Vehicle awnings are must-have additions to any car camping setup. It allows you to lounge comfortably on any camp site, regardless of prevailing weather. Problem is, vehicle awnings tend to be on the larger side of outdoor gear, apart from requiring some amount of set up every time. The Moon Fabrications MoonShade offers a more compact and simpler alternative.
Designed to be easy to store and carry, the awning packs down in a small carrying bag that’s around the same size as a rolled-up yoga mat. That means, you can stash this in the trunk of any car, allowing you to have a functional awning that’s ready to deploy whenever you need one.
The Moon Fabrications MoonShade is a small vehicle awning (9 x 7 feet) that’s designed to provide shade to a small group of people. That means, it’s not the best thing to have on hand when you have a big group in tow, although it should provide just the right amount of shade if you’re hitting the wild with three or four folks in your party. It has a shade fabric constructed out of 420D ripstop polyester, which, the outfit claims, is far thicker than most tent fabrics, ensuring it will keep out the sun even on the clearest summer days. The top side is covered in UV 50 coating for added durability, while the bottom side is coated in a reflective treatment for added sun protection during the day and reflecting light at night, so it can help better illuminate your camp. They even threw in a carabiner at the center of the shade’s underside, so you can hang a lamp on there during nighttime.
There’s no mention anywhere on the product about water-resistance, so we’re not sure if this will protect you from the rain as much as it does from the sun. We hope so, though, since not being able to shrug off water will really restrict its usefulness, leaving it unusable for a good chunk of the year.
The Moon Fabrications MoonShade comes with two 12mm aluminum tension poles to maintain its canopy shade, as well as two 19mm aluminum support poles to hold the two front corners upright. Designed for easy setup, the rear corners of the shade can be secured to the upper section of your vehicle using included suction cups, eliminating the need to tie it down or perform any elaborate setup. This also allows it to set up in any side of the car, as well as on any surface the suction cups will stick on, making it very versatile for use in the field.
Aside from the poles and suction cups, the set also comes with four guy lines and stakes, so you can secure the shade during windy days, as well as Velcro straps and additional suction cups, in case you want to secure all four corners to fixed structures. They also threw in four carabiners (in case you want to clip the corners somewhere), a strut pole, and a nylon cord for quickly releasing the overhead attachment.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for the Moon Fabrications MoonShade. Pledges to reserve a unit start at $300.