A new model Zeit. Born in 2020.

For us Victorians 2020 was a profound change to anything we had been through before. And although comparatively we were lucky compared to many other places in the world, in Australia we underwent the harshest lockdowns for a large part of the year.

Fortunately Liam Brosnahan, founder and designer of the Zeit range and his partner were able to move from Melbourne where Zeit Camping usually operate, to the more peaceful Otway ranges with the rest of the team staying in Melbourne to be around family and deal with the higher than normal orders due to the great camping boom this country is experiencing. 

The Zeit team had been working on a new model teepee, after feedback that customers wanted a larger tent: with the same user friendly focus as the first model. 

So the designing and testing got underway during the lonely deep winter lockdown. The new model had to withstand the constant rain, humid weather and wild winds, whilst also adapting to the hotter days during summer.  

Testing some new models

After getting the right size flooring for up to 6 people, we then had to deal with the height of the teepee. Higher would mean a bit more space to move as it lifts the side walls up, but also a bit heavier and bulkier. Wind has never really been as issue with most teepees because of its aerodynamic design the wind actually grounds it more than blows it around, but the taller the teepee the more it would catch it.  

One night after leaving the teepee door open as a test with the wind, Liam awoke to find a tiger snake sleeping inside and had to call the local snake catcher to come find him (but was glad the snake got a good night sleep). 

The trials eventually settled on one variant over the rest, it was up for a few weeks and dealt with strong winds, constant rain and even a bit of snow. It held up better than expected and we are proud to release it in February 2021. And although it was designed and brought together in 2020 we definitely don't want to name it the 2020 model. Instead we will name it after the beautiful Otways. 

Our new Model 'Otway'

Stay connected on our socials for more details and photos of the Zeit Otway. 

Yours truly 

The Zeit team xx