The one-person Exod Monolith is like a space capsule for travel on planet Earth. If you’re interested, act immediately — Exod will build only 100 of these high-tech, inflatable, four-season shelters.
Our first look at the pre-production floating tent left us with one surprising question: Does this thing levitate?
The French design company throws around verbiage like “defying gravity” as it seeks to “reintroduce” humans to nature. Its first product, the Ark, fused an inflatable frame from kitesurfing with a carbon platform from special forces stretchers to deliver a suspended tent.
That’s a lot of research and design to put into a 12-pound tent, but Exod looks more intent on changing the game than simply playing it. The innovation of a solid platform on a hanging shelter made sense as an evolution of the hammock. And the suspension system promised you could pitch or hang it anywhere, with one or two contact points.
Its new entry, the Monolith, appears to develop the concept by shedding weight and trimming down size. It keeps the carbon platform, inflatable frame, and security strap suspension — if you’re still wondering, the answer is no, it does not levitate. It weighs 6 pounds, and its design focuses on versatility.
Two-layer DWR ripstop fabric keeps the elements out, and the frame inflates lightning fast — within 15 seconds, the company claims. Telescoping carbon fiber rods form the structure for the flat bed platform. And the kit includes a whopping 52 feet of adjustable, one-inch webbing to help you hang it up.
Exod’s patented strap system prioritizes simplicity and ease of use. Utilizing two contact points, like a stout branch and a vehicle, you can get the Monolith in the air. You can also configure it to hang from a single anchor. Once you’ve got it in the air, you can use the storage space situated under the platform.
The setup also comes with guy lines so you can pitch it on the ground like, you know, a tent. Exod provided photographs of one pitched on frozen tundra. Why you’d want to sleep on the frozen ground when you have a levitating tent is beyond us — but to each their own.
The Exod Monolith will be available in an extremely limited quantity. As of this writing, aspiring owners had snapped up 46 of 100 total preorders. A $113 deposit goes toward the space-age tent’s $960 MSRP.
