Often when I’m scrolling on Instagram, usually through one of those mood board accounts that feature lots of nice clothes and lifestyle stuff, I’ll come across something that I desperately desperately want, but definitely definitely cannot afford and do not need. The North Face Geodome 4 tent is one of these things.
The page in question that set me off searching for everything about this tent is @audiophileaesthetic, it’s definitely worth a follow if you’ve not already. The post itself featured one of these tents set up inside somebody’s house, which is quite impractical really and not at all what a tent is designed for. This got me thinking about what I’d allocate the space to if I had one in my home – a very sweaty meditation chamber perhaps, or maybe an indoor greenhouse to grow lovely tomatoes.
The house in question is also a workshop, owned by Japanese engineer Kenichiro Kawabata. His reason for having the tent is supposedly due to the house getting very cold in winter, he combines the Geodome with a heated carpet to create a small cosy space for the inhospitable winters. Surprisingly the tent isn’t even the most interesting feature of Kenchiro’s house – he’s also got an indoor climbing wall.
After doing a bit of Googling about the Geodome I discovered that the tent, as a concept, is based on the geodesic design pioneered by architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller in the 1950s. This geodesic dome structure provides superior strength and stability while using a minimal amount of materials, making it suitable for extreme weather conditions.
The first-ever geodesic tent debuted in North Face’s August 1975 catalogue, which luckily you can peruse your eyes over below, thanks to the invention of the modern scanner.
The structure of the Geodome 4 is supported by 6 poles which each overlap each other. These poles are threaded through a polyester flysheet which is then attached to a polyester groundsheet. The result of this is a fairly sizeable space that holds up to four people. That’s why it’s called the Geodome 4, probably.
The slightly annoying thing about the Geodome 4 is that it costs quite a lot of money, $1,500 to $2000 to be precise, which seems like a lot until you compare it to the price of a house. Okay the Geodome doesn’t have running water or an oven, but it does look really cool in the dark when it’s got a light on inside.
There’s a really nice write-up about the Geodome 4 over on Goldwins website here. I could paraphrase the whole thing, but you’re going to have more enjoyment just reading their words.
