Post by Discovery Paul on Sept 20, 2012 1:39:55 GMT 1
This review was written by John Hicks
Would have preferred the Oztent RV4 but the packed size was just too long to fit on the Safety Devices roofrack. The RV4 is legendary for only taking 30 secs to erect which in a way it does but that doesn’t take into account the pegging out which takes a few minutes longer. The Jetent can be erected comfortably in about 1 minute but again pegging out takes another few minutes. I would say that from taking it out of the bag to being able to use it takes about 6 minutes, of course thats with me & my dodgy knees pegging it out !. To pack it away takes a little longer because when the frame is collapsed the loose material has to be gathered & folded around the frame & secured with 2 straps, with practice this can be done in less than 10 minutes. As you would expect from an Oztent product it is very well made & the materials are second to none. The frame & the joints are made of “aircraft grade aluminium” & seem to be very robust. Ventilation is excellent with a zipped door & a zipped mesh screen, a large zipped window with a mesh screen & a roll up zipped & meshed vent at either side. It easily accommodates 3 persons plus a Golden Retriever & could possibly accommodate 4 if the Dog slept outside. The tent is quite noisy in windy conditions with the attached awning & the fly sheet flapping against the metal frame but it stands up well to a good storm. Packed size is 1.1 x .4 x .4 metres & the weight is 26 Kilos, it fits perfectly across the load bay of the Freelander. Verdict 8/10 will be using it on future trips.
For this years trip to the mountains we added the side & front panels to the awning & these completely transformed the practicality of the tent, it provided a storage space for the things we didn’t need during the days offroading, such as table, chairs, bags etc. It also provided a private area to have a scratch & get dressed in the morning. The side panels & front panels came with additional poles & were in their own carrying bag, these were a bit long for the Freelander so we removed them from their bags & folded them to fit the roof rack & the load space, the poles were strapped on the roof rack, job sorted. With the extra space provided by the front & side panels the new verdict is 9/10
Would have preferred the Oztent RV4 but the packed size was just too long to fit on the Safety Devices roofrack. The RV4 is legendary for only taking 30 secs to erect which in a way it does but that doesn’t take into account the pegging out which takes a few minutes longer. The Jetent can be erected comfortably in about 1 minute but again pegging out takes another few minutes. I would say that from taking it out of the bag to being able to use it takes about 6 minutes, of course thats with me & my dodgy knees pegging it out !. To pack it away takes a little longer because when the frame is collapsed the loose material has to be gathered & folded around the frame & secured with 2 straps, with practice this can be done in less than 10 minutes. As you would expect from an Oztent product it is very well made & the materials are second to none. The frame & the joints are made of “aircraft grade aluminium” & seem to be very robust. Ventilation is excellent with a zipped door & a zipped mesh screen, a large zipped window with a mesh screen & a roll up zipped & meshed vent at either side. It easily accommodates 3 persons plus a Golden Retriever & could possibly accommodate 4 if the Dog slept outside. The tent is quite noisy in windy conditions with the attached awning & the fly sheet flapping against the metal frame but it stands up well to a good storm. Packed size is 1.1 x .4 x .4 metres & the weight is 26 Kilos, it fits perfectly across the load bay of the Freelander. Verdict 8/10 will be using it on future trips.
For this years trip to the mountains we added the side & front panels to the awning & these completely transformed the practicality of the tent, it provided a storage space for the things we didn’t need during the days offroading, such as table, chairs, bags etc. It also provided a private area to have a scratch & get dressed in the morning. The side panels & front panels came with additional poles & were in their own carrying bag, these were a bit long for the Freelander so we removed them from their bags & folded them to fit the roof rack & the load space, the poles were strapped on the roof rack, job sorted. With the extra space provided by the front & side panels the new verdict is 9/10
