Nubé Stratos

A lightweight, modular hammock tent created for a better camping experience. This video is an overview of the product.

1,800 Miles

|From Cashmere, Washington to Vicksburg, Mississippi for the 2015 summer design internship at Sierra Madre Research.

Upon arrival at SMR two products were in development. The Stratos Fly, which was in its twelfth iteration, and the Stratos Shield, which was on version three. The team set out to develop the products to a point where the first stages of manufacturing could begin.

Primary Objectives

|A lightweight modular hammock shelter that provides protection, comfort, and versatility.

It was essential to clarify our goals for the product at the outset, and several objectives jumped to the fore. One of the biggest factors was weight, and our target weight for the entire system was just two pounds. With the weather protection we wanted to provide just enough protection for the user. However, with insect protection it was essential to provide complete protection. Finally, the system needed to be modular in order to fulfill the diverse and versatile needs of the consumer.

Stratos Fly Development | Sketches

| Explorations of form, technical patterns, and attachment methods.

We began with the Stratos Fly, and explored possibilities for achieving those goals. Our explorations ranged from developing a form that tied in to the current product line, down to the way the tension lines would be organized. Another of our considerations was how easily this product could be deployed, and we spent countless hours refining the details for the best product experience possible.

Stratos Fly Development | Prototyping

| Creating patterns in Sketch-up in order to sew and evaluate prototypes.

It quickly became apparent that our two pound goal was going to be a reach if we didn't want to sacrifice durability. With that in mind, we shifted our focus to providing ample protection through the numerous iterations we developed. Once we reached a level of protection we were happy with, the patterns were altered to achieve the same level of protection at a lower weight.

Product Testing

| Evaluating the set-up and sleeping experience. The importance of trusting a product's ability to protect you.

Once the Stratos Fly was at a point we were pleased with, we headed out to test it with the Stratos Shield. We also brought someone along who hadn't set them up before to evaluate the set-up experience. After spending the night in the system, it was apparent that while the Fly was close to what we wanted. However, the Shield left a lot to be desired. On the plus side the Shield weighed just 9 ounces, but we discovered that the minimum amount of protection didn't make the user believe in the product. How could we make the user trust that the product would keep out the insects?

Stratos Shield Development | Sketches

| Potential solutions for form, access, tie-out line organization, and patterns.

After testing we scrapped the previous Stratos Shield design and started working on a floating dimensional structure created by tension. One of the biggest hurdles was figuring out how to make the entrance easily accessible. The zippered doors in the side provided the access experience we were looking for.

Stratos Shield Development | Details

| Creating an air gap between the user and the netting, solving integration between modules.

In order to create the perception of protection, we designed the Stratos Shield to provide a gap of air between the user inside and the netting that surrounded them. As we created iterations of the Shield, we also developed the details on the whole system that would allow the modules to integrate with one another.

Tech Pack Creation

| Orthographic drawings and pattern catalogue created for manufacturing.

Finally the system was developed as far as we could take it without the manufacturer so we put together a tech pack. The package included drawings, pattern catalogues, product tags, material specs, cost and weight estimates. This signaled the end of my short three month stay at SMR and they carried out the rest of the manufacturing process.