When we decided to open the Eastern Sierra Observatory, we wanted to find a shelter that was strong enough for the sometimes harsh environment at our mountainside location. It also had to look cool, and be portable and therefore building permit-free. The SHIFTPOD stood out as a perfect match, and after reaching out to the company, a relationship was formed, and it was decided that the first SHIFTPOD we received would be put through a non-biased, thorough desert mountainside endurance test. This SHIFTPOD had already been used for a weekend at the EDC music festival, and would now be left set up indefinitely on the ledge of the mountainside overlooking the Owens Valley and mighty Eastern Sierra. While we enjoy plenty of fine weather here, the environment is dry and dusty, the summertime sun is scorching hot, occasional extreme winds rip through the area, and sometimes we get wintertime snow. The SHIFTPOD endured all of it, and did it remarkably well. Here is the story of the very seasoned SHIFTPOD.

August 13th, 2018, the slightly used SHIFTPOD was set up. Its condition was somewhere around excellent or like-new. The first impressions were:

• Damn this thing is awesome

• It’s so quick and easy to set up (literally about 2 minutes not rushing or counting the guy-lines)

• The floor is easy to zip in

• The zippers are nice and big and zip/unzip smoothly

• It’s really big — easy to stand in

• It looks awesome

• It seems very sturdy

Upon sleeping in the SHIFTPOD night after night, the sturdiness of the structure was found to be more than evident. It didn’t make a bunch of noise in the wind like a traditional tent, and it stood solidly through the various elements. The guy-lines needed to be tensioned every so often as they stretched over time like guy-lines always do, but other than that, the SHIFTPOD showed no signs of stress in its life despite being used continuously.

The SHIFTPOD feels like ample room for two people to move around in standing up with cots and nightstands present, too. Three or four people would also feel pretty good in this shelter with sleeping accommodations other than our bulky memory foam cots. The windows on every side are nice, and having two doors is also nice for choice of entry/exit as well as added ventilation and views. If desired, the SHIFTPOD can be completely sealed up as well. No additional rain fly is needed to keep out a downpour — or as you’re about to see, much more than that.

The winter of early 2019 was a harsh one, with below average temperatures in the area, as well as several instances of severe wind and a few episodes of snowfall. On three separate occasions, when the SHIFTPOD was standing for days unattended, a snowfall would happen overnight, dropping enough snow to pop down the roof. Once daytime arrived, that snow would then melt to form a heavy pool of water in the popped-down roof. The pool would then freeze overnight, creating a huge chunk of ice with water underneath it. We’d show up to a sight like the one below, with the SHIFTPOD looking to be in distress.

We tried to go inside the SHIFTPOD and pop back up the roof, but the weight of the water and chunk of ice were unbelievably heavy — literally 100+ pounds. Even with a person putting their back directly under the center and trying to stand up — the mass couldn’t even be budged — the weight was just too much. So, a pickaxe was used to carefully break up the big chunk of ice, and then a shovel was used to remove the pieces out of the top. Even with the ice removed, a super heavy puddle of water still remained, and a person standing under center was still unable to budge it without feeling like they’d break their back. A pump had to be used to get the water out, and then the top was popped back up, and the SHIFTPOD was as good as new again.

Despite this heavy mass of ice and water weighing down the top for multiple days, note that it never leaked! You can see the sheet on the cot is still dry, albeit a little damp directly underneath the mass of water from condensation, which couldn’t have been avoided after sitting for days like that. We were amazed that this was the case, and that the super heavy mass of ice and water didn’t rip or destroy anything.

The SHIFTPOD continued to endure the harsher than average winter day after day, night after night, and it did a fine job of it. A propane Little Buddy heater was used to keep it warm during the coldest of nights, and that worked really well. The SHIFTPOD would be a cozy 65 degrees inside when it was 25 degrees outside. The protection from the wind was solid, and again — it was nice that the SHIFTPOD was also quiet even when the wind blew hard all night. One of the most frustrating things to do is sleep in a tent that’s getting loudly pushed around by the wind. With the SHIFTPOD, this isn’t an issue.

After the first two times of the having the roof collapse due to heavy snowfall, a center pole was installed, however, it should’ve been extended more than it was, because another nasty wind and snowstorm rolled through, and the gusts raised the top enough such that the center pole fell out of place and up against one of the sides of the SHIFTPOD. The top popped down again, and when we arrived to see it in its condition pictured below, our first thought was — "Oh no, the center pole must be sticking out of the side of the SHIFTPOD somewhere if it’s not still standing.”

The wasn’t the case, though. The SHIFTPOD had taken it to the dome for a third time, and just didn’t care. The center pole had indeed been pressing up against one of the sides, trying to poke its way out, but the strength of the SHIFTPOD material didn’t allow it to happen. This time, the temperatures were warmer, and so there was no ice left, but instead only a large, heavy puddle of water remained in the imploded roof. Despite this being the THIRD time this had happened and being left for DAYS before being resolved, there was still no water leaking into the SHIFTPOD. This was downright amazing! At this point, the roof had taken quite a beating - over and over - and the SHIFTPOD just didn’t care. It was fine. Aside from an imprint in the roof of where the largest ice chunk had been earlier that winter, the POD was still seemingly in “excellent” condition, operating just as it would have straight out of the box.

In early May 2019, the Eastern Sierra Observatory hosted its first guests for nights of stargazing, hot tubbing, and of course SHIFTPOD accommodations. A very solid, contouring platform weighing about 400 lbs. was built, and the SHIFTPOD was bolted to it around its apron. The SHIFTPOD got a spacey interior makeover as well, and was now put to use even more so than it already had been. The zippers were beginning to get a little sticky, which could be expected due to the dusty conditions, not to mention the winter it had just been through. A little Tri-Flow dry lube was used on them, and in an instant they were zipping just like new.

Springtime brought with it some spectacular thunderstorms, giving the SHIFTPOD a great test as it had now had it’s top popped down and battered with ice, snow, and freezing weather several times. The unit stayed dry and cozy inside, with still no leaking whatsoever. The SHIFTPOD was now being regularly used by different groups of people every night — most of which had never used a SHIFTPOD before. So, as with most things being used for their first time, it was taking a bit of an extra beating as guests familiarized themselves with it. One thing is for sure — all the guests loved it! And, they were amazed when they’d hear what kind of winter this very seasoned SHIFTPOD had endured.

Summertime was very hot as it always is in the Owen Valley, with an unforgiving Sun searing down on the SHIFTPOD day after day. The observatory was busy, and the very seasoned SHIFTPOD was being used almost every night.

The SHIFTPOD continued to enjoy all the amazing sunsets as usual, and scoffed at the occasional 60 mph gusts of wind that rolled through. The only maintenance it ever received was Tri-Flow dry lube on the door zippers when they’d get sticky (applied about 2 times in the 16 month period), and tensioning of the guy-lines when needed. Sometimes if a guy-line stake popped out from extreme weather, it would stay like that for up to a few weeks if the camp was being left unattended. The SHIFTPOD continued to maintain its excellent condition despite all of the weather and all of our neglect.

Sixteen months into this trial by fire, the SHIFTPOD was still in excellent condition. The only things that a trained eye could’ve pointed out were that the black fabric on the outside was faded from the sun (obviously going to happen over 16 months and who cares), there was a (very) small indent in the one side where the center pole had tried to poke through, and there was a slightly noticeable indent around the very top where the largest chunk of ice had sat for days during winter. That was it. Still no leaks, rips, tears, breaks, anything. To put into perspective - at least a little bit - before using the SHIFTPOD, we were using a 6-person Coleman Weathermaster tent. We’d gone through two of them — each one lasting about six months before the Sun turned their material into tissue paper and then the wind blew holes right through them both times — and neither of those tents ever had to endure any snow! Now, obviously a SHIFTPOD is going to outperform a much lower priced Coleman Weathermaster, but, still, after sixteen months of abuse the thing barely had any more damage than a wooden building would’ve had — if any more at all!

In late November, just before Thanksgiving 2019, an extreme, historic winter storm rolled into the Eastern Sierra. As you can see, between November 20th and 25th, strong winds along with precipitation again popped down the top of the unattended SHIFTPOD — a center pole was not installed.

On November 25th, the Owens Valley experienced an extreme high-wind event for the entire day — with sustained winds of 50+ mph and gusts topping 70 mph. The weather station at the observatory recorded a top wind speed of 72.9 mph. Unattended, two SHIFTPODs were set up at the time, with the very seasoned SHIFTPOD up front, and, unfortunately, an only partially secured SHIFTPOD in back. The rear SHIFTPOD was only secured on one side of the apron and only had a few of its guy-lines intact. The surface at the observatory is a pile of gold mine tailings and dirt, and while it’s well packed from it’s 100+ years of existence, it’s still very dry and rocky, and thus not the easiest surface to get stakes to stick into over time. The fact is, while this second SHIFTPOD hadn’t gone through the winter like the very seasoned one, it had still been standing all summer - through the rain and wind - with no issues. They’d preformed so invincibly that we got complacent, and as winter approached, and we were taking a break from the stargazing action, we sadly let that second SHIFTPOD go through the wrong storm without a chance. The 72.9 mph wind picked it up - with FOUR cots inside of it as well - and threw it at the mountainside. The good news is, it will be repurposed as a portable telescope windscreen from now on!

As it always does, the very seasoned SHIFTPOD took the brunt of the forces while standing closest to the edge. Going into the bout with a popped down roof already filled with a heavy amount of water, the SHIFTPOD took a beating — even dragging the 400 lb. platform beneath it for about 5 feet! The repetitive thrashing of the POD’s roof caused it to come apart at the seam, and it was only hanging on by a few threads once the storm had passed. The roof came apart solely along the seam, though, so it will be able to be sewed back on. One of the sides also experienced a tear right along its seam — also an easy sewing fix. None of the structural poles were broken, and the SHIFTPOD still stood bolted to the massive platform it had drug with it. Had there not been any water sitting in the roof to begin with, there is no doubt that the very seasoned SHIFTPOD would’ve made it through another whopper of a storm unscathed. After it’s sewn back together, it will indeed stand at edge of the mountainside once again, and continue to host guests for nights of stargazing while it endures more weather — both fine and nasty.

The very seasoned SHIFTPOD has shown that these shelters are the real deal! When they’re properly set up and secured, they truly seem to be indestructible through wind, rain, and snow. Even when they’re left unattended for days at a time, with super massive ice cubes on their heads. The fact that the POD didn’t ever begin to leak was unbelievable. Even when we got complacent and left the rear SHIFTPOD only half-way secured after it’d been set up all summer, it still took a historic storm to disturb it. If the PODs were being maintained instead of left unattended for days, they would’ve undoubtedly weathered the storm just fine. It’s safe to say that a SHIFTPOD can likely be counted on for decades of regular camp use, and years of being set up permanently. The very seasoned SHIFTPOD will heal up and get back to its perch on mountainside, and when it does, a continuation will be written. Until then…