Why Droplet is our favorite all-weather camping option

Dear fellow camper, before we jump into this post, let us begin with a few personal questions.

  • How many times have you (or your partner) cursed the weather for going South during a multi-day camping trip?
  • Did you ever abort a supposed dream camping adventure, because the entirety of your clothes and gear got soaked inside your tent (or tent trailer) during a storm?
  • Have you ever looked at those beautiful, shiny trailer campers parked next to you at the campsite, secretly wishing your small car could tow it, so it was you who got to afford sleeping inside it, as you silently pack up your drenched gear?
droplet trailer storm watching, vancouver island
Droplet – We can’t control the weather, but we have a choice over the roof we want to sleep under.

Don’t feel bad. All of this happened to us too. Too many times to remember them all. Over the years, our love for camping and adventure lead us to explore many of the remote corners of our beautiful blue planet, at the cost of sometimes getting soaked in our sleep.
That was before DROPLET. And before DROPLET, we tried everything to match our camping needs: 3 season tents, 4 seasons tents (welcome to you, condensation!), hammock tent, roof tents, RV rentals (try to smile as you pay for gas at the pump), etc.

If you are looking for a tent, our favorite builds remain the MSR Elixir 3, or the Hubba Hubba for remote adventures in the backcountry. MSR tents are simple, well built, and comfortable Up until the weather takes over… Photo – Kit2kamp

We took all of the above into consideration, even before building our first Droplet trailer prototype. Our ideal camping trailer had to be insulated for all-season camping with proper seals on doors, windows, and panels. We also wanted our teardrop trailer to be built light for safe and efficient towing with most vehicles (our primary vehicle is a standard 2006 fwd Toyota Matrix), while remaining simple enough to be borrowed or rented by someone who has never driven with a trailer before, with minimal instructions. Lastly, we wanted the inside to be roomy enough to comfortably accommodate Pascal (6ft4″) and his partner Diane while remaining sufficiently compact to be stored in a regular indoor garage.

IKamper mounted on a Porsche Cayenne.
Our previous Ikamper pop-top. While comfy, it was too heavy to be handled by one person and the weatherproofing did not compare to a permanent rigid shell.

We love camping. Whether it is for a quick and easy weekend away from the busy city, an extended kite-boarding trip, a ski-touring journey, or a paragliding adventure in British Columbia, nature always ends up being our second home. This pushed us to design Droplet, the ultimate mobile accommodation to fuel our frequent and recurring love for adventure, all season long. Make sure you take everything that you need for your next trip along with you. If this requires a shopping trip, you could go to somewhere like Cabela’s that has lots of outdoor equipment for sale – check for the availability of a Cabela’s promo code online to see if you can make a saving on your next purchase.

Installing an extra-large roof vent onto our lightweight roof structure did require some serious thinking to keep the rig robust and 100% weatherproof.

We can’t always predict the weather, here on the South Coast of British Columbia. Storms have a funny tendency to build up quickly and to unleash in the most unexpected fashion. Rather than having to always pack up our gear and leave it for a week to dry in the middle of our small apartment, having an easily accessible rig to attach behind our small car was the way to go.

The Droplet may be a suitable choice for camping in winter. We all know that winter can be brutal in Midwest America, and illinois camping grounds (and other locations) gets a lot of footfall during that season. If you were thinking of canceling your plans due to the weather, this can be a good option to look into.

Sleeping in the rainforest is always good for the soul.

We would still rather sleep in Droplet than book a fancy hotel room any other night, even on business travels. More than the cost, it is the experience we seek. Just imagine getting out of a never-ending conference, getting on the road for less than 30 minutes, only to find a sweet campground in the middle of the rain forest rather than having to forcefully listen to the suspicious noises coming from the room next door. It’s also easier to catch up on work, surrounded by silence but for the blissful sounds of the forest. There usually isn’t any worry about getting a power supply in the middle of nowhere either, with lots of solar-powered generators like the Goal Zero Yeti 3000 available for campers like us.

Being out in nature gives a pleasant satisfaction that not even a 5-star hotel room could give, but that’s just us, maybe. We do know that there are plenty of camping lovers like us though, who would prefer to have an option to stay on the road, in a rainforest, or even in a savannah when they feel like it. Hence the versatile, all-weather design for the Droplet trailer. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Taking advantage of a storm to catch up on some work during an extended road trip through Oregon.