Skip to main content

The North Face and BMW Team Up for Revolutionary Futurelight Camper Concept

Image used with permission by copyright holder

From Rimowa x Off-white’s one-of-a-kind transparent suitcase to Glenmorangie’s partnership with Grain to build handcrafted surfboards to crazy craft beer mashups at the annual Collaboration Beer Fest, collaborations are everywhere right now. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t (1994’s head-scratching Ozzy and Miss Piggy duet comes to mind). However, we can’t help think that BMW teaming up with The North Face can only produce greatness.

At CES 2019 earlier this month, BMW Group’s subsidiary, Designworks, debuted the state-of-the-art Futurelight Camper Concept that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before. The camper is minimal and lightweight, more like a towable tent riding on oversized, off-road-ready tires. Inside, the pared-down, open-concept design includes a built-in couch/bed, a small “nightstand,” and modest floor space for stowing camping gear or unfurling a sleeping bag for additional guests. Small built-in windows provide a bit of light as well.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

What sets the camper apart, however, is the use of a revolutionary, soft-sided shell. The material, designed by The North Face, has been dubbed FUTURELIGHT (you know it’s serious when the name is in all caps). It’s an advanced fabric that uses so-called Nanospinning technology to make it waterproof, yet breathable. For the first time, this technology allows The North Face to add air permeability directly into the membrane of its apparel fabrics. According to the maker, “[t]he process creates nano-sized holes, allowing for incredible porosity while still maintaining total waterproofness.” In plain English, that means that air can more easily move through the material to maximize venting.

The camper concept pulls inspiration from BMW’s sleek 2008 GINA Light Visionary Model. Instead of traditional hard body construction, the forward-thinking concept used “an almost seamless outer skin … which was created out of a flexible textile cover that stretches across a moveable substructure.” It’s a complete rethinking of how cars, tents, and clothing can protect drivers, campers, and wearers of outdoor apparel respectively from the elements. Like its predecessor, the Futurelight Camper is enclosed in a flexible material stretched taut over a conventional geodesic dome structure. It’s one of the sturdiest architectural forms wrapped in one of the world’s most advanced performance fabrics.

For now, the Futurelight Camper Concept is just that: a concept that only hints at the fabric’s possibilities beyond clothing. Futurelight fabric, however, will officially debut in fall 2019 as part of The North Face’s pinnacle apparel collections.

Editors' Recommendations

Mike Richard
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…
Cabana Camper Vans Teams Up with Eddie Bauer for the Ultimate Adventure
Cabana Vans and Eddie Bauer.

Looking for adventure made simple? Cabana is the solution. Cabana offers a new experience for travelers: luxury comfort and the freedom of mobility. The company has designed and built a fleet of upscale custom-made mobile hotel rooms to give travelers the freedom to travel and sleep where they want and when they want. Cabana’s tech-enabled lodging combined with personalized trip planning provides flexible, convenient travel so that guests can focus on the journey and the people they are with.
Cabana Camper Vans x Eddie Bauer

Cabana camper van rental company and iconic outdoor brand, Eddie Bauer, have partnered to provide a unique experience to explore the Pacific Northwest. The collaboration features an Eddie Bauer takeover of five Cabanas, outfitted with Eddie Bauer bedding, gear and accessories. Through the partnership, Cabana guests can also rent gear from Eddie Bauer, to make sure they have the technical apparel and gear for their adventures. Cabana’s efficient design allows for three to five days off-grid without maintenance and via Eddie Bauer's Rental program, customers will have access to technical apparel and gear at affordable prices.
Every Eddie Bauer Cabana is decked out with:
• Eddie Bauer Bedding (including Eddie Bauer’s softest Oversized Down Throw)
• Linens
• Cozy Blankets
• Camping Lantern
• Stanley French Press
• Adventure Mugs
• Portable Cornhole
• Ringtoss
• Camp Table
• Tote

Read more
Check Out This Pop-Up Camper Top for Tesla’s Cybertruck
A mockup of the Tesla Cybertruck with CyberLandr extended.

It's been two years since Tesla announced its Cybertruck, and while it hasn't yet gone into production (current estimates place it in 2022), that hasn't prevented at least one company from announcing its own pop-up camper top for the truck's bed. Stream It, Inc.'s CyberLandr should be taken with a grain of salt, as it's not exactly like designing an iPhone cover, but it's still enticing, showing a picture of what 21st-century Van Life might look like.
Related Guides

RV Trailers 101
Best Ultralight Travel Trailers
Best Motorhomes

Read more
Airstream and Pottery Barn’s New Trailer Brings Creature Comforts to Campers
Airstream and Pottery Barn Trailer

We were already hyped with the Pottery Barn collection of bedding, dinnerware, linens, and other apartment essentials the company released in collaboration with legendary American RV-maker Airstream in May. Whereas Airstream is all hard lines and austere, polished metal (its iconic trailer is nicknamed the "silver bullet"), Pottery Barn's home goods seem to blunt those sharper corners and bring the comforts of home into its heritage campers. What we didn't know was that the announcement was only the first of two. On Tuesday, July 27, Airstream released the final half: The Pottery Barn Special Edition Travel Trailer.

Related Guides

Read more