Discussion
Anyone got one?
I have been looking at their brochure and the Lite seems alright for £995. Convenient, quick to put up etc but how do the 'physics' work?
A metre of the base stays over the car attached to the roof bars but another metre is hanging in space with just a ladder seemingly for support. Is the hinge that strong to support it's own weight as well as a couple of adults climbing up the ladder and being in the tent?
OK it also begs the question why go for a roof tent when there's plenty of less costly blow up and pop up 2 man tents to look at, plus you can leave the tent pitched and drive off. The roof ones are probably very useful for Wild Camping.
Also the roof ones do store the bulky stuff like bedding and have an integral mattress.
Reminds me of when I took the kids camping in my e36 using a big 8m long tent with all the extras like the cooker, groundsheet, foldaway bench and seats etc.
The tent itself took up most of the boot whilst everything else was packed around the kids and in a roofbox
I have been looking at their brochure and the Lite seems alright for £995. Convenient, quick to put up etc but how do the 'physics' work?
A metre of the base stays over the car attached to the roof bars but another metre is hanging in space with just a ladder seemingly for support. Is the hinge that strong to support it's own weight as well as a couple of adults climbing up the ladder and being in the tent?
OK it also begs the question why go for a roof tent when there's plenty of less costly blow up and pop up 2 man tents to look at, plus you can leave the tent pitched and drive off. The roof ones are probably very useful for Wild Camping.
Also the roof ones do store the bulky stuff like bedding and have an integral mattress.
Reminds me of when I took the kids camping in my e36 using a big 8m long tent with all the extras like the cooker, groundsheet, foldaway bench and seats etc.
The tent itself took up most of the boot whilst everything else was packed around the kids and in a roofbox
I've looked at them repeatedly more as an interested observer rather than a prospective customer, we had a couple camped next to us with one atop a really cool 1980s LWB V8 Land Rover last summer.
To me they just seem a bit of a gimmick. I really can't see the advantages over a quick-to-pitch pop-up tent in the UK. Fair enough if you are driving through more remote parts of the world where being on the roof might save you from the unwanted attention of various creatures, but they are really just a sleeping compartment and nothing else.
The Tentbox website tries to sell the 'lifestyle' of hipster city types taking off into the countryside and being camped a moment after they put their handbrake on, but omits to say that it's a monumental faff to go for a piss in the night and you will probably very quickly tire of the climbing up and down the ladder.
A decent pop up tent is miles cheaper, can be erected in a couple of minutes and gives you loads more living space, space to cook under a porch in bad weather, and space to dry wet clothes - all of which is often needed when camping in the UK.
To me they just seem a bit of a gimmick. I really can't see the advantages over a quick-to-pitch pop-up tent in the UK. Fair enough if you are driving through more remote parts of the world where being on the roof might save you from the unwanted attention of various creatures, but they are really just a sleeping compartment and nothing else.
The Tentbox website tries to sell the 'lifestyle' of hipster city types taking off into the countryside and being camped a moment after they put their handbrake on, but omits to say that it's a monumental faff to go for a piss in the night and you will probably very quickly tire of the climbing up and down the ladder.
A decent pop up tent is miles cheaper, can be erected in a couple of minutes and gives you loads more living space, space to cook under a porch in bad weather, and space to dry wet clothes - all of which is often needed when camping in the UK.
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