You ever get a chuckle when you see people using outdated technology? A very important business man with his pager proudly on his belt. Maybe a government office with a steam powered fax machine perched in a back corner as a shrine to the 80s. Or even some schmuck camped up next to you with get this… tent poles. What a luddite right?
Sure, inflatable tents may seem like some gimmick out of the Jetsons, but after spending a few nights hunkered down in one during gale force winds we’ve gotta say, the future is now.
So why does it need to be inflatable?
That part is easy. Poles suck. By their very nature they need to occupy a lot of space, or take a whole lot of setting up. Even a three-piece pole for a simple swag is longer than the whole Oztent Air Tent 4 is when packed up. By ditching the traditional pole setup for inflatable, you’ll find in every other tent to have ever existed Oztent has managed to make the packed size of the Air Tent 4 miniscule.
Pump, tent pegs, and tent itself all stash into a bag around 700mm long and 300mm square. A run of the mill tent from any big box camping store will take up twice the space without giving you an inch more room when set up. Makes sense, the Air Tent 4 is basically just canvas after all.
The other benefit is it weighs two parts of bugger all. A hair over 9kg all in. Not bad eh?
Is it a pain in the neck to set up?
No. Although the editor wants a more fleshed out answer so here we go. The tent is essentially split up into two sections. There’s an outer shell that could pass as a gazebo if you’re beach bound, and then an inner floor and mozzie proof ‘bedroom’ section.
To get the whole party into place we’ve found the easiest way is to pump up the three inflatable archways. There’s an included 7psi pump that gets fully inflated in around 20 seconds of pumping each. That’ll give you the structure.
Bash a couple of pegs in around the edges and you’re 80% of the way there.
The inner liner/ground cover/bedroom/rest of the tent can just be thrown inside and clips to the outer shell. We brought a small child along while we were grabbing the photos to prove how easy it was, but a journo with a few too many campfire cans under his belt found it just as simple.
Do you get much for your money?
Let’s be honest, retailing for $949.99 the Air Tent should hopefully be the most expensive inflatable thing you’ll buy this year, so are you getting good value for money? The short answer is yes, but understand the money is going to versatility, there are more cost-effective ways to get 10m2 of shelter in the bush. When set up the tent is a compromise of sorts. The sloping roof design does mean you can comfortable sit up in the bedroom section, but you’ll need to go into the front room if you want to stand.
The bedroom section does have a tub floor so there’s no concern of any down pours of rain seeping in, but the front room is a little more exposed. And the standing height is quite low.
But, and it is a big but, I can’t lie. It weighs next to nothing, takes up less space in the back of your 4X4 than a bag of clothes, can comfortable sleep two adults and two kids, and can be set up in the back yard for kids sleep overs, or thrown in the back of a Corolla when your hippy sister wants to borrow it. You’re not doing any of that with a swag or heavy tent. Life is about compromises, right?
Will it last the distance?
We’ll be honest, we haven’t exactly been gentle with our treatment of the Air Tent 4. It’s bounced around in the back of a Ranger tub next to firewood and space cases for a couple of thousand kays, served as a makeshift clothesline for kids towels at the beach, and had well under the recommended amount of pegs bashed into the rings after rolling into camp late. Murphy has it, it was the windiest night of the trip too. And the Air Tent 4 has copped it all without any complaints or criticisms. The pump still works like the day we got it. The tubes still hold full air pressure after 4 days set up at camp. There’s no nicks, cuts, or tears in either the back, or the tent itself. We’d love to expand more here, but nothing has gone wrong for us to really talk about.
What if I have 14 kids?
The Air Tent 4 has been bang on for us. It’s large enough to accommodate two adults and two kids. Small enough that when I’m solo travelling it’s not too much hassle to setup, and fits easily in any camp site. But two adults and two kids is absolutely its upper limit. Think of it as a 2+2 tent and you’re on the money.
If you need more square footage of shelter the Air Tent 6 may be what you’re looking for. At $2,399 it is a significantly larger investment, weighs a fair bit more at 28.3kg, and will take up around twice the space in the back of your 4×4, but will give you a huge 25 square metres of shelter
Tech specs
Tent Material – 190T Polyester
Mesh – 45g No-See-Um
Floor – 120G Polyethylene
Packed size – 73cm L x 29cm W x 26cm H
Setup size – 240cm L x 440cm W x 190cm H
Net Weight – 9.1kg
Warranty – 2yrs
RRP – $949.99
