The best rooftop tents you can buy: Roofnest, Yakima and more

With a closed height of only 8.5 inches, the Low-Pro is low profile when it comes to rooftop tents. That will help you save fuel while minimizing the lift-off effect a rooftop tent can have on a small car rolling down the highway.

Like Yakima’s Skyrise, Tepui’s tent is also relatively light at 105 pounds, and uses the same mechanism to convert the clamshell design into a fully unfolded shelter – you pry it open using the telescoping ladder. As for differences, it’s a little less finicky to work with the rainfly, but the mattress is a thinner five inches.

The ultra-smart trick the Condor pulls up is how it unfolds its “wings”. Like most hardshell designs, it pops up, but the lid forms one wall (much like the iKamper Skycamp Mini). From that position, the tent is unfolds like a soft clamshell design. This makes the Condor and Condor XL absolutely huge inside – over two meters wide when open.

The interior height is also up to 50 inches, and the weight is reasonable too: 135 pounds for the smaller unit and 160 pounds for the XL. There is also a zip open skylight for stargazing. Another bonus is a hardshell lid that allows you to place other gear on top, such as kayaks, bicycles or skis.

Front Runner Outfitters makes some of the best roof racks around, providing sturdy, lightweight loading solutions for a wide variety of SUVs and trucks, from the new Land Rover Defender to the Toyota Land Cruiser to… well, the old Land Rover Defender. . But those roof racks also form an excellent basis for the roof tent of the brand.

The tent is only 13 inches high when folded for travel, but expands to almost six feet wide when it’s time to sleep – and yet it weighs just 95 pounds. It’s waterproof and incredibly durable, as well as comfortable thanks to an integrated memory foam mattress. And if you want to easily take it off to do other things with your roof rack, well, they make a quick-release tent mounting kit too.

Even the largest rooftop tent may not have enough space for everything you want to do privately while camping. For those circumstances you want a sturdy tent with an extension like this Tepui. Both the tent and outhouse that surrounds the telescoping ladder are made from tough, weatherproof 600D ripstop blend fabric, giving you a nice wind and watertight space to get dressed, make food or use the, uh , facilities.

Bee only 101 pounds, the double Yakima Skyrise HD is light for this breed and is the most “tent-like” roof unit in this guide – by which we mean it has a dome shape that allows you to sit up comfortably once inside.

The clever opening system – you use the ladder as a giant crowbar to unfold the unit and let it set – is the same as several other clamshell designs in this guide. It’s a small job to anchor the rainfly, but ultimately not that challenging. However, if you want to use the top window of the tent to look at the stars or stand through it (which is handy for getting dressed), you’ll have to remove the rainfly and gamble there won’t be any thunderheads at night. roll in.

We loved testing the Falcon on a weekend camping trip. Both set up and take down take seconds and the durable construction means it can handle whatever the weather throws at it. Accessory channels are available on all four sides to add features such as awnings and it can support a set of crossbars for additional equipment.

The new Falcon 2 adds major upgrades, including an additional 150 pounds of gear storage, a smoother and more aerodynamic upper shell, and a redesigned rain zipper that can quickly cover all three entrances if you run into inclement weather.