February 11, 2009: Once more, the infantry are getting another superior piece of equipment via the civilian market. This time it's a smaller, easier to erect one-man tent. Five years ago, Nemo Designs, a U.S. firm, introduced a line of tents, using a rigid air tube instead of a tent pole. The one man tent (the GoGo) attracted the attention of SOCOM personnel, who are always seeking more effective outdoor gear. The SEALs were the first to test and adopt the Nemo technology. There is now a military version of the GoGo (two doors in front, room for a large rucksack and weapons, and a large person, olive drab color.)
The civilian GoGo weighs less than two pounds, packs into a shape smaller than a football, and can be set up in less than a minute. It's 2.6 meters long, nearly a meter tall and 69 cm wide. The civilian version costs $265. The military version is basically the same size and weight, but costs a bit more. This is a lot more expensive than the old pup tent (two sheets of waterproofed canvas and two tent poles, put together to house two troops), but a whole lot more effective.
