All About Slingfin, the Californian Tent Brand

Hi Claus, there are many tents out there, why Slingfin?
 

When and by whom was Slingfin founded:

 

Slingfin was founded in 2010 by Martin Zemitis and Tim Baka to develop the most innovative and strongest products possible, free from the constraints of market share and development times. We want to make the tents that are the last to collapse in a storm.

 

 

How did the idea for Slingfin come about and what expertise is behind it:

 

Martin has been working in the outdoor industry since 1975 and has been developing tents for almost 40 years. He designed tents, sleeping bags, and backpacks for The North Face, Sierra Designs, and was one of the founders of Mountain Hardwear. Mountain Hardwear was sold, and in 2009, Martin decided to start something of his own again, which led to the creation of Slingfin in 2010. Slingfin employees own 95% of Slingfin's shares; the other 5% are owned by families, friends, and small investors who like what we do. This is important because it allows Slingfin to make no compromises on quality, materials, or the choice of factories where we produce, just to be more profitable. In non-owner-managed companies or publicly traded companies, brands are forced to lower their quality and prices to sell more units.

Whenever possible, we use Nylon 6-6 fabrics that are siliconized on both sides. For our expedition tents, unlike standard fabrics, we use titanium dioxide fabrics that are five times more expensive and last for several years in higher regions. Martin designed and built the only tent ever used on the summit of Mount Everest. We test tents at a wind speed of 185 km/h on Mt. Washington.

Martin considers himself lucky to have worked with some of the best designers in the outdoor industry, such as Paul Kramer, Mark Erickson, Ingrid Harshbarger, Cheryl Knopp, and Bruce Hamilton, and was tired of many product managers letting their developers just copy instead of solving design problems. Then Martin began to develop the Webtruss, which allows the poles to be set up first.

 

 

What does the name Slingfin mean?

 

It is a combination of Sling and Fin, and is meant to signify that our products can be used for mountaineering as well as for water sports, such as canoeing or rafting. Probably because Martin loves to raft  ?

 

 

What is Slingfin's objective?:

 

The objective of our tents is to always produce the strongest products for their weight, which can be relied upon at all times. Furthermore, they should be easy to use, and we only use the best and most expensive materials.

 

 

Does Slingfin have a unique selling proposition?:

 

Our biggest unique selling proposition is certainly the WebTruss already mentioned above:

 

It combines the best features of a clip tent with those of a tunnel tent. It is easy to set up in the wind like a clip tent and at the same time has the strong structure of a tunnel tent. We use it in our alpine tents as well as in our crossbow tents.

 

 

 

For our LFB, BFD Domes, we use an extremely UV-resistant titanium dioxide coating for our ET-70 and LS07 fabrics, which extends the lifespan of the fabric by approx. 300% to 400%.

 

 

 

Slingfin Custom Tent Pole Clips are made of Acetyl plastic and are designed to remain durable and flexible even in extreme temperatures.

 

 

Nylon 6.6/Polyamide 6.6:

 

Compared to conventional nylon, Nylon 6.6 has higher UV resistance – which is particularly important for tents – higher abrasion resistance, higher tear resistance, higher hardness, for example against impacts, lower permeability for liquids – you have more time to prevent stains. The melting point is 250 degrees, normal nylon is 215.

 

 

What's next for Slingfin?:

 

Test, test, and test again. We work daily in our large laboratory to tear and destroy everything possible. If our machines are not sufficient, our neighbors, a failure analysis company, have the necessary tensile testing machines. We test all materials for strength, etc. This is important so that the materials are coordinated. What good is it to attach an eyelet tab to a webbing strap if the webbing strap has a tensile strength of 300kg and the seam or fabric only withstands 5 kg? Furthermore, we conduct an incredible number of UV tests and test our tents on Mt. Washington.

 

 

Where are Slingfin products produced?:

 

We produce in Vietnam, Taiwan and the USA. We have been working with the factories in Vietnam and Taiwan for over 30 years. They are friends and great partnerships.

 

 

What about environmental and social standards?:

 

Our production partners are highly specialized and their employees are highly valued within the company. We do our utmost to keep fabric waste to a minimum and to keep harmful chemicals out of our products. We manufacture products with a long lifespan. A product that lasts twice as long as another is also more environmentally friendly. We work with the Conservation Alliance, which is committed to preserving our American wilderness.

 

 

Some highlights in Slingfin's history and what Slingfin is proud of:

 

Since Slingfin is an owner-managed company, we have the time to develop and test without compromising on material and workmanship.

 

The Outdoor Gold Award for Babu Chiri Sherpa's tent, which he used for his overnight stay on Mount Everest, the hardshell with our WebTruss.

 

We don't care about our employees' resumes, they just have to be passionate about the outdoors and love what they do, and they can all sew, except for me ?. If not, they have to learn!

 

Thanks Claus, for all the information!

 

 

 

The interview was conducted with Claus Eyrich, Mountain Peaks.