eezi awn knock of...
- Thread starter LUISJG
- Start date
I ran across this tent about two years ago... Ray Wood (of Rocky Mountain Parabolics fame) was having them made in China as Eezi-Awn, Howling Moon, and Hannibal didn't offer him sufficient margins to make tent sales profitable in North America. Since then I've seen them offered by every low end "expedition outfitter" in Europe; with various different branding; Rocky Mountain, Safari Equip, a couple of "boutique" shops even had their own brands on them.
You'll find the same (or very similar) tent on offer from the likes of Safari Equip and OEC 4x4, as well as a bunch of smaller operations.
To say the quality is poor would be an understatement. I recently had the opportunity to view two six-month-old units in the Netherlands, and they were in awful shape... I'll try to dig out the photos.
They're made from POLYESTER; yes, that stuff that melts and sticks to flesh when exposed to a flame. They have a metal and (I believe) wood/foam sandwich floor which was nicely separating on the ones I saw. Zippers, fly sheet, mattress, and bug screen were similarly low budget.
I'm usually hesitant to knock a competitor's product (we sell Hannibal), but this stuff is so poorly made, from cheap materials, that I can't help it.
Add in the fact that it IS a direct copy of Howling Moon's tents (Ray admitted sending them one to copy), and I'm thoroughly disgusted. I'm all for competition in the marketplace, as it drives innovation and quality, but this recent wave of cheap imitation products from China is really starting to irritate me. Can anyone say T-Max winch?
It gets even worse as many respected western firms are jumping on the bandwagon and making their products in China; ARB and Warn spring to mind.
Wasn't there a big outcry a couple years back when people discovered that Nike and other companies were using child labour to produce goods? Why is everyone so willing to turn a blind eye to China and the imitation goods coming out of there - produced by an exploited workforce?
Welcome to the world that Wal-Mart and Tesco have created for us. Build it cheap, pile it high, and sell it for peanuts. Doesn't anyone value craftsmanship, innovation, and quality any more? It well and truly sickens me
/end rant
You'll find the same (or very similar) tent on offer from the likes of Safari Equip and OEC 4x4, as well as a bunch of smaller operations.
To say the quality is poor would be an understatement. I recently had the opportunity to view two six-month-old units in the Netherlands, and they were in awful shape... I'll try to dig out the photos.
They're made from POLYESTER; yes, that stuff that melts and sticks to flesh when exposed to a flame. They have a metal and (I believe) wood/foam sandwich floor which was nicely separating on the ones I saw. Zippers, fly sheet, mattress, and bug screen were similarly low budget.
I'm usually hesitant to knock a competitor's product (we sell Hannibal), but this stuff is so poorly made, from cheap materials, that I can't help it.
Add in the fact that it IS a direct copy of Howling Moon's tents (Ray admitted sending them one to copy), and I'm thoroughly disgusted. I'm all for competition in the marketplace, as it drives innovation and quality, but this recent wave of cheap imitation products from China is really starting to irritate me. Can anyone say T-Max winch?
It gets even worse as many respected western firms are jumping on the bandwagon and making their products in China; ARB and Warn spring to mind.
Wasn't there a big outcry a couple years back when people discovered that Nike and other companies were using child labour to produce goods? Why is everyone so willing to turn a blind eye to China and the imitation goods coming out of there - produced by an exploited workforce?
Welcome to the world that Wal-Mart and Tesco have created for us. Build it cheap, pile it high, and sell it for peanuts. Doesn't anyone value craftsmanship, innovation, and quality any more? It well and truly sickens me
/end rant
The Swiss
Expedition Leader
Guys:flyingwil said:
Just to stirr it up a little. The roof top tent is an Italian invention dating back to 1958. An Italian Doctor, journalist and adventurer (I'm not sure if he was the original inventor) then adapted those roof top tents back in the 1960ies to suit his Land Rover expeditions to Africa and Latin America and created the folding roof top tent as it is widly known today. I think Zifer, the Italian company making the Maggiolina, Overcamp etc. today, has ties to or actually is the original manufacturer of the original roof top tents.
This would make Eezi Awn a "knock-off" of the original Italian roof tent. It's just part of business that tehre is always somebody taking the good idea from somebody else copying and improving it.
Don't get me wrong. I do not support any Chinese knock-offs, especially as they are just cheap copies without adding any valuable own ideas to it. Sad part: Very rarely the Chinese come up with the initiative to copy something on their own. Most of the time, it is a European or American individuum or company that tries to get these things made cheaper in China.
And as I already started with the rumbling: Did you know that Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, heck even certain Kia and Hyundai models, have a bigger domestic part content than most GM and Ford models? That GM is pretty much the leader in sourcing parts from China, in pushing their suppliers to source parts in China or to open production facilities in China?
End of rumbling, back to work
Last edited:
Mike S
Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
About knock-offs
I receive e-mails every week from Chinese manufacturers who have roof tents and camping gear to sell. In a past life, I did business in China, and can tell you that they ship whatever they can, and if you don't inspect it on the wharf, you'll get junk. Add to this the impossibility of getting warranty parts and structuringa decent warranty program, and you can see that a bargain may not be a bargain.
It's not just China. I have e-mails from a Korean manufacturer who knock off OUR PRODUCT and now wants us to sell it. Of course, it is molded ABS, and has cheap fittings, coated nylon fabric... you get the idea.
We are not interested in creating unhappy customers, or making money selling junk. Life is too short.
Mike S
AutoHomeUS
I receive e-mails every week from Chinese manufacturers who have roof tents and camping gear to sell. In a past life, I did business in China, and can tell you that they ship whatever they can, and if you don't inspect it on the wharf, you'll get junk. Add to this the impossibility of getting warranty parts and structuringa decent warranty program, and you can see that a bargain may not be a bargain.
It's not just China. I have e-mails from a Korean manufacturer who knock off OUR PRODUCT and now wants us to sell it. Of course, it is molded ABS, and has cheap fittings, coated nylon fabric... you get the idea.
We are not interested in creating unhappy customers, or making money selling junk. Life is too short.
Mike S
AutoHomeUS
Scott Brady
Founder
I think it is the diference between these two statements:
1. The Toyota Tacoma is a great truck and I would like to build a truck that is even better, incorporate new changes and design it from the ground up, making it unique because of my ideas, engineering time and efforts.
2. The Toyota Tacoma is a great truck and I am going to buy one, ship it to China and reverse engineer every part and copy it exactly, then undercut Toyota by 30%.
I am only interested in buying things from true craftsman, regardless of the country of origin. Someone who takes pride in their workmanship and makes an honest living making a widget that is of the highest quality possible.
1. The Toyota Tacoma is a great truck and I would like to build a truck that is even better, incorporate new changes and design it from the ground up, making it unique because of my ideas, engineering time and efforts.
2. The Toyota Tacoma is a great truck and I am going to buy one, ship it to China and reverse engineer every part and copy it exactly, then undercut Toyota by 30%.
I am only interested in buying things from true craftsman, regardless of the country of origin. Someone who takes pride in their workmanship and makes an honest living making a widget that is of the highest quality possible.
Mike S
Sponsor - AutoHomeUSA
A last word...
We sell a lot of roof top tents. The last thing that I want is a customer calling to complain that the product won't cut it. We talk with all our customers to be sure that they understand the product, that it is appropriate for their use, and that they understand that they can return it to us for a refund for any reason within the first 30 days after purchase. We provide a 5 year warranty and stock many spare parts, etc. This is part of commitment to the market and the product.
We know that there are people who weigh price more heavily in the equation than anything else - whether through circumstance or for other reasons. So you cannot sell a high quality product to everyone. It's all part of choosing a corporate character and addressing the needs of the market. I just figure that if someone buys a 'cheap' tent, they may realize that they need a better one later, and that they will consider our products when they start thinking about what they really need.
We're doing this for fun and profit. No apologies for either, but we expect to earn our profits in service.
We sell a lot of roof top tents. The last thing that I want is a customer calling to complain that the product won't cut it. We talk with all our customers to be sure that they understand the product, that it is appropriate for their use, and that they understand that they can return it to us for a refund for any reason within the first 30 days after purchase. We provide a 5 year warranty and stock many spare parts, etc. This is part of commitment to the market and the product.
We know that there are people who weigh price more heavily in the equation than anything else - whether through circumstance or for other reasons. So you cannot sell a high quality product to everyone. It's all part of choosing a corporate character and addressing the needs of the market. I just figure that if someone buys a 'cheap' tent, they may realize that they need a better one later, and that they will consider our products when they start thinking about what they really need.
We're doing this for fun and profit. No apologies for either, but we expect to earn our profits in service.
And another tent knockoff.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330038515248&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330038515248&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1
well the world is full of knock offs,and realy knock off will maybe not be the correct word." since the ineventor wasnt eezi awn ,,
its like not buying a toyota because its not a ford. or dont buy a plasma tv
or lcd other that the inventors.
even I just bouht a harbor freight mig welder ,,,"linclon -miller look alike"
for a fraction of the price.,
it just depends on what do you want to spend, ,nothing wroung trying to make money working and saleing those tents . i wouldnt send 500 bucks to china to get a tent thats for sure ,,i might never get it,.
so now that i think about it ,, its just a cheaper tent or a look alike .
as for roof top tents, im saving my money for the series 3 eezi awn ,
its like not buying a toyota because its not a ford. or dont buy a plasma tv
or lcd other that the inventors.
even I just bouht a harbor freight mig welder ,,,"linclon -miller look alike"
for a fraction of the price.,
it just depends on what do you want to spend, ,nothing wroung trying to make money working and saleing those tents . i wouldnt send 500 bucks to china to get a tent thats for sure ,,i might never get it,.
so now that i think about it ,, its just a cheaper tent or a look alike .
as for roof top tents, im saving my money for the series 3 eezi awn ,
60seriesguy
Adventurer
The first rooftop tents I ever saw were British Brownchurch and Italian Maggiolina tents, back in Venezuela in the late 1980's. My dad bought a Brownchurch in 1985 and my cousin is still using it, after 20 years of abuse in a tropical environment.
Virtually every tent I've seen since then, with a few exceptions, are simply variations of the original designs. The Eezi-Awn and Hannibal may have some distinctive features, but are they really that different?
Thus, I don't think it's necessarily the DESIGN that sets them apart, it's the quality of the construction and materials. You can't compare those flimsy nylon tents with the heavy-duty canvas of a true expedition tent, there's no way the lighter-duty tents will stand up to the elements in the same way. Ditto for the hardware, the material used for flooring and ladder, even the stitching. The hefty price you pay for the real thing is for the overall quality of the product, and that's something that so far is not available from cheap reproductions.
Virtually every tent I've seen since then, with a few exceptions, are simply variations of the original designs. The Eezi-Awn and Hannibal may have some distinctive features, but are they really that different?
Thus, I don't think it's necessarily the DESIGN that sets them apart, it's the quality of the construction and materials. You can't compare those flimsy nylon tents with the heavy-duty canvas of a true expedition tent, there's no way the lighter-duty tents will stand up to the elements in the same way. Ditto for the hardware, the material used for flooring and ladder, even the stitching. The hefty price you pay for the real thing is for the overall quality of the product, and that's something that so far is not available from cheap reproductions.
Scott Brady
Founder
60seriesguy said:
Thanks for that Henry. You summed up what I was attempting (poorly) to convey.
Material and design quality and craftsmanship is what I need and will buy. All the other junk can clog the isles at Walmart...
toyrunner95
Explorer
ok since we are talking about knock off tents and cheaply made products. which do you guys think is better
hannibal or eziawn.
i was looking at a hannibal, its about $100 more expensive and has a more encoumpasing rain fly. plus they use them in africa everywhere, or so they say. but whats the diffrence and why did you pick what you did.
hannibal or eziawn.
i was looking at a hannibal, its about $100 more expensive and has a more encoumpasing rain fly. plus they use them in africa everywhere, or so they say. but whats the diffrence and why did you pick what you did.