Dometic offers a host of new products for camping and overland adventure

So you’d like to have a basic, affordable 12V fridge for your vehicle. You don’t need 150-liter capacity, you don’t need dual-zone controls. Just a reliable fridge.

And yet—just musing here—wouldn’t it be nice if you could also have have ice cubes for those shaken-not-stirred sundowner cocktails?

Dometic has you covered. Their new CFX3 55IM fridge incorporates an internal, lidded “rapid-freeze plate” equipped with two silicone ice-cube trays. When the plate is switched on, the 55IM’s compressor super-chills the plate while maintaining fridge temperature in the rest of the unit.

The ice-making fridge was one of several recent products Dometic showcased at a February media event. You could tell the company was serious about the presentation: They held it at Tucson’s stylish Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. Ten years ago that would have seemed a bit over the top for a maker of camping equipment; now it’s simply a sign of the continuing growth and competitiveness of the marketplace—and of Dometic’s determination to stay at the front of innovation.

Actually, Dometic also manufactures things only tangentially related to camping (marine steering systems, for example)—but the emphasis at Ventana Canyon was in new products for the overlanding world.

The CFX3 fridge line, which starts at $900, encompasses six models from a relatively compact 36-liter model, through the ice-cube-making 55-liter unit, and up to a dual-zone, dual-control 94-liter monster. Common to all is a microprocessor-controlled compressor for efficient power usage, stout but lightweight aluminum exo-frame construction, remote monitoring and control via Bluetooth with the CFX3 app, a three-stage battery protection system, a new gasket system, and heavy-duty aluminum handles suitable for use as tie-down points (not a given on all fridges). Plus they’re all decidedly on the handsome side of the fridge-style spectrum. Given the plethora of 12V fridges on the market, it’s become more and more difficult for one company to stand out, but Dometic seems to be trying hard to stay near the top of the heap.

Last year Dometic introduced an intriguing companion to the fridge line: the PLB40, a portable, 40 AH (amp/hour) lithium-ion phosphate power source. Weighing just 16 pounds, and chargeable by 12VDC, 120VAC, or solar input, Dometic claims the PLB40 can power a CFX3 fridge for a weekend on its own, longer if recharged with solar power during the day. The unit has two 12V outlets plus a double USB outlet, and an LCD display for charging status and output. The PLB40 could be a viable option if you don’t have a dual-battery system in your vehicle, or need to juggle your fridge between two or more vehicles.

In 2018, Dometic acquired Kampa, a UK-based maker of high-quality camping equipment—which gave Dometic a ready-made line of products such as furniture and tents. Most interesting is the Kampa Dometic series of air-supported tents and awnings. Air-framed tents have come and gone for years—more than a decade ago I covered Nemo’s heavily hyped air-supported backpacking models, now out of production in favor of conventional pole-supported structures—so it will be interesting to see how these are received.

Aside from the rather odd branding of some of the models as “Studland,” I was impressed with the rigidity of the air-supported structure for these full-size tents, which are available in modular sizes up to an assembly that looks like it could double as a hanger for a Piper Cub. Inflation is accomplished quickly through a single-point filler, but individual sections can be isolated for repairs—which you won’t need nearly as often as you fear. One of the advantages of the poleless design, of course, is relatively compact storage; I’ve found the weight difference to be not all that notable.

Along with the tents, you’ll find a useful annex designed to mate to the back of an SUV. If, like many of us, your rear cargo area has been modified with drawers, a fridge slide, and perhaps a slide-out galley as well, this provides a snug weatherproof kitchen and seating area. I’ve long been a fan of the British Caranex tents, which pioneered this concept; Kampa Dometic has just brought it into the 21st century.

A last note: Throughout our visit, company reps kept urging us to try out the numerous scattered samples of the Kampa Tub Chair, their pillowy version of the ubiquitous accordion-collapsing camping chair. They were indeed sinfully comfortable; however, they retain the numerous plastic bits of all such designs. In my experience it is only a matter of when, not if, these bits start to break. The Tub Chair was the only product at this otherwise upbeat event that I met with a shrug of the shoulders.

See everything at www.dometic.com

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