Nordisk creates hurricane test for tents
Danish outdoor equipment company Nordisk has introduced a new test procedure for all its tents: the outdoor shelters are placed in a wind tunnel to prove their fitness for extreme situations.
A test team follows the progress of the tents, but entrance to the wind tunnel is prohibited at wind speeds of 20 metres per second and upward.
A hurricane is equivalent to number 12 on the Beaufort scale – the highest level of the most widely used wind force measurement scale – and achieves a wind speed of 32.7 metres per second (118 km/h).
In wind tunnel testing, the majority of Nordisk tents withstand these wind speeds. Wind force is built up gradually in stages of 2.5 metres per second, from the equivalent of a stiff breeze to gale force and hurricane level. At the same time, simulated downpours test the waterproof standards of the tents.
To indicate the wind speed each tent can withstand, Nordisk has designed a symbol which will feature on all its ‘storm-proof’ tents.
