The Maverick Foldaway Pod Is Tailor-Made for Off-Grid Escapades

These past few years, we've talked a lot about downsizing and getting on with the whole digital nomadic lifestyle. Stressed out in the city and forced by the housing and economic crisis, more city-dwellers are making the transition to tiny living in the hope of finding a calmer, more enjoyable, and more affordable life.

Tiny houses, bus and van conversions, RVs used as permanent residences, and anything in between goes, as long as it's highly mobile, compact, more environmentally friendly and affordable, and more capable of going off-grid. The Maverick is not on this list because it can't afford long-term living, but it still gets an honorable mention due to its high degree of mobility.

The Maverick is a glamping solution introduced by UK-based Caboose & Co. in September 2020 as part of a partnership with Hungarian company Campsule. Campsule's Zsolt Pahor had previously engineered and integrated his Foldaway Mobil HouseSystem into a glamping pod, and it was his experience that was needed to bring The Maverick into the world. The name is a reference to Máv, the Hungarian state railway, not a nod to Tom Cruise's iconic character in the Top Gun movie franchise.

The Maverick is described as a "revolutionary” and "groundbreaking” mobile shelter, once more proving the old adage "simple is best" true. It's a basic box with multiple applicability in real life, which makes it tailor-perfect for emergency situations and glamping at music festivals or whatever outdoor event you have in mind or as a unit in a pop-up hotel.

It's easy to assemble and convenient to move around since it's flat-packed yet durable, secure, waterproof, and insulated to withstand even a powerful storm. Think of it as tough as a Lego brick and just as easy to use.

Made with an aluminum frame on a GRP chassis with XPS insulation, The Maverick is a box on adjustable stilts, which means you can plop it anywhere without the need for a foundation. The adjustable legs also ensure it doesn't leave a trace when you remove it, so it's one way of exploring the great outdoors without having the great outdoors show traces of it once you're done. The interior is 33 square feet and can sleep two people, but it's probably ideal for one.

Features are basic in the truest sense of the word: mechanical ventilation, LED lights for reading, two USB sockets for charging your devices, and a lockable door that guarantees what's yours stays that way. The Maverick is also stackable, which means you could alternatively get another unit and plop it on top of the other, so you get a 4-person glamping unit. Or you can add rails, and you get a rooftop terrace to hang out on with the other occupant and enjoy the show.

The Maverick doesn't come with too many upgrades aside from that and the possibility to order it in a one- or two-person configuration, but it can be rigged to be fully off-grid.

Then again, if you're at an outdoor event, this is exactly the kind of sleeping unit you want: simple, easy to use, and easy to maintain and store. A tent might be a suitable option in most scenarios, but not when it's cold or wet, and least of all, not when you're sharing the same space with hundreds of strangers, as you would at a festival. By comparison, The Maverick is dry and off the ground, comfortable and safe, and very compact and durable.

Easy assembly is another one of its strong suites, according to maker Caboose & Co.: it takes a 4-person team just five minutes to set it up before use. No word on how long assembly might take if you go at it on your own, but the maker notes that you can't put on the roof up unless you have three other people around. Its low power requirement makes it ideal for off-grid stays, and, in that case, it can be paired with a toilet unit from the same company.

A new Maverick starts at £2,999, not including taxes (approximately $3,850 at the current exchange rate), but Caboose & Co. also offers rental schemes for event organizers. For the average Joe and Jane looking for something they can use on the simple plug-and-play principle, that's a lot of money for a box to sleep in for a limited time. That's only because this isn't a product for Joe and Jane (*unless they're really rich and are looking to splurge on the next best thing after a tent) but rather a glamping solution for outdoor event organizers.