(boutiquecamping.com)LITTLELIFE
FAMILY BEACH
SHELTER
This little
number may
not be the
coolest
canvas you
spot this
summer, but
boy is it clever.
Designed mainly
for days on the beach,
the geodesic dome, above,
weighs 2.5kg and has a UPF
rating of 50+. There are sand
pockets for anchoring, and it’s
spacious enough for kids to
nap or couples to canoodle.
Details From £65
(littlelife.com)
Rory GouldingCOOL TENTS
FOR SUMMER
TOP
CINCH HUB
Cinch makes tents for
the smartphone era,
with rapid set-up,
modular design and
the possibility of
having your own
power source while
going off-grid (we
won’t tell if you don’t).
While the classic four-
sleeper tents are due to
return later in 2022, for now
you can pick up a Hub —
smaller but still just over 6ft
tall, with solar lanterns
included and an
add-on rooftop solar panel
to charge USB devices.
Details From £281
(cinchpopuptents.com)COCOON TREE
You’d certainly raise eyebrows
if you showed up to your
seaside campsite with an alien
sphere. Made in the south of
France, the tent commands a
five-figure price tag, even
before such optional extras as
suspended walkways are
included. With an aluminium
frame and wooden floor, it’s a
sturdy, king-size cocoon
designed to hang between
trees, and can be propped up
on its feet too.
Details From £10,600
(cocoontree.com)