Review: Space Acacia Tent

While some say that sleeping on the ground in a tent is "roughing it," I would argue that that's far from the truth—especially with the Space Acacia Tent. This thing is damn near a pop-up resort. And with the addition of an LED lighting system, it’s camping in style. And why not treat yourself? Throw in all the bells and whistles. Comfortable throw pillows, decorative rugs, plush sitting pillows, a guitar, tapestries, the string lights, tiki torches, a little side table... bring ’em on! Assuming the road's not too rough to drive right up to your campsite, that is.

Acacia’s claim to fame is the inflatable floor, which has a weight capacity of half a ton. With Acacia's electric pump (get one, it’s worth it), I can inflate the floor in under 5 minutes. Did I mention it comes with a carpeted mat? The cool thing about the built-in air-mattress floor is that it can be used for more than just camping. Think outside the box: a floating platform for fishing in the middle of the lake; floating down the Madison on this sucker instead of a tube; setting it up for a little whiskey drinkin’ on Bozeman Pond. Options are as unlimited as your imagination.

The tent itself has a pop-up design that is ready to roll and takes shape with just a few pulls. With 6’9” of headspace, there’s no need to go butt-scooting inside the tent anymore. In fact, I need to stand on my tippy-toes just to get the canopy in place. The tent also features eight mesh windows and an open ceiling for optimal stargazing, as well as a windproof rating of up to 45mph, so no more worrying about the tent folding over on itself.

An added weather-protection option is the canopy, with its large, cooling tarp that stretches out to make a nice shady area. The material has a sun-proof coating and an SPF rating of 50, so it’s great for the dog days of summer. The tarp can also be drawn around the tent to act as an extra insulation layer, increasing the interior temperature by ten degrees on cold, clear nights.

Before the snow hit this fall, I had the chance to take the Space Acacia down to Glen Lake for a little hangin' out on the beach and a little paddlin' around in the water—which garnered some interesting looks from the folks at MAP. A few weeks later, I drove down to Bear Trap Canyon to claim a campsite. A couple friends met me out there, and we spent the evening lounging in the spacious tent. Next morning, we detached the floor and plopped it in the Madison for a river day. Then, when we got back to camp, we set it out to dry in the sun before reattaching it to the tent. Win-win situation, if you ask me—glamping re-imagined.

Available at theacacia.com; $1,050.