new inflating device: the Windcatcher

[Dave Budd]

Came across this today. Looks like a great gadget and one that I would buy (assuming not silly money!)

[video]<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1484284472/windcatcher-inflates-in-seconds-with-no-power-or-p/widget/video.html" frameborder="0"> </iframe>[/video] that was supposed to be a video, but if you click it it should work?!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1484284472/windcatcher-inflates-in-seconds-with-no-power-or-p

 

[Perrari]

That is fairly amazing !!

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

R-Value: 1

Same money as an exped but no insulation. Great inflation technique though. Just a shame they didnt think about actual use

 

[palmnut]

Looks good! Can't say the same about the 'tache though :-(

Peter

 

[Robbi]

thats brilliant

 

[Tony]

yeah, I think that's rather cool, i'm sure as new models come out they'll get more innovative with the insulation etc but as a starting project it's great...

 

[Teepee]

They've taken the Exped Schnozzle and made it worse

The flexible connection from the hose to the bag allows the air to fill it without even having to blow in it or introduce moisture from breath.

Blowing into the bag is OK for air only but it would slowly dampen a down filling.



My homemade version of it on a proper lairy tablecloth; http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101416

 

[Bodge]

I had an ex army (german iirc) airbed that I could inflate in seconds with a built in bag you wafted full of air then squeezed it into the airbed. Used it for years until it perished and fell to bits. I have never seen anything quite like it since.
Like this idea though.

 

[John Fenna]

As half my face is paralysed and I have no tension in half my lips lowing into tubes is had for me - and friends used to get bored when I asked them to inflate my canoe airbags with the words "Put this between your lips and blow until it is hard" ... so I made a small hole in the corner of a bin bag and taped it to the end of the inflation tube and used the binbag as my bellows... simple!

 

[dump of the stig]

that's excellent, I wont one, be great in the hammock

 

[brambles]

They seem obsessed with dirt - keep going on about that valve having been in contact with the nasty dirty ground - folks like that have no business being in the outdoors! The built in pump in my Exped Downmat works really well and it deflates very quickly too. What are we all doing when camping that means we NEED to inflate/deflate a mat in nothing flat?

 

[PDA1]

Here's a very good system for about $5
Instaflator.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJLVYfg88TE

Or make your own, it's hardly rocket science.

 

[Tony]

Here's the for the product in that vid http://www.themillair.com/index.html it looks like a good product.

 

[Elen Sentier]

Smart bit of kit, Pete

 

[dump of the stig]

duno still looks like too much faffing, ive never been botherd with an inflatable but that
"windcatcher" thingy looks the business, been scanning the net cant seem to find it for sale.
any ideas?

 

[Andy BB]

http://flyweightdesigns.com/?wpsc-product=the-instaflator

 

[brambles]

that
"windcatcher" thingy looks the business, been scanning the net cant seem to find it for sale.
any ideas?

If they are looking for funding from kickstarter then it is likely that it is still just a prototype and not yet available for sale.

 

[Dave Budd]

i like the idea of the inflater being an integral (and not enormous) part of the bed, rather than beig a seperate bag that you attach. The seperate bags work great, but because you are still forcing the air through the same valve it is going to be slower and more arduous than the windcatcher version.

I know people are obsessed with getting things lighter, faster, etc, but for me its the practicality that when I am inflating my exped I am usually inside my tent because it is raining outside and I am actually about to get into bed (often a bit tipsy) because I haven't had the time to set up my bed earlier in the evening. So for me having the seperate system (certainly the 5 foot bags!) is not going to happen. The smaller bags such as the one Exped have I may go for, but I don't know how much easier and faster it is than the built in pump (espcially when connecting it up in the dark after a few beers is taken into concideration!).

I reckon either Exped/Thermarest need to come up with a similar design of bed or the Windcatcher people (assuming they get the funding to go into production) need to add insulation to their beds. One of those is is bound to happen before too long now that there are so many of the baggy types around.