Howling Moon or Eezi-Awn

[NikonRon]

Which one would you purchase and why. How much difference is there? Ron

 

[STREGA]

They are both good quality tents and you won't go wrong with either one. I don't have any personal experience with the Howling Moon brand but like what I have seen of them. I have owned 2 Ezi -Awns, a series 3 1400 which I liked a lot and a Globetrotter that came with a trailer that I bought that was ok. Didn't need 2 tents and the 1400 could be mounted on the trailer or the FJ so the Globetrotter found a new home. Buy which ever one is the best deal for you.

 

[Box Rocket]

Between those two tents I would personally go with the Eezi-Awn. Having seen both tents up close and I've slept in an Eezi-awn, there is just a higher level of quality and durability with the Eezi-awn from what I have experienced. The Eezi-awns have the heaviest canvas of any of the tents if I'm not mistaken. That adds to the durability but also adds weight. So you have some trade offs. Either tent would be nice, but I'd choose the Eezi-awn if I were picking only between those two brands. If it wasn't just those two, I'd choose Tepui

 

[NikonRon]

Autana Ruggedized in the right color. Ron

 

[Willman]

NikonRon,

Here is a good thread that will breakdown the differences:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/134042-Howling-Moon-Rooftop-Tents-Now-available!

Here is a great repost by FlyingWil:

It in the eye of the Beer Holder.. :coffeedrink: Honestly in my option there are 3 classifications of RTT's in the clam shell style (flip open):

1. South African Made
2. Australian Made
3. Made in China

Of these the South African ones tend to be the Lamborghini and Ferrari's, where the Australian tend to be the Corvette's and the Chinese the Celica's and FRS's in relation to sports cars. In relation to comparing the Eezi-Awn to the Howling Moon I will try and cover some differences briefly:

Ladders - HM ladders are a tad thicker and have a rounded rung to make it easier on your feet barefoot, EA ladders are a bit thinner and more squared in design (we noticed the EA ladders are a bit noisier due to the internal springs for the latch)

Tent Base - HM uses a wooden ladder structure with foam/poly covered in an aluminium skin, an rails are bolted, EA uses a marine wooden sealed base that has the rails pop-rivited to the base.

Canvass - Both are very similar, and both claim to have better fabric, both are made out of Polyester/cotton ripstop material, Fluoro-carbon impregnated and coated

Mattress - HM tends to be about 1/2" thicker. I'm a side sleeper and I have not bottomed out on either HM or EA

Stargazer - Only HM has the Stagazer out of the two.

Thickness when folded up - HM is about 1.5" to 2.5" thicker (dending on how much is packed inside)

Feel free to let us know if you have any other questions.

Can't go wrong with either two. Both are great RTT's.

 

[Martyn]

Wilman, it's not quite so simple as flyingwil makes it out to be.

Both brands are really good. The main difference between then would be found in the fabric.

Eezi Awn uses a fabric that is made in one of two mills left in the world that does all the fabric construction and treatment in house. The poly-cotton is weaved and then vat treated for color, anti-mold, weatherproofing, fire resistance, and UV stabilization. So it's a premium product just like estate made wines.

The main variations between all RTT's occur in the following areas:
Design
Hardware & Construction
Fabric
Sewing
Durability
Consistency

From what I have seen over the years Eezi Awn and Howling Moon they are very similar in design, they use good hardware and construction, and are sewn well. Both brands are durable in that they have an average life of over five years. This leaves the fabric and consistency.

I'm much more familiar with Eezi Awn having sold them for ten years, so I can say the product is consistently predictable as being and extremely well made product. I have seldom heard anything bad about the consistency of the Howling Moon product so I'd have to say they are consistently good.

Finally we come to fabric, specifically the manufacturing of the fabric and the treatment of the fabric. The cruz of the issue is a tent is really only as good as the fabric, and sewing. I know all about the Eezi Awn fabric and fabric treatments, but I don't know enough about the details of the Howling Moon fabric to give an educated answer on how the fabrics compare.

 

[NikonRon]

Thanks for the input guys, I'm leaning toward Eezi Awn. If I can get one in the Olive color. Ron

 

[Willman]

Let's talk Howling Moon fabric.

From Howling Moon's website....

http://www.howlingmoon.co.za/about-us/

We only use the best materials with the highest specifications. Our Polyester/ Cotton blend of fabric woven into a ripstop construction to increase tear and tensile strength. The cotton, a natural fibre, gives us superior thermal and sewing properties, while the Polyester enhances the strength of the fabric. The fabric is pigment coated, giving the end fabric, superior colour fastness to light and weathering. The coating gives the fabric its resistance to UV and heat degradation as well as making exceptionally resistant to fungal attack. Howling Moon specifies a post treatment of fluorocarbon. The coating increases the protection of the fabric to soliage and water ingress through the seams. The fluorocarbon making the fabric exceptionally slippery and promoting water run off and due to this more rapid drying and preventing wetting out of the fabric.

Both fabrics are very similar in construction......Thats why both are great RTT's that last a long time. If they are treated and cared for...They can last a really long time.

Can't go wrong with either RTT. Both brands have lots of likes and little dislikes for sure.

This is one difference between the two great brands.

 

[Martyn]

That's informative Willman. Both Eezi Awn and Howling Moon use poly cotton for their tent fabric. Poly-cotton consists of a polyurethane core with cotton spun around it, it's the cotton that absorbs the applied treatments, and treatments can be applied using many methods, the polyurethane core gives the thread strength. With fabrics the difficulty is in the details. Specifically what is meant when it's said the fabric is "coated" with a treatment. What does "coated" mean?

Some of the fabrics used to make tents are sprayed with treatments for UV, mold, color, waterproofness. With many of the Chinese made fabrics you can see the difference from the outside of the fabric from the inside of the fabric due to application of treatments on only one side. The cotton on one side has absorbed the majority of the treatment while the inside has absorbed less. Some fabrics are sprayed on both sides resulting in more even application. I'm not a big fan of sprayed applications as the amount of application can vary over a bolt of material.

I like the vat approach where the bolt of material is run through a bath of the treatments so that the cotton absorbs it from all sides resulting in a more even application. There may be other ways to treat fabric but these are the two main ones I am familiar with. Sorry to bore people with the minute detail, but this is what matters when you select material.

 

[NikonRon]

Looks tempting, Nic. You don't show the annex on your site, need more info. Lots of good info. there too, Martyn. Thanks guys,Ron

 

[flyingwil]

Having spent countless nights in both an EA and HM RTT, I think I summed it up best in my sports car anology of HM and EA being the Lamborghini's and Ferrari's. Some people are Ferrari lovers and other Lamborghini lovers.

With the annex option thrown into the mix, one of the biggest differences is the design of the two. The HM annex includes a floor, and is designed a bit more like a pyramid so that usable space does not decrease during windy situations. The annex is made from exact same fabric as RTT, and the floor is removable with a zipper for easy cleaning during tear down.

We have a demo RTT set up in our show room along with fabric swatches that allow our customers to compare the fabrics side by side if your in the area.

Being a dealer of both the EA and HM, honestly you can not go wrong with either of them. Feel free ti give us a call at 866-5007-4254 and we can help walk you through the differences of the two.

 

[NikonRon]

Wil,
Does the Howling Moon Tourer come in that same color as the one you've shown above? Also there is no option or price for the Annex on your site. Ron