OR Gear Roundup #6 – Vanlife, Overlanding trucks & tents, car camping gear, and more!

Vehicles were a big part of Outdoor Retailer Summer 2019, whether as a showpiece for the actual products made for them, or just eye-catching monsters to lure us into their booths. Or, in the case of the truck above, just to promote the authenticity of their trade. If you’ve followed Expedition Portal or Overland Journal, you may recognize this Toyota Tacoma as an early 2018 project vehicle.

It’s a personal build, owned by one of the editors, as a platform for testing gear. The most visible upgrade is the Nemo popup tent, which sits on a bed topper and folds over backwards to create a massive living space. And the whole thing is supported by two sets of gas struts on the outside…no need for a support pole under it!

Inside there’s room for two plus tons of gear. You climb into it from inside the bed of the truck, which means you’d have to leave room there to step inside, but worth it.

Naturally, they had it outfitted with all manner of equipment, you can find the full project post on their website for the full list.

Colorado Teardrops

We featured CO Teardrops’ offroad campers before, check that post for details, and this post for an interview with the founder. At OR, they had this elegant build showcasing a new level of interior finishing offered.

The kitchen and pantry sits in the back, and you can add all manner of cooking systems…like that swing away grill! Hit them up at ColoradoTeardropCamper.com for more ideas.

Cascadia Vehicle Tents

Cascadia Vehicle Tents makes car-top tents in 2-to-4+ person sizes, for roofs, beds and trailers, plus tons of accessories to make them accessible and more enjoyable. Tents range from hard-shell popups to fold-open designs, and they sell used ones on their website or in their TN showroom.

iKamper

iKamper is another brand offering roof-top tents in both pop-up and fold-open designs. But it’s the SkyCamp that really sets them apart:

One of their original models, the SkyCamp can be set up in just 60 seconds and sleep up to four people. The hardshell canopy flips open to one side and becomes a side of the tent. Then the floor folds out to pop up the tent. They’re some of the largest hardshell, pop-open tents we’ve seen, and they use dual-layer insulated case with honeycomb aluminum floor to stay flat and stable.

Tourig custom Sprinter vans

Tourig is a premium Mercedes Sprinter van mod shop, building out expedition-worthy vehicles with a heavily upgraded interior.

Want independent 2nd row captains chairs with a kick-out foot rest? Who wouldn’t? This build shows off room for a small cooking space, bed, bike and bench seats under it hiding the electrical components.

ZeroBreeze portable A/C units

One of the big expenses (and potential maintenance items) on custom vans and RVs are the rooftop air conditioning units, so Zero Breeze decided to make a better option. And one that could work for any vehicle or campsite. Their portable units are the smallest we’ve seen (they say they’re the smallest ever made) and will run for up to 5 hours on the included battery.

Weight is 12 pounds, and it includes an exhaust fan and all equipment needed to safely cool off your van, truck or tent. Normal retail is $1,299, but the Mark II (silver, shown on left) goes live on Indiegogo today (July 2) with earlybird deals.

Helinox sets up camp

Helinox is branching out from their ultra-stable camp chairs with this new Royal Box pop-up sun shelter. It uses a simple two-pole design and lets you roll up one or both sides to block the sun wherever it moves to, but also maximize the view and breeze. And, you can either drop the sides straight down, or pull them out using guidelines to broaden the footprint. Retail is $200.

They’ve also added shade canopies ($70) for their chairs, which mount to any of their camp chairs and can be adjusted in height and angle to keep your shade with you as the sun moves. New camp tables comes in multiple sizes, and the legs pop off and fold up so that they pack flat.

They also have a new insulated, self-inflating pad for their cots that adds more padding and comfort. It’s $200 on it’s own, or as a system with cot frame for $450.

CGear Sandfree

If you’re setting up on the beach, the CGear Sandfree blanket/towel keeps the stuff on top from getting sandy, and if you (or your kids) kick sand onto it, it simply falls right through. Pick it up when you’re done and all the sand stays on the ground…it’s clever and seemed to work pretty well on their demo. The material seems like it would stay dry, too, making it a great thing for the beach, but probably not for wet grass.

Igloo compostable disposable coolers

In an effort to reduce styrofoam coolers, Igloo developed a biodegradable cardboard material that works well as a single-use cooler. Called rECOool, it won’t damage the environment and last forever like Styrofoam, which makes lots of baby sea turtles happy.