Wechsel Bella Tent – Designed by Women Adventurers
Posted by Danny Pearson on May 11, 2022
Wechsel Bella 1.5P Tent – Optimised for Women Campers
The Bella is the only tent that we are aware of that has been developed by women for women. It was conceived in a collaboration between Wechsel and a German based club for female adventurers. The group of women who contributed to the design focussed on weight, packing size, quick setup and flexible space arrangement. Key considerations included lightweight, a colour that would blend with nature and not attract insects, space in the tent for storage and room for the rucksack to be inside.
Quick Set Up
A requirement of the design of the Bella was that it could be pitched quickly and also keeping the inner tent dry in heavy rain.
The inner tent is already attached to the flysheet which combined with the external poles means that the whole tent can be pitched as one. This keeps the inner dry and makes pitching extremely fast. The inner can be removed and added after the fly sheet is pitched to allow a wet fly and the inner to be packed separately.
Pack Size
Another consideration was versatility and pack size. The stuff bag for the Bella allows the entire tent and poles to be carried together or alternatively the poles can be separated to perhaps strap to a bicycle frame and the stuff bag compressed down for a smaller pack size. This is optimised for “bikepacking mode” to fit the smaller stuff bag in a pannier or luggage and poles on the frame or in a frame bag.
Internal Space
The Bella can either be used as a very generously sized one person with loads of room to keep your bag etc inside or it has room for a friend (if you’re happy to squash up). Alternatively, there is room for a child or a dog.
The cross pole increases headroom making the inner a more comfortable place to move around, get changed etc.
Internal Storage
The Bella features plenty of internal pockets to store kit when using the tent. There is plenty of room for a rucksack inside the tent when using the tent solo.
Colour
The tent is a natural looking dark green which will blend into the background when wildcamping. It also won’t attract insects like some pale or bright colours tend to.
The Bella was the winner of the Camping category at the Summer WOMENS GEAR AWARD • #she is outdoors (she-is-outdoors.com)
The Bella isn’t a tent only for women, it’s just that their needs were foremost during development. It will no doubt suit the needs of a wide range of backpackers. Who wouldn’t appreciate lightweight, small pack size, super-fast pitching and a spacious inner?
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Danny Pearson |
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Dan is a keen distance walker who loves to geek over the latest gear. In the last few years, Dan has completed a couple of TGO Challenge crossings of Scotland (with another planned for 2024), GR221 in Mallorca, Dales High Route and Hadrian’s Wall plus countless other self-planned routes. A keen mountain biker but finds he doesn’t bounce so well these days when the inevitable happens. |
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Wechsel Bella tent - designed by women, optimised for women but a great backpacking tent for anyone.