Hele Outdoors is committed to making the most durable and modular car camping gear on the planet.
Our flagship product, the Hele Box - car camping platform and storage system - is loved by hundreds of customers across the globe.
While we only ship to the USA/CA, our car camping platforms have been spotted and photographed in Patagonia (South America), South Africa, and beyond.
It’s so popular that the Hele Box Solo has already sold out 3 times (we only launched 10 months ago!) and featured by premier publications like GearJunkie.
All this wouldn’t be possible without the love and support from our stoked customers.
Thank you so much for the reviews, social media posts/tags, and conversations. Our community of car campers, vanlifers, and adventure seekers is truly the best in the world!
This article highlights the unique features/benefits that make the Hele Box the leading vehicle sleeping system on the market.
We’ll tell you what inspired them and why they stand out to our customers.
1 - Sturdiness
When designing our car camping platform - sturdiness was at the forefront of the design.
The telescopic legs we tested in early prototypes accomplished the goal of raising/lowering the platform, but created a new issue - wobbles.
This is because the gap between the inner and outer leg created a small amount of play.
On its own it wasn’t a huge issue, but when multiplied across the 6 legs of a sleeping platform, it left the system feeling “shakey”
As a fussy sleeper, this wasn’t going to fly.
We needed the adjustability of a push-pin system with the tightness of a twist lock - so we decided to combine the two together.
The work that went into redesigning the telescopic legs delayed our launch by an additional 4-6 months, but was well worth it.
Our patent pending dual-lock technology totes extreme sturdies for a sleeping platform that’s as lightweight and portable as the Hele Box.
This design allows our sleeping platform to have the rigidity of a custom built system at a fraction of the weight, size, and hassle.
We are the only sleeping platform on the market that uses a dual-lock system and the reviews from our customers are proof in the pudding to its superiority!
2 - Storage & Packability
When was the last time you took a look at your gear closet or garage?
My bet is you are low on space.
When first designing the Hele Box car camping platform I was living in a one bedroom apartment with an assigned parking space.
I didn’t have a place to store a bulky wooden build out - let alone the space or tools to build one.
I knew others had the same predicament, so I made sure our sleeping platform could pack down into a conveniently sized carrying case for easy storage.
This took quite a bit of trial and error during the design phase.
When I finally finished a carrying case I thought would be the finished product, everything turned on its head.
One day I was watching my fiancé pack her clothes into storage cubes before placing them into her suitcase for a trip and it hit me...
The case the Hele Box comes in should also double as a compartmentalized storage system!
This took me back to the drawing board, and after a few iterations the new Hele Box case was complete.
We reinforced the walls with a foam backing and implemented a hard-bottom casing to support additional weight.
It features adjustable compartments so you can organize your gear and stash it right underneath the platform for easy access.
In a world where everyone has too much stuff and too little space, the updates made to the Hele Box packing/storage capabilities boasts the modularity of our car camping system so you can do more with less.
3 - Gear Access
If you’ve camped in your car, you know just how easy it is to lose something.
This usually requires you to dismantle layers of packing in order to access that “one little thing” stashed between mounds of gear.
When it came to designing the topper for the Hele Box sleeping platform, we wanted a system that could be moved “out of the way” to easily access gear in the far corners of a setup.
The first concept of our topper was actually a solid piece of wood that could fold up a hinge.
This however created two major issues - weight & size.
A 3ft x 3ft plank of wood was extremely heavy and kissed our concept with lightweight/portability goodbye. So we looked to other areas of our daily lives for inspiration.
The concept of a wooden slatted topper is where we landed.
It’s easy to roll up, much lighter than a full piece of wood, and could act as its own latch to the frame if designed right.
The best part is its ability to be easily removed or slid forward on the frame so you can access gear that’s packed in the deepest/darkest corners of your vehicle.
The slatted topper was the perfect fit for our sleeping platform and further added to the modularity of our car camping system.
As a bonus the wooden topper allowed the sleeping platform to shortened:
Or used as a stackable storage system so you can regain access to back seats:
Looking to get a deeper understanding of our versatile car camping platform?
Check out the pages for the Hele Box Solo & Duo.
Another great resource to learn more about the Hele Box car camping platform is our Youtube channel: @heleoutdoors!
It’s loaded with a ton of helpful information, how to’s, and vehicle fitments.
We’ve come a long way, but there is so much more to go! We’re excited to continue perfecting our sleeping platforms and introducing exciting new products.
If you haven’t already, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the page to be the first to get notified about product releases, sales, etc.
See you out there!