Hard shell tent - are gas struts really better?

[Dozer Dan]

I'm looking at getting a hard shell rtt. Looking at the JB and the autohome. I don't have a distributor for either anywhere near so trying to read up online, view youtube videos etc.
The new thing with them is the gas struts but after reading a few reviews I can't help but thing they may not be for me.

The reason I am looking for a hard top tent is because I often camp in the wet. I'm just back from a trip and I've had to pack up a wet tent every day, 18 mornings straight.
My concern with the gas strut tents is (me not being particularly heavy) I may struggle to close them. Combine that with wetness and height, and an accident can easily happen.

Are the old fashioned tents 'obsolete' now of what? I'm somewhat leaning towards a Maggiolina Airlander now as it seems much easier to open and close than an AirTop or the JB alternatives.

Other than the argument that the winding mechanism 'may' break. Are there any other downsides to the Maggiolina crank system compared to the gas strut system?

 

[Christophe Noel]

This came up frequently during my extensive test of hard shell tents for my Overland Journal review. Gas struts greatly simplify set up, but do complicate packing the tent away. You have to overcome the force of the struts - obviously - which can be a struggle depending on the tent and the user. Their are some tents which are easier than others. The Autohome Columbus, with just one hinge and two struts is the easiest to open/close - bar none. A JB Evasion with four struts isn't hard, but you have to follow a precise procedure and it absolutely takes more effort to close. The least "effort" although not the fastest closure is with the hand crank. It allows the user to stop mid-closure to tuck in fabric and make sure everything is tight and stowed properly. With gas struts, that fabric tucking procedure can be a little frustrating.

 

[Dozer Dan]

Yes, I think you hit the nail on the head with regards to tucking the fabric as well. This seems much easier with the crank system.
The hand crank system is still not slow and I don't think in wet, slippery conditions I would be able to close the JB any faster than a Maggiolina.
I've a Land Rover Defender, so a pretty high vehicle.

To me, the crank system seems better but I'm afraid I'm missing something obvious.

 

[joelbert]

gas system

I just recently got a gas strut tent. I was surprised at the effort to close it the first time, but after a few attempts I have come up with a system. To overcome the tucking fabric problem, I made two small rope (think paracord) loops to hold it about 3-4 inches from closure to allow review/tucking.

 

[chmura]

I am actually also having a hard time choosing between the Autohome AirTop or James Baroud gas strut only version or the crank mechanism versions (Autohome Airlander or Extreme).

I was having such a hard time choosing that I rented a Autohome AirTop (gas strut version) for 4 days to get an idea of how it worked.

Here is a non biased review as I rented one and I do not own a tent yet:

- Being 6'1" I fit perfect in the AirTop.
- I have a flat rack and and I was getting a very LOUD whistling noise above 20 + mph that got louder with speed. It was so bad that I almost turned around and returned the tent. When I got home I repositioned the tent and bolted it down using the closest cross bar to the front of the vehicle. Whistling noise was GONE.
- After fixing the whistling noise it seemed like I had nothing strapped to the roof of my vehicle. Going 80 mph on the freeway was effortless. Very quiet and my center of gravity of the vehicle did not seem to increase at all.
- Deploying the tent is very easy, takes 15 seconds or so.
- Closing the tent can be somewhat tedious as you have to close one end, walk around and tuck the fabric in slowly. But the closest portion of the side that you just closed the fabric can be pinched so I found myself reopening the tent so I can tuck in the fabric. This is where the crank mechanism version might be better IMO. You can close the tent almost all the way and just leave it open 2 inches or so before fully closing the tent all the way. Then walk around tuck all the tent material is inside the tent ONCE, when you are done close it. With the Airtop I found myself walking around the vehicle few times to make sure the tent material is not pinched and fully tucked in.
- With my research the crank mechanism is very robust and I have not found any issues that people complained about. Seems like the people that do international around the world adventures have the crank version. I am still doing research on this.

I am looking at getting the crank version tent now Autohome Extreme or Autohome Airlander. Plus with the extreme version you can load things ontop which is nice.

Before making a final decision I would like to lay in a James Baroud tent and maybe close and open it.. Hopefully at Overland Expo I can lay in a James Baroud tent and close and open it myself.

 

[cruiserpilot]

I have a Maggiolina Extreme. Manual crank open and close. 60 cranks. Less than a minute to open. So does 45 sec matter?? Nope. Remember, that is 60 cranks closed. Could be
a minute, but of course the little bits need to be tucked in. There is an internal bungy that pulls the fabric in for closing. Once I realized that the fabric lives above the support arms on closure,
I waited until almost closed, then tuck the ends in. Make sure the side flaps are tucked initially and they are usually hardly more than a quick tuck.
So for me, and also I am 5' 5" tall. So this is something that came up while looking at these tents.
So I'm down to less than 3 minutes to stow my Extreme in falling snow. It is also essentially effortless.

So back to looking at a JB strut tent with vertical walls. I went to a dealer, and had a good look at 3 different models. On the roof of my lifted Land Cruiser, it would be a tedious, soaking wet,
experience to try to pull the front of the tent down in any kind of precipitation. The dealer, who was ( I asked ) 6' 4" tall had a tough time pushing the tent down against the struts.
This was on his personal Jeep!

So for me it was a no brainer. I personally feel the quality of the AutoHome Maggiolina is far above the JB tents. Several points that I found all went in favour of the Maggiolina.
The Extreme also has a surrounding 'winter cover', which I have used extensively and it works as advertised. Kept the side walls dry in heavy side rain, and snow. It also did seem to keep
it a bit warmer, as in less drafty in windy conditions. My experience is not in the southern 48 states or desert. It is all in northern BC, Yukon and north of the arctic circle at times
in temps around -15C. Very comfortable, and easy to use at all times.

As far as worrying about the crank system, I'm going to go with internet rumours/stories exacerbated by people who have in fact had failures. Things break, these cranks may break.
Every time I crank that thing I am cautious and very aware of resistance and binding, especially during the last 5 cranks closing it against the inner material and sleeping material.
No way do I worry about it. I have an extra handle, I'm more worried about finding my crank still in the tent - just like I did while spending a day sightseeing in Whitehorse.
Felt like a complete idiot to look over and see the handle sticking up while showing off my tent to a local! So I have survey flagging around the handle and a post-it on the dash
as a reminder. D'oh!!
Anyhow, hope this helps. Maggiolina Extreme is costly, and worth every cent. J

 

[Dozer Dan]

Thank you guys, really!
Have been trying to find this info for ages but no one seems to actually mention this very issue anywhere.
Having been online searching people only tout the new technology but my head kept telling me the old style was better.
I think you have really helped me feel comfortable about going with the Maggio crank style system.

I think @cruiserpilot, you're right in that there have been failures and people are worried because of it. But on my travels I've come across people with Maggiolinas they have used extensively for over 10 years without any issues. I think if your crank mechanism fail it's probably just some bad luck - not a design fault.

I will have to do more reading now about the differences between the various Maggiolinas but I think there are threads for that already I can dig up.

 

[rino]

I am actually also having a hard time choosing between the Autohome AirTop or James Baroud gas strut only version or the crank mechanism versions (Autohome Airlander or Extreme).

I was having such a hard time choosing that I rented a Autohome AirTop (gas strut version) for 4 days to get an idea of how it worked.

Here is a non biased review as I rented one and I do not own a tent yet:

- Being 6'1" I fit perfect in the AirTop.
- I have a flat rack and and I was getting a very LOUD whistling noise above 20 + mph that got louder with speed. It was so bad that I almost turned around and returned the tent. When I got home I repositioned the tent and bolted it down using the closest cross bar to the front of the vehicle. Whistling noise was GONE.
- After fixing the whistling noise it seemed like I had nothing strapped to the roof of my vehicle. Going 80 mph on the freeway was effortless. Very quiet and my center of gravity of the vehicle did not seem to increase at all.
- Deploying the tent is very easy, takes 15 seconds or so.
- Closing the tent can be somewhat tedious as you have to close one end, walk around and tuck the fabric in slowly. But the closest portion of the side that you just closed the fabric can be pinched so I found myself reopening the tent so I can tuck in the fabric. This is where the crank mechanism version might be better IMO. You can close the tent almost all the way and just leave it open 2 inches or so before fully closing the tent all the way. Then walk around tuck all the tent material is inside the tent ONCE, when you are done close it. With the Airtop I found myself walking around the vehicle few times to make sure the tent material is not pinched and fully tucked in.
- With my research the crank mechanism is very robust and I have not found any issues that people complained about. Seems like the people that do international around the world adventures have the crank version. I am still doing research on this.

I am looking at getting the crank version tent now Autohome Extreme or Autohome Airlander. Plus with the extreme version you can load things ontop which is nice.

Before making a final decision I would like to lay in a James Baroud tent and maybe close and open it.. Hopefully at Overland Expo I can lay in a James Baroud tent and close and open it myself.

Sorry for the delay in response, we were setting up our booth yesterday at OEX. Feel welcome to come try our tents, we will have all models on display this year including our new XXL models.

Another note on the strut debate, 360* model James Baroud tents feature a much easier to operate strut system that only uses enough force to raise the upper shell. Once inside the arms are pushed into a locked position, relieving the struts of the task of keeping the shell opened and fabric tight. This newer system allows for struts with 1/3 the force of the previous models on top of the 360* screen design revision.

Again, feel free to stop by the booth and check us out!

 

[Christophe Noel]

And again, the Autohome Columbus we tested over the span of a year was the easiest - by far - to open and close. One buckle to unlatch and boom, it's up. Closing it was actually easier than the cranked Magiolina Extreme, albeit just slightly. You still have to mind the fabric while compressing the shell, but it's quite easy. It is a snug little shelter, so there is a trade off for the ease of use.

As Jim said, the newer James Baroud tents have a modest strut force to overcome when pulling the shell down. It's more about technique than force.

 

[Dozer Dan]

These newer, easier to close ones. Do they include the discovery space version? I like the space you get in that model but I'm concerned about the difficulty closing it.
I don't think I like the columbus as much. It feels too limiting.

 

[Christophe Noel]

These newer, easier to close ones. Do they include the discovery space version? I like the space you get in that model but I'm concerned about the difficulty closing it.
I don't think I like the columbus as much. It feels too limiting.

I spent several weeks going back and forth between these two tents during my testing phase. The Discovery Space is very easy to close, partly because the front half is already lower to the bottom half and easier to wiggle into position to mate with the latches. One thing to consider - When evaluating useable interior space comparing the JB Discovery Space to the JB Evolution (effectively the same tent) the Discovery Space has roughly the same interior volume, it just has a taller peak height. That is the useful aspect of the Space. The foot area is still low enough to not be useful for two people if they want to sit on opposing ends. So, in some ways, the Columbus and the Discovery Space are very similar. I find them to almost represent the same amount of useful space. In fact, I'd say it is an identical living experience in terms of volume head room, etc. The Space however, has more features, mesh, a fan...

 

[Dozer Dan]

Not making this any easier! Several good options.
I find I eliminate a tent one day for it to be right back on my list the next.
I think I will have to make my way to a show room of sorts to see these in person.

 

[chmura]

Sorry for the delay in response, we were setting up our booth yesterday at OEX. Feel welcome to come try our tents, we will have all models on display this year including our new XXL models.

Another note on the strut debate, 360* model James Baroud tents feature a much easier to operate strut system that only uses enough force to raise the upper shell. Once inside the arms are pushed into a locked position, relieving the struts of the task of keeping the shell opened and fabric tight. This newer system allows for struts with 1/3 the force of the previous models on top of the 360* screen design revision.

Again, feel free to stop by the booth and check us out!

Awesome, I will see you Saturday! I'll be there.

If I can open/close one and lay in one and check out how to lock the tent once deployed I would appreciate it!

 

[Dozer Dan]

I spent several weeks going back and forth between these two tents during my testing phase. The Discovery Space is very easy to close, partly because the front half is already lower to the bottom half and easier to wiggle into position to mate with the latches. One thing to consider - When evaluating useable interior space comparing the JB Discovery Space to the JB Evolution (effectively the same tent) the Discovery Space has roughly the same interior volume, it just has a taller peak height. That is the useful aspect of the Space. The foot area is still low enough to not be useful for two people if they want to sit on opposing ends. So, in some ways, the Columbus and the Discovery Space are very similar. I find them to almost represent the same amount of useful space. In fact, I'd say it is an identical living experience in terms of volume head room, etc. The Space however, has more features, mesh, a fan...

I have been thinking about this a lot since yesterday. The difference between the useable space in a regular shaped tent (maggio et al) and the discovery space.
The great appeal about the space is that you have more head room at one end. Easier to put clothes on etc.
But the cost is space at the other end. I didn't really consider this as much until out pointed it out. I'm really unsure what I would like most - more headroom at one end or decent headroom throughout.

In testing this yourself. What did you find you appreciated the most - more headroom at one end or the regular shaped version?

 

[joelbert]

When I was considering the headroom, while I liked the angled tents, I thought long term that the equal height (where the two sides of the tent are parallel) would be more weatherproof.