A question on tents...

We àre lucky to be in a position of testing many products that còme onto the camping market, overall we like the oztrail fast frame 2 or a close second would be the Coleman instant up gold, both are similar weight (12-15kg), about an 10 min set up. The coleman gold is rated to 100kph winds, which would depend on the pegs you use, both have a more vertical wall for more internal room when standing inside, pack up size is approx 1600mm long x 400mm dia. Price is about $400, but can be had cheaper on special, for a very tuff tent, you cannot go past the Southern Cross centre pole tourer, but due to the wall taper you lose internal room. I hope this is a help for you.

We went from tents to swags. Ways easier and quicker to setup. If you want a bit of comfort then get the kids a swag and get you and the missus a rooftop tent

Swags are good but if the children are under 12/13 they have difficulty rolling them up for transport then you end up doing it. If its raining then you need to put up an awning That Tourer + looks OK I've seen a family of four in them ...all good. I've been a tenter all along and like it that way.

Jeff

Hi Theo- have you looked into any of the "air pole" type tents? Im wondering if they might be included in the qick and easy catagory. All tents need pegging down so its probably the pole set up that is the time difference. I have watched a few videos on some of the air tents and they look rather quick. I notice outdoor connection are bringing out a range of air pole tents. Food for thought. Doc

Hi Theo

Even though we have not used our tent for a few years ( we now have and use our Ultimate camper ) we have the RV4 and what I can tell you it is the best tent that we have ever had, and we also have a new Southern Cross Tourer tent in the shed and does not stack up with the Oztent.

They are 100% waterproof, extremely stable in strong winds ( when very windy, you must use the supplied ropes to make it stable ) and true to its 30 second erection time.

When I say waterproof, I mean exactly that and one time over on Kangaroo Island, we had 110 mm of rain overnight in Kingscote and we did not get one drop of water in tent, and next morning, there was a 50 mm water ring around the outside of the tent, showing that at one point we were under water.

My vote is the Ozrent No 1




Cheers



Stephen

I'd be particuarly keen to hear from any Black Wolf owners out there. I've read so many good reports about them, but another couple we camp with have the Turbo 300 and Im not sold. Its a great looking tent and it goes up pretty fast. (They arnt camping regulars) but it gives them ALOT of curry when it comes to packing it up.

The range of Black Wolf.far exceeds OzTent, as well as the roominess (though the 240 and 300 turbo don't look tooooo much bigger then a rv4 or rv5) but the downfall I worry about if I was to purchase would be the packing up. Im happy to have a beer while I pack... but I don't wanna stand around sinking a carton!

I have a Black Wolf Turbo 210.

Solid as a rock, easy to put up and take down, though does take a bit of time if solo. I'm a freak about guy ropes, ALWAYS use them, so that adds time.

A little bulky and heavy, but as I said, solid as a rock. We were camped at Birdsville once and did an all-day day trip to Haddons Corner. While we were gone, B'ville suffered a sandstorm. When we returned, all the other tents, awnings and gazebos were rolled up in a corner of the campground. Our BW turbo tent was still standing, all by itself in the campground.

Definitely recommend the brand.

Cheers

Choose a quick pitch tent to suit your needs in terms of a couple sleeping and a group sitting around (in the rain, away from the mossies and flies etc.) then consider one of the better "instant " pop-up tents (we have a Quechua 3 person).

Additional sleeping room for the kids, amazingly quick to put up and take down, leaves space in the main tent, does not take up much room.

Personally I find the Oz tent and even the Black Wolf to be well overpriced for what they are, (yes, I've used both) but some love them, each to their own.

"The quality of all tents these days seems to be the same across the board...."

I would have to disagree with your observation there, Theo.

In researching tents earlier in the year, quality and the lack of it in some brands became the determining factor for me as long term durability was paramount and in the end I went with a Black Wolf Turbo 240. It ticked all the boxes for what would suit the wife and myself as a touring tent and although a bit fiddly to pack up at first, the more times we did it, the easier it became.

We have been away on a couple of trips with friends who use the Oztent RV4 and they could definitely set up quicker than we could, but seeing as how we are not that concerned about saving 5 minutes in setting up and an extra 10 minutes in packing, we are happy with the BW. The time our friends saved in both the setup and pack up was negated by the extra time it took them to load the Oztent onto the roof rack and tie it down.

Dusty

We've had an Oztrail Tourer 9 for must be 10 years now and although it takes up a bit of room it's made of good canvas not synthetic stuff, is waterproof and has space to get dressed in etc.
We did purchase an Oztent RV4 about 3 years back but didn't like it although I built a nice rack for it to slide onto from the back of the vehicle.
First trip out the seam along the bottom opened up but it was replaced without argument by the makers.
Sold it to friends who are still using it regularly without any problems.
AlanTH.

We had a Black Wolf turbo tent. Loved it in the beginning, easy set up and we did not have a problem packing it up.

But it was not all that good in rain, the fly does not cover the lading sides very well if rain comes with wind (side rain) and the seams leaked. (we had the lighter material)
Anyway, replaced it with a Oztrail, same size and similar flame, at a third of the price we paid for the BW. Had it for four years now and if I had a choice (no regard to price just on fit for purpose) then I would take the Oztrail again.
My comments are my own, had 25 years of tenting, had an Oztent as well, so it is a considered comparison as opposed to "ÿes we have one and we are happy"
I really liked the Oztent the best, but in later years we got rid of the roofrack which is why we went for the BW

Well... after having a bit of a snooze on things I think I may have thought of a bit of a likely setup...

Purchase an OzTent RV5 and use it purely as a sleeping quarters. With myself and missus on the queen inflatable, the kids will have (should have...) ample room for a mattress themselves or stretcher/sleeping bag. The kids at the moment are only 2.5yrs and 8 months (so plenty of room for time being). Any other room in the tent would have handy for clothes and other storage etc

Should storage be an issue I do have a handy 4 man Coleman which I've had for well over 10 years. It can be used to house clothes bags and other items which the OzTent may not have room for. It could be pitched right next to the OzTent or at 45 degrees for easy entry etc. We also have a nice 3.5 x 3.5m Gazebo which has been fantastic for our camp kitchen and table etc, as well as the 3x3m awning on the Landcruiser.

So this could potentially be the way forward.
I still can't get into the Black Wolfs. I watched more video's on set ups and pack downs last night on Snowy's website and youtube etc. It just can't beat an Rv5... yes it will take up a bit more room on the roofrack or trailer, and we may only be talking a matter of mere minutes in set up and packdown difference... but the OzTent just looks too good.

I see OzTent ceased making they're range of Jet Tents... has any one got an idea why? They dont look too much different to a BW.

Hi Theo,
After several years of complete satisfaction we are moving on from our Black Wolf Turbo 300 to a camper trailer and I'm sorry on many levels to see it go. Echoing others, it is SUPER easy to put up. We've been through some extreme weather and never had a problem with either water ingress or stability. It is better if two people are involved in packing it up but if you take it methodically, it's no problem. Louise

Nylon tents (Coleman etc) are only good in dry weather. If wet they saturate and everything inside is wet.
We settled on a Darche Airvolution inflatable tent. Its fantastic and like a Tardis, bigger on the inside plus you can stand up in it to get dressed, others you can only stand up at the front unless you are short.
Super quick setup.
Have a look at the Darches.

We have the Blackwolf 300 (not turbo). Goes up in 1 minute. Down in a few minutes. Putting the awning up is a little longer but we only erect it if expecting rain or staying more than a couple of nights. It's easier if you have 2 people. We regularly use it for 4 weeks a year touring Oz and love it.

It's bulky and a tad heavy but fits in the tub of our Dmax dual cab. We've been at camp sites during windy gusty conditions and have literally returned to find ours is the only tent not blown away.

The secret to packing up is compressing the tent to fit in the bag. We use cam straps ( 3 of them) from Bunnings to squish it up which only takes a couple of minutes. Goes in the bag easy.

Enough room for 2 king single camp stretchers and an inflatable mattress for our boy. Or without the mattress enough room for camp chairs in bad weather. Our bags etc go under the stretchers freeing up room.

We bought from our local Darwin camping shop. They wanted $1500, told them we could buy online for $850, and after calling their supplier dropped it to $900 so it's worth asking the question. Ours has had probably 6 months worth of nights in it, and can't fault it.

There is no wear or tear. We've had a few cheaper tents and they've broken poles, torn, leaked and been painful with putting up and down, and have let us down when you don't need it etc. The $$ spent on the tent has been worth it, and good resale too. Now had ours for 5 years. My 2 bob anyway.