Travel gear: rooftop tent for your car for convenience camping

Who knew you could enjoy a camping experience and still get a penthouse view? The Yakima SkyRise 3 Rooftop Tent delivers on its name, with a tent that is pitched atop your car via an ingenious design that uses your vehicle’s roof rack to support itself and the happy campers. Yakama has used its decades of experience in manufacturing racks to carry your bikes and kayaks to create this three-man tent (able to hold up to 600 pounds of campers) that is the fastest tent you’ll ever assemble. When packed, the tent features a low profile on your car’s roof. Once you undo the cover, you simply unfold the tent and extend the ladder. That’s all there is to it.

A comfortable, wall-to-wall, foam cushion is built into the bottom of the floor, so you don’t even have to deal with sleeping pads. Mesh panels around the tent offer plenty of ventilation, and a sky roof will even give you a great view of the stars. The rugged rain fly will keep you dry when the sky opens up, and the tent folds neatly back into itself on top of your car when you’re ready to go. It’s the ultimate in convenience for those who want to enjoy the outdoors — and avoid the cold and muddy ground.

$1350, yakima.com