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The lightest, thinnest, simplest, most affordable hardshell rooftop tent—the only tent to ever win the NORRA 1000—is back. But probably not for the reason you think.
Let’s go back in time a bit. When we first launched the Superlite in July, 2020, we intended it to be an exercise in extremes. We set out to make rooftop tents accessible to more people by optimizing the product entirely for weight and cost. And part of the way we got that cost down was by outsourcing production of the fabric to China.
That was never a decision that sat right by us.
At its core, GFC is a company that designs and manufactures amazing products. Filling out customs forms and managing someone else’s idea of quality was never something that interesting to us.
So we killed it. But not before we sold a bunch of them.
We also put 500 of them into cold storage just in case there were any major issues. But, two years later, we really haven’t encountered any. So, with a new, all-American Superlite coming late next year, we decided to give the people what they want now: another chance to own the lightest, thinnest, simplest, and most affordable hardshell rooftop tent yet made.
The Superlite is a perfect fit on our bed topper, which we're excited to announce is now shipping.
It also turns out this thing is more American made than we’ve traditionally made it out to be. The honeycomb composite panels are made in the midwest. The aluminum extrusion comes from the Rocky Mountains. And we machine all the billet aluminum components ourselves, right here in Montana.
To recap specs, the Superlite measures 50 inches wide and 90 inches long, externally, and weighs 80 pounds. We achieved that weight using a drastically simple panel-in-bag design that inserts the composite honeycomb panels we also use in the Platform Camper and RTT floor and roofs into a 600-denier, UV-stable fabric sheath. That fabric provides the hinge and shell, leaving a 300-denier ripstop fabric to form the sides and rear of the tent.
You can cinch those composite panels down within the fabric sheath to a total thickness of just 4.5 inches. Or you can stuff your bedding inside, leave the straps a bit looser, and end up with a package that's around 6 inches thick when closed.
To support the roof and hold the tent open, the Superlite is equipped with two telescoping aluminum poles that are basically trekking poles without handles, spikes, or baskets. The same cam lock you’re familiar with from those trekking poles allows infinite adjustment of tension by holding the poles as extended as you’d like.
The puff pad, an optional mattress you can add is a three-inch thick self-inflating air mattress filled with open-cell foam, sized to perfectly fit the tent floor, and two adults. But if you already own a sleeping pad, we designed the superlite to accommodate just about anything you might already own as long as it fits in the 50x90 footprint.
On the underside, our very own aluminum extrusions and billet mounts can connect to any crossbars designed to support the weight of the tent. The Superlite is the only hardshell rooftop tent light enough to suit the dynamic roof load ratings of popular 4x4s like the Ford Bronco, and will work just as well on top of your Subaru, too, where its slim dimensions will cause the least wind noise, and take the smallest bite out of your fuel economy possible.
Want one? They’re going to cost $1,500 shipped to your door. You can add a GFC Puff Pad for $329, and a ladder for $179.
The plan is to offer the remaining Superlites for sale as we assemble them. We’ll be putting 120 live at 8am Pacific on Friday, November 25. Keep an eye out for the rest of the drops in the near future.
Matt
November 14, 2024
Any updates on this?