Reversible, all-season tent introduced

The makers of a new, unique tent call it “revolutionary,” but what may be most revolutionary about the company is what it does with its tents. Billion Bricks Ltd., a Singapore-based nonprofit design and technology studio, says its weatherHYDE tent is the world’s only reversible, all-season, family tent.

While campers and outdoor enthusiasts are likely to find it a functional and reasonably priced investment, it was invented with a larger purpose: to solve the formidable problem of global homelessness. To that end, for every weatherHYDE tent sold, one is given to a homeless family somewhere in the world.

With its reversible, insulated and waterproof skin, weatherHYDE is designed to provide protection in all weather and all seasons, in order to save the lives of the most vulnerable, sometimes living in extreme conditions. The outer, dark skin is meant for heat absorption; the inner mylar skin to reflect heat. The tent has removable doors on both ends, a soft, thermal insulated barrier, and because it’s waterproof, no additional rain fly is needed.

The frame is sold separately, but because it’s PVC pipes, the pieces can be found at almost any hardware store, and purchasing locally reduces costs and the environmental footprint. The organization also says that its “solutions are women-centric, and highly replicable and scalable to significantly enhance opportunities for communities to emerge out of poverty.”

Its founders, Anurag Srivastava and Prasoon Kumar, worked in commercial design before founding the organization in 2013.