Many people, particularly young adults, enjoy traveling and carrying as little as possible with them. These travelers often strap on a backpack with just the essentials and roam around cities and towns in countries far from home.
For travelers who favor a nomadic lifestyle, one of the main challenges is finding a place to sleep every night. Locating a bed in a hostel or free room in a hotel or pitching a tent at a campground every evening can be a challenge.
Security is another concern that world travelers face. David Shatz, an industrial design student, was concerned about the lack of use of many public spaces because people deem them unsafe. He wanted to create a secure place for people to sleep when they are out roaming in their communities or other parts of the globe.
Shatz designed the “Melina” with guidance from designer Tal Gor. The project was created as part of the hospitality studio at the Belezel Academy in Jerusalem. The goal was to create a tool that would help people feel safe while they were camping to enable them to reclaim public spaces without the need to pitch a tent at a campground.
The Melina combines two features required for traveling and camping: a backpack and a place to sleep. It can be transformed easily from a backpack to a tent in one quick and simple motion. The Melina’s durable construction creates a safe environment where a traveler can relax and escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. It offers the practicality and privacy that travelers crave when they are away from home.
When the Melina is expanded, it is large enough to provide space for one adult to stretch out and sleep. It can be collapsed and carried easily as a backpack, making it easy to travel from place to place and never have to worry about having a place to rest.