I bought this tent in February of this year, and every time I’ve posted a picture with it on various platforms, people have inquired about it. It’s a pretty popular option these days in the car camping community, and lots of people seem interested in moving this way, so I figured I’d share my thoughts now that I’ve got 30-something nights in it.
THE GOOD: It’s simple in design, and follows the same basic principle of most instant tents. However, it doesn’t rely on the elbows that many previous designs do, and I find that to be a big plus. Those elbows have a tendency to crack in cold weather or from stress fractures after enough use. This has a central pole hub for the roof, and central hubs on each wall. The poles rely on tension, so I might very well regret this praise later if they start to fail from compression and expansion like a spring, but for now I like the design. It’s simple to setup, and simple to teardown.
It’s held up just fine to rain and snow, and the floor is a very thick polyester, I believe. It’s durable, and has not required tarps or anything else on wet ground. This is huge, because tarps=condensation. This floor sheds moisture quickly and a simple outside wipedown with a microfiber or something before stowing it works just fine. The rainfly is designed well with effective gutter runoffs that allow for the open mesh roof to breathe very well in summer. And of course, you can leave the rainfly off in steady weather for some night gazing. There are 6 total windows with mesh backing that can be opened for further visibility/breathability in summer, or zipped closed fully to retain heat in winter. While it’s not as warm in snow as something like my Easton Torrent (obviously), it’s still decently insulative, considering the mesh roof. With the rainfly on, condensation can still escape while maintaining a decent enough seal on the heat inside. It’s probably most appropriate as a 3 season tent, but we’ve piled a couple of us in there in February and March snow and slept through the night just fine.
It’s also very spacious, with over 60 sq ft of floor inside. Escape a storm and play cards ‘indoors’, or stash packs, rifles/bows, and kit with room to spare on a hunt. It’s also tall enough that I can stand up fully and change, and I’m 6’2”. There are pockets on all four walls for keys, wallets, phones, etc. and a detachable loft on the ceiling.
THE BAD: Like two months into owning it, I had someone try to pop the roof with everything already staked down. It bent the metal connecting tip on the end of a rainfly pole, and that material is some sort of Chinesium that couldn’t be salvaged. User error to be sure. But I felt the pot metal used on the tip wasn’t of sufficient quality; a hairbrained misstep shouldn’t obliterate the tent’s components, right? Anyhow, I took a photo and submitted a request for a replacement. I was told that rainfly parts are not covered under warranty...full stop. But that they’d hook me up this one time. The first part seemed unreasonable, but I shook it off knowing they were sending a replacement. It took a few weeks, but lo and behold, I got it. Went to pop it in that weekend...and the tip on that one wouldn’t fit in my receiver. So either the tolerances in manufacturing are just all over the place (likely), or QC is just absent on these (also likely for parts like this).
Speaking of subpar metals, the stakes it comes with are laughable. I did an initial setup in the backyard on a windy day, and it bent one of them 30 degrees immediately. More on wind later. They are junk aluminum that will bend if you don’t strike them dead center, and dead perpendicular. And if you’re in the Rockies or southwest, you’d best believe that one hidden rock slab under the soil will turn them into folded up junk when you try to pound them in. “Who uses factory stakes?” you ask. You have a point, but I’d prefer they just didn’t include any at all. They are legitimately only an option on soft, grassy knolls.
This thing is also a complete albatross. It’s like 4 feet long when packed. If you drive a crossover, or even an SUV with middling cargo space (Jeep ZJ, FJ Cruiser), you’ll need to have the rear seat on one side folded just to keep it in the cab. It’s not particularly light, either. While it does come with shoulder straps as well as a carry handle, the length still makes it far too cumbersome to hump any significant distance comfortably.
THE UGLY: Usually people just put more bad stuff here. But I try to think of the phrase’s origin. Like an anti-hero, the ugly parts of a product still get the job done, you just may not like the means. Remember when I said we’d discuss wind again? Well, you’ll want to guy out the walls if it’s in the mix. Strong gusts can easily fold the walls back in (hence the fiasco on that first setup I mentioned). This can be done reliably and simply enough, it’s just annoying to add additional guylines/stakes to the mix. The good news is that Gazelle added little metal loops on each wall, so making some QD guylines is easy. Take a carabiner, tie a hitch to it with 550 cord, then tie another to a stake of your choosing. When you stow everything, wrap the cord around the stake and toss it in the bag. Done.
On that note, when you factor in the time it takes to stake down the four corners along with the four walls, this thing can take as long to setup as conventional tents. If you’re in soft, accommodating soil, it’s fine. But winter conditions or the aforementioned rock-strewn landscape? You’ll be getting in a couple sets of arm work just setting up. It’s a very sturdy setup all said and done, but you won’t like it when the time comes. I opted for thick, iron stakes that resemble railroad ties to get through Four Corners terrain, but your needs may be different.
If you go bright orange, bees, wasps, and yellow jackets will not find it ugly; they’ll be enamored by it and constantly poking around the thing. Flies also seem to love congregating on the exterior. And in my experience, neither care about Peremethrin. Maybe some peppermint oil would work? I dunno, I’ll play with that next summer. I haven’t had issues with intrusion, so it’s not a true con, but it’s pretty annoying seeing 20 of those little cretins hovering around all morning.
CONCLUSION: It’s a pretty good tent overall. I still split time sleeping in the truck when I go solo, do just an overnighter, or do a long-distance, multi-stop overland trip where striking and setting it up at a different spot everyday sounds arduous. On that note, I don’t know how much I’d recommend it as a proper overlanding tent, since I have always found in-cab sleep solutions and hardshell tents to be the only pleasant and time-efficient ways to do so. But as a car-camping implement for basecamping out of, it’s great. Especially if you’re going to setup a basecamp one night, go backpack/thru-hike, and then come back to basecamp again. It’s very visible so people don’t encroach on your spot, and can stash anything and everything you’re comfortable leaving alone. It is absolutely perfect for a weekend or longer of crawling and technical wheeling in Tahuya/Brown’s Camp/Tahoe/Moab/the San Juans, or for holding down those precious few dispersed spots in national parks while you go play.
It’s durable*, adapts well to most any weather, and is comfortable. But it can be annoying, and you’ll need to make some upgrades immediately. Would I recommend it? To a basecamper/car-camper who wants space for spouse/kids/cots/pets or a hunter, absolutely. To someone who only gets out for a night at a time or gets out for many nights at a time in overland travel? Probably not, although if they’re more patient than me, than it’s probably not that bad. For someone who’s gonna drop the car and hump it up to an overlook or mesa or somewhere requiring foot travel? Hell no. YMMV.
-JOSH