Summer is for... Camping?
My parent's indoctrination into the great outdoors seams to have worked after all.
I don’t remember the first time I went camping. I was a few months old. As the family lore goes, that was also the time that a bear happened upon the family campsite, waking my parents in the middle of the night. My dad had to use a flashlight and shadow with loud noises to scare it away. I blissfully, remember nothing of this.
Unsurprisingly, I’ve never liked camping. Sure, it feels great to take a shower when you get back home, but I’ve never been one to cherish the feeling of being caked in dirt in the dry American Southwest. It creates a claustrophobia in my skin. No thank you.
So color me shocked when I saw an old catalog featuring a geodesic dome tent and felt a visceral desire to sleep in one deep in a forest. Maybe it’s the 90s vibe nostalgia combined with my recent travels to Norway. Pitching one of these in a lush green field along a fjörd with a waterfall nearby sounds like absolute heaven. Jump in the chilly and brackish fjörd waters and I’d never be left yearning for a shower. Problem solved.
Me being me, I immediately searched for geodesic dome tent for sale. While I can’t find this exact model, I have found quite a few that are similar in shape and size.
My favorite stylistically is this Mountain Hardware Space Station Dome Tent. Yes, they did officially title it a “Space Station”. Yes, this makes me like it even more. While it is $7,500, my higher self with money to spend would indeed label this a sound investment. There is a slightly smaller version for a few grand less if that savings means anything to you.
Now, the North Face seems to have produced some somewhat similar domes to the ‘grammed one above. I found one on eBay for a steal compared to this Space Tent, but please note, you might still be heartbroken by the price. The grey is also not as fun or flirty.
It appears that this grey orb was also made in a saffron yellow color way, which I imagine means you’d wake up in a glowing yellow orb. A much more enjoyable way to spend your first waking hours than any alternative.
And while not exactly a geodesic dome, which really defeats the purpose of including it here, is this current offering from The North Face. It sleeps 4, like the last ones, but definitely lacks the class and nerdiness of pitching an actual geodesic dome in the wilderness. The colors are nice, though, and the price is $350, so while expensive, much more feasible for most of us to afford.
If you’re thinking to yourself, why the fuck do you care about a geodesic dome, and what the fuck is it, maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Geodesic domes were developed by Buckminster Fuller (aka Bucky, hehe) in the mid 20th century, taking advantage of the structural integrity of a triangle he combined them using tension to form a solid orb structure. They require much less energy to keep hot or cool and fewer building materials than a traditional rectangular house. According to the Bucky Fuller Institute, we would be living in these as affordable housing if it weren’t for funding issues and some union protests. The shortsightedness of boomers strikes again.
The history is rich and interesting, so I recommend you go on your own research rabbit hole if you’re interested in learning more. There are stories of Bucky building one with his students at Black Mountain College out of flabby window blinds for you to find.
But back to the tents. Now that I’m approaching my 30s, and looking at child rearing as something in the distant but foreseeable future, I can appreciate how blissful those early camping experiences must have been for my parents. Nothing but nature and your new baby to exist in. How utopic. But me being me, you know I’ll be rolling up to the forest with a little ecologically minded dome to build.
And never forget, leave your campsite cleaner than you found it!
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