Capricorn

Capricorn was a response to the mega trend, ‘comfort camping’ – an opportunity identified by BCF for their brand, Wanderer. In the context of shelters, the strategy was to mimic bedroom luxuries, integrate advanced technologies, and enable easy transportation, assembly, and disassembly. An immersive camping research experience revealed latent needs of solo trekkers and adventurers. Intense heat, strong winds, and torrential rain prematurely degrade and rip materials, and fracture poles. Observation of recreational campsites revealed user errors with flys erected and handled incorrectly, and materials dirtied through their product lifecycle. The two-fold challenge was to meet these client and market needs.

Available in single and double configurations, Capricorn simultaneously offers recreational campers superior comfort and environmental protection. Exemplar creature comforts include a suspended stretcher-surface for body support and in-built storage space as a wardrobe substitute. Material and structural innovations combat the Australian climate to ensure a pleasurable camping experience. The outer surface reflects early morning sun and lessens heat transfer. Lightweight materials integrated with advanced structural technologies allow for temperature regulation, creating a convection cooling system. Touch-point colours and finishes are cleverly specified to enable intuitive assembly and use of the tent - from correctly orientating flys to opening and closing zips.

BCF faces the challenge of engaging new customers with their market, products, and Australia's great outdoors. Capricorn represents the first range of tents designed to provide creature comforts whilst keeping the creatures out. Capricorn's design will re-invigorate camper’s confidence in their equipment and strengthen campers’ desire to explore inland and coastal Australia. The impact of this product range on social lifestyle and corporate growth is obvious. Capricorn, like its feet will "tread lightly!" Strong, long-lasting materials, and advanced manufacturing ensure the high quality, easy maintenance, and longevity of these tents. Capricorn’s elements are all serviceable and replaceable.

Capricorn makes hot, uncomfortable sleeps and long, arduous cleaning experiences a thing of the past. The key features of Capricorn tents are: 1. Suspended Stretcher-Surface The composite ripstop nylon and fibreglass-mesh provides 'self-cleaning', constantly sifting dirt, sand, and debris from inside the tent. 2. Active Convection Cooling System The elevated nature allows cool air to pass up through the stretcher-surface, cooling campers and allowing hot air to pass through the top exhaust port. 3. Storage Space Integration of waterproof, lockable storage containers protect clothing, food, and equipment from cross ground-flooding, water-ingress, vermin, and insects. This designated storage is smartly located underneath the stretcher to free up internal space of the habitat. 4. Whole-System Approach The 'foot-hub' and 'fastener' locate and secure the tent poles, outer fly, and ground-pegs. This dependent relationship helps users to intuitively interact with the tent during set-up, use, and pack-down. The 'X-bow' locates the six tent poles, is easy-to-assemble, and locks the structure centrally. This whole-system approach instills confidence in campers. Their outer tent fly remains taught and functional in poor weather, condensation will not pass into the habitat zone, and the burden of clinking zips is only a noise of history.