Good inTents sells $1,500 tents with an inflatable frame and hinged door. (Courtesy Good inTents)
Danielle Williams wants you to ditch your camping tent.
The 34-year-old Wheat Ridge resident spends her time jumping between festivals and campgrounds, and in 2022 decided she was fed up with the standard tent.
The poles needed to assemble it. The zipper door. The low-hanging ceiling. The aggravating disassembly.
“It’s not one of these things – it’s all of them,” Williams said.
Danielle Williams
With a degree from Northeastern University in mechanical engineering and about a decade of experience in product design, she quit her day job as product development engineer at Popsockets and started designing a new tent.
“We’re redesigning the tent from the ground up,” Williams said. “We’re not taking one that’s out there and slapping a pattern on it.”
And on Monday, Williams’ company — Good inTents — kicked off sales of its inflatable, funky-patterned, patent-pending tent that stands nearly seven feet tall and cost $1,500.
Williams said she has invested $300,000 launching the business so far, which came from two small business loans and her own savings.
The tent is made from ripstop woven recycled polyester, which Williams said makes it more durable, and has an inflatable frame that gives it extra height. There’s a waterproof canopy and a hinge door instead of a standard zipper door.
Williams designed the tent with the festivalgoer in mind. In addition to tents being hard to set up and take down, it’s difficult to live out of them while also trying to dress for a festival — “five pairs of sunglasses, different outfits, multiple hats.”
“That’s where this was born,” she said. “But those people are also campers and adventurers.”
Good inTent’s signature product also incorporates a window, a doggy door and accessories such as shelving. Williams said it can fit about three people comfortably, but she’s had friends fit up to five. Eventually, she wants to add more optional tent features, such as a skylight, a closet and even a lighting package.
Features of the company’s tents. (Courtesy Good inTents)
The technology behind the durable materials and the inflatable frames isn’t new, Williams said. It just hadn’t been used on a tent before.
“Inflatables have been there for a while — white water rafting, stand up paddle boards, kayaks,” she said. “We infused those into our design.”
The tent takes 90 seconds to inflate manually and about four minutes to deflate. It weighs about 59 pounds when torn down, which includes its wheelable bag.
“By the time you’re packing up, you lose that glow,” Williams said. “You’re either hung over, sleep-deprived, sad you’re going home … so I wanted the teardown to be really nice too.”
While born out of musical festivals, Williams thinks Good InTents will be popular with families because it’s more spacious and organized than a standard tent, as well as “digital nomads” who tend to work and live out of tents.
Williams, who moved to Colorado 12 years ago, said she and her husband use them outside of festivals to camp around the state.
“We wanted the whole experience to be exceptional, comfortable camping,” Williams said. “It’s beautiful too, but it’s really the comfort that’s going to pull people in.”
Good inTents sells $1,500 tents with an inflatable frame and hinged door. (Courtesy Good inTents)
Danielle Williams wants you to ditch your camping tent.
The 34-year-old Wheat Ridge resident spends her time jumping between festivals and campgrounds, and in 2022 decided she was fed up with the standard tent.
The poles needed to assemble it. The zipper door. The low-hanging ceiling. The aggravating disassembly.
“It’s not one of these things – it’s all of them,” Williams said.
Danielle Williams
With a degree from Northeastern University in mechanical engineering and about a decade of experience in product design, she quit her day job as product development engineer at Popsockets and started designing a new tent.
“We’re redesigning the tent from the ground up,” Williams said. “We’re not taking one that’s out there and slapping a pattern on it.”
And on Monday, Williams’ company — Good inTents — kicked off sales of its inflatable, funky-patterned, patent-pending tent that stands nearly seven feet tall and cost $1,500.
Williams said she has invested $300,000 launching the business so far, which came from two small business loans and her own savings.
The tent is made from ripstop woven recycled polyester, which Williams said makes it more durable, and has an inflatable frame that gives it extra height. There’s a waterproof canopy and a hinge door instead of a standard zipper door.
Williams designed the tent with the festivalgoer in mind. In addition to tents being hard to set up and take down, it’s difficult to live out of them while also trying to dress for a festival — “five pairs of sunglasses, different outfits, multiple hats.”
“That’s where this was born,” she said. “But those people are also campers and adventurers.”
Good inTent’s signature product also incorporates a window, a doggy door and accessories such as shelving. Williams said it can fit about three people comfortably, but she’s had friends fit up to five. Eventually, she wants to add more optional tent features, such as a skylight, a closet and even a lighting package.
Features of the company’s tents. (Courtesy Good inTents)
The technology behind the durable materials and the inflatable frames isn’t new, Williams said. It just hadn’t been used on a tent before.
“Inflatables have been there for a while — white water rafting, stand up paddle boards, kayaks,” she said. “We infused those into our design.”
The tent takes 90 seconds to inflate manually and about four minutes to deflate. It weighs about 59 pounds when torn down, which includes its wheelable bag.
“By the time you’re packing up, you lose that glow,” Williams said. “You’re either hung over, sleep-deprived, sad you’re going home … so I wanted the teardown to be really nice too.”
While born out of musical festivals, Williams thinks Good InTents will be popular with families because it’s more spacious and organized than a standard tent, as well as “digital nomads” who tend to work and live out of tents.
Williams, who moved to Colorado 12 years ago, said she and her husband use them outside of festivals to camp around the state.
“We wanted the whole experience to be exceptional, comfortable camping,” Williams said. “It’s beautiful too, but it’s really the comfort that’s going to pull people in.”
