23Zero USA brings to market a revolutionary compliment to the camping experience with their Light Suppression Technology fabric for vehicle-based and overland adventures

The overlanding world continues to change and evolve each year. Manufacturers engineer and design equipment with goals of making vehicle-based travel simpler, more efficient, and more fun. Overlanders pack and load their gear and equipment, yearning and searching for their next outdoor adventure. Wanderlust at its best! Whether it’s a weekend warrior mission or a month-long journey, vehicle gear and equipment should enable all of us to enjoy outdoor adventures found along the way.

“It’s going to blow your mind. Stop down and check it out when you have some time,” said Justin. Justin Dowey serves as the Business Development Manager of 23Zero’s USA and Canada branches. “Okay, I look forward to seeing it.”  I responded.

A few weeks later, I sat with Justin to talk about overlanding gear in his business park office just miles from Salt Lake City, Utah. He was gracious enough to invite me to 23Zero’s offices to check out their newest product.

23Zero has offices in North America and Australia with Justin overseeing the USA and Canadian branches. The company provides everything from snatch straps to rooftop tents for overland adventures. On this day, however, I talked to Justin about fabrics. Yes, fabrics. A fabric 23Zero trademarked. Justin is giddy and excited to talk and share some insights about this new fabric dubbed Light Suppression Technology (LST). Simply put, the fabric allows all light to be blocked. You read that correctly. ALL light. LED, Halogens, and Ultraviolet? Yep, all light. Justin showed me a small piece of this fabric. It felt normal. He then took a flashlight, turned it on, and placed the fabric over the top of it. Nothing. No light at all. The fabric completely blocked the light.

“No, we didn’t paint one side with black paint.” Justin jokingly stated.

“Well, then tell me about it.” I replied. Justin continued cautiously.  He shared little in terms of the “how” details but informed me that the LST is part of the fabric. Justin raved about the sleep a person has inside the tent. No early mornings. No natural sunlight to wake me in the early am or, worse yet, to roast me alive. Nope. Comfortable and cool. Justin claimed a 15% reduction of inside temperatures.

The new 23Zero Peregrine awning comes with the LST fabric as well. Literally, no harmful UV light penetrates the awning, keeping you safe from sunlight and maintaining cooler temps under it. It was fun to hear Justin rave and talk passionately about this new product and its development. But, does it work in the field? Justin, his associate Rob, and I mounted a Breezeway 62 and a Peregrine Awing to my roof rack. I drove to Death Valley to test these two products with LST.

My family and I stopped at Gold Butte National Monument outside Mesquite, Nevada. We were tired from the long, boring drive on Interstate 15 but savored the warmth of the desert environment. I unzipped the cover to my Breezeway 62, pulled down the ladder, and popped the tent. Nothing new I thought. Okay, the ladder was totally new and way easier and more comfortable to use. Well, the tent color changed too— now an earth tone green. I climbed the ladder to grab the poles for the rainfly but experienced a slight problem. I could not see inside the tent at all. The tent was completely dark. I mean black.

Later that night, after viewing the star show high above the Mojave Desert, we climbed up to sleep. My wife and I noticed the mattress was completely different, providing more firmness and support. A memory foam of sorts, I thought to myself. We laid down on our backs with our young daughter between the two of us. Immediately, we realized the entire inside of the tent was dark…really dark. We turned on our headlamps to read before drifting asleep.

The following morning, I woke up and rolled over to unzip the small side window. Immediately, the bright sunlight hit my face and my eyes squinted to minimize the bright, natural sunlight. I quickly reversed course and closed the window. Back to black. Completely black.

“Wow, I slept well. The mattress is so comfortable.” My wife, Louise, stated when she awakened. The darkness inside the tent resulted in both of us sleeping comfortably. A bonus, the new mattress, just added to the comfort and the ability for a good night’s sleep.

23Zero created a new and exciting product for the overlanding world. No, it might not look flashy or shiny like a new bumper or roof rack; however, they engineered a product that makes sleep better and more comfortable.  The LST Fabric also protects from harmful UV rays while relaxing under the awning in the great outdoors.

The following day, we continued southbound on I-15 towards Death Valley National Park with smiles on our faces. We had more testing to do. It’s fun to test thoughtful products that makes vehicle-based adventures easier and more enjoyable. Off we went to test out 23Zero’s LST on more adventure with a full review planned in an upcoming issue of OutdoorX4. If you can’t wait, visit www.23zero.com for product information and purchasing.

OutdoorX4 Magazine – Promoting responsible vehicle-based adventure travel and outdoors adventure