WreckDiver's ongoing Oztent review thread

wreckdiver1321

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
Sooo, this is kind of a preemptive start to a review thread, because I haven't actually gotten it yet. However, I have ordered it and I am really excited.

I want to share with you guys the best way I know of to get a good deal on the tent. I found out that ********'s Sporting Goods sells Oztent products, and ********'s has free shipping on orders over $49. So that brings shipping down to around $5. Then, sign up for their email list, which gives you a coupon for 10% off your first purchase. So that means my RV-3 cost me $815 shipped instead of around $920. Still expensive, but saving $105 is pretty darn good I think.
 
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wreckdiver1321

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
Just received my Oztent today, haven't had time to take photos or check it out really in-depth. But man oh man am I glad I chose this tent. It's beautifully made, the perfect size, and packed with ingenious features that I now think every tent should have to start with. What a cool tent. I'll have more, including photos, later. This guy is worth every single cent of what I paid.
 
wreckdiver1321

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
Finally got a chance to pop this bad boy open and have a proper look after work yesterday. First of all, it's quite a large tent, even when completely packed away. It's about 6'6" long, maybe 11" wide, and about 6" tall. So not very small. It fits nicely on the roof racks of my Frontier though! Still working on what exactly to use as a tie-down strap.





It's kind of heavy, but putting it on the truck and pulling it down alone is no big deal. The bag is really nice to work with because of all the handles sewn on. It makes moving it around a lot less awkward than it could be. Nice to see Oztent was thinking about this ahead of time.



Opening the tent up really is as simple as can be. I checked out a lot of YouTube videos on setting it up, thinking there had to be some little secret to the set-up, but it really is about as simple as it gets. Once you take it out of the bag and unroll it, the triangular piece of material points toward where the front of the tent will be.



Then you simply unfold each of the "arms"...



... And lift it up. Lock the arms in place and you're pretty much good to go.



Once the tent gets staked down and secured with the attached guy ropes, it's rock solid. One of the main worries I had about a tent of this design was the stability in windy conditions, but after seeing this tent firsthand and finding out just how stable it is, I am not at all worried. This may be one of the most solid tents I've ever set up, in addition to being one of the fastest. One of the first things you notice about this tent once it's all set up is the build quality. The stitching is perfect and the materials they use are top-notch. The canvas is a light but very strong and solid ripstop material, and the floor is a super durable feeling PVC material. Similar to what a RTT cover is made of, but probably stronger. They also use YKK zippers, which really can't be beat.



I also love the huge windows you get. The front and rear openings are enormous! The side windows are a bit smaller, but the front and rear make up for it. You get tons of ventilation with this tent, which I really like for hot, sunny days. The mesh on the doors and windows is also extraordinarily fine, definitely much finer than any tent I've had before. They must have much smaller bugs in Australia than we get here.



I also really like the attached awning. It's actually pretty large and is really easy to set up. Just a couple of twist lock poles and some guy ropes.



Overall a pretty sweet setup. I'm super happy that I decided on the Oztent.
 
wreckdiver1321

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
So, it sets up fast and is made of really high quality materials with great craftsmanship. But I think some of the best features of this tent are the small details that Oztent puts into the RV lineup. For example, the front and rear awning have a strip of plastic on the ends that act as stiffeners. So, when you want to roll up the awnings on your own, you can do it really easily.

They also come with their own guy ropes, which are bright orange so as to be visible in the dark. But the best thing about the ropes is they come with their own pockets! This feature alone is one of the most ingenious features I think I've ever seen in a tent. I love this. Keeps all the ropes where they need to be.



The guy ropes also have these little plastic clips to use as tensioners. They're pretty cool because they make it so you don't have to use a special knot to keep the ropes tight. Just pull tight and attach the clip to the ropes.



Speaking of tie downs, the bottom stake rings on the RV-3 are really stout. Instead of a brass or steel grommet, you get a heavy duty steel ring attached to some thick webbing. Very sturdy.



And don't worry about stakes, because Oztent provides you with a bucketload of these super high quality ones.



There are other cool little details too, like this vent that comes with a flap to cover it up and strong velcro to secure it.





So much thinking going on here! I love it.
 
wreckdiver1321

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
Inside the tent, you get a lot of space. The enormous front door makes it easy to move in and out, and the floor is tough enough to not feel bad at all about camp furniture like chairs or cots.



Once inside, you can get a good look at the internal frame. This is the biggest reason I went with the Oztent over the CVT Black Butte or the Tepui Awning Extension. This design looks so much stronger and better thought out. The arm that goes from the rear of the tent to the top corner of the front actually slides along a channel in the arm going the opposite way. This design is very strong and when it slides into the little plastic stopper, it really does feel like it's "locked" into place.





What is really cool about this design is the fact that pressure applied to it actually makes it stronger. When the hinged arm is "locked" into place, any pressure on the outside of the tent (from wind) will cause the arm to push harder into the stopper instead of pushing the arm down and making it collapse. Very clever!

At the front of the tent, you can see the fitting they use to attach all the arms to. It's extremely strong and well thought out. This just isn't going to fail.



This design really inspires confidence when compared side by side to imitators like the CVT or Tepui. Not knocking their products or build quality, as I've seen and used their rooftop tents firsthand and I know they are very well built, but this is like comparing an Eezi-Awn to a CVT or Tepui. Yes, they make good stuff, but this design is just way above and beyond. You will certainly pay more for it, but I think it really is worth it in this instance. To their credit, Tepui markets their instant tent as an awning extension, and their representatives on the phone will even tell you the design works poorly as a standalone unit, and is best used with an attached awning.

Anyway, I'm really happy with my purchase and impressed with the engineering Oztent has put into this. Can't wait to go out and get it in the wild!
 
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AML

AML

Adventurer
Thanks for sharing all the photos. I think I would like a slightly bigger one but having a hard time deciding between the 4 or 5.
 
wreckdiver1321

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
AML said:
Thanks for sharing all the photos. I think I would like a slightly bigger one but having a hard time deciding between the 4 or 5.
Click to expand...

If I was going to do it again, knowing the deal I ended up with, I would have bought the RV-4. That one is a full 7'10" x7'10"
 
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