Gore introduced their Gore Military Lightweight Tent Fabric in the form of a demonstrator tent on the floor at Modern Day Marine. The fabric is inherently weather resistant, breathable, air-permeable, opaque, and flame resistant. It was designed around an RFI the Marines put out early in the year for a new FR tent.

If anyone is going to get us to a breathable single-wall tent, no doubt Gore’s going to be driving the bus. The breathable, single-wall is sort of the holy grail of tentage. The single-wall design means it’s lighter than the mesh-and-rainfly combo the Marines use now and it sets up faster with less complexity than a traditional tent.

Until now, single-wall tents have been basically Nylon trash bags with holes poked in them to provide ventilation. The waterproof/breathable fabrics were all too delicate, too expensive or too flammable to use in this application. Current fabrics also pack poorly because they won’t release trapped air without a fight when shoved in a compression sack. That’s where the air-permeable trait of Gore’s new MLTF comes in. Wake up, pack up, and go. No sitting on your tent to force the air out of the stuff sack.

Gore has still got a few things to work out before this stuff ends up in the field. It’s been tested in the lab, but it’s just getting out to Bridgeport for a little testing with the Marines. It’s got a wicked sheen that needs to be dulled back and they need to figure out how to print on the new fabric. Ohh, and there’s also a little matter of ventilation vs. suffocation to be explored. Since it’s a basically a sealed cocoon once the single wall tent is buttoned up, Gore and their partner tentmakers have to make sure there’s enough ventilation to prevent the Marines sleeping within from asphyxiating.

UPDATE: Gore has just clarified “the single-wall tent fabric & design has been tested to insure there is enough ventilation for the sleeping Marine, to prevent asphyxiation; this model is currently in discussion with the USMC, regarding a field trial at the Mountain Warfare Training Center.”