Air awnings

Love is in the air - the air tent

Air awnings are inexorably on the advance, are extremely popular and are becoming more and more established on a broad front.

The main argument against its main competitor - the frame awning based on aluminium or carbon elements: Simple and quick erection, no dents in the new caravan due to slipping poles, no poles plan and no arguments when erecting.
The essential feature of the awning with air-pole technology is therefore the air tube, which once inflated gives the tent stability and sturdiness.


Those who save money at the wrong end often buy twice:

Good air awnings have multi-sheathed air hoses that protect the inner hose from damage and guarantee a uniform cylindrical shape of the air hose for years to come. After all, the air hose should remain taut and evenly formed when the awning is exposed to strong sunlight or major temperature fluctuations between day and night.

An essential further quality feature are corresponding valves: this technology makes it possible to fill the tent at a central point or to release the air again to take down the tent.

This is where the tent shows all its advantages: Optionally filled by hand with a piston pump or conveniently even completely automatically with an electric air pump makes pitching the tent a special kind of pleasure:

It is always nice to watch how the tent rises from the ground as if by itself and unfolds to its full size without stress until it proudly and plumply gives its owner more living space in front of the caravan or motor home.


In the meantime the top tents have proven that they are also suitable for seasonal camping and can hold the air in the tubes for months without having to be pumped up once.
However, such a seasonal tent should be selected according to the same criteria as have been used for pole-mounted tents for years:
The fabric quality - especially in the roof area - is then much heavier, as the tent skin should always remain tight year after year, even during long periods of bad weather!


Yet another feature makes the air awning so interesting:


The air tube frame can cushion gusts of wind. This flexing in strong gusts of wind protects the caravan and tent from damage.
While the support poles or roof poles of the metal poles can easily buckle or even break, the air tent simply flexes in the strong gusts of wind: the tube deforms for a short time and then sets itself up again. The skin of the tent and the caravan wall is protected against damage.


In this respect, the triumphal march of the air tent will probably continue in the coming years and the range of tent design and individual solutions will increase considerably.