Review - James Baroud Space Evolution
- Thread starter Septu
- Start date
Not sure how well the fabric breaths, but there's a fan if needed. It can suck air in, or push it out. And the few times I used the tent last summer (10-12 mights?) I didn't see any condensation inside, and rarely kept the fan on due to becoming too cold.
Last edited:
James Baroud USA
Observer
The fabric is breathable.
kb7our
Explorer
Thank you!
Timofeevich
New member
Hi Graig,
I am presenlty choosing btwn James Baroud Nomas 160 (160x220) and Autohome Overland Medium (160x220). Have you managed to do a video on the Soft Shell Tents on how to mount, open and close the tents ?
Thanks
Serge
Last edited:
Honu
lost on the mainland
not sure about gel
but latex is awesome stuff and there are a few latex mattress places around that is where I would check
if I did a RTT again I would get a company to make the complete thing two layers different densities
but latex is awesome stuff and there are a few latex mattress places around that is where I would check
if I did a RTT again I would get a company to make the complete thing two layers different densities
Fundy Rider
New member
I would really like to see those videos of the soft shell tents as well. Especially the nomad 160. They seem to resolve a lot of issues with the soft shell tents. Quick setup, much better cover to deal with, no fly to flap in the wind, and I really like the setup with the two doors.
Ok so it does seem like an awesome tent but here is my but. Too much money for the amount of information and reviews on this tent. Will be close to 3600$ Canadian. A big chunk of change. Here is the thing. I would spend the money if I new what I was getting was the real deal but there are very few reviews and no where near enough pics and videos from James Baroud themselves.
So for now I may be going the autohome route or elsewhere for the simple reason is I want to know what I am getting for this amount of money.
Ok so it does seem like an awesome tent but here is my but. Too much money for the amount of information and reviews on this tent. Will be close to 3600$ Canadian. A big chunk of change. Here is the thing. I would spend the money if I new what I was getting was the real deal but there are very few reviews and no where near enough pics and videos from James Baroud themselves.
So for now I may be going the autohome route or elsewhere for the simple reason is I want to know what I am getting for this amount of money.
rino
Approved Vendor - OK4WD
The Nomad 160 is a fantastic tent, but gets little attention as we are mostly known for our hard shell RTTs. The best testament in the states of this tent would be by Frank of OutdoorX4. He has had one on multiple vehicles from the original order we imported near 4 years ago and it is still working flawlessly. I encourage you to look into the Nomad a little further and if you have any questions I will be happy to assist and more importantly after the sale for support if need be.
After completing my summer trip this year - 18 days on the road (over 7,000km) in this tent every night covering many Forest Service Roads and a rough 4x4 trail and having owned this for 7 summers now, I figured I'd give another update/review on it that I didn't really mention in the first post (just hadn't used it enough).
Cons:
- Fan is too small. It has a solar panel and a rechargeable battery built in but if you're not getting direct sunlight this might not last the night/weekend. I wish the fan was bigger to move a little more air with some kind of option to have a battery that could be recharged externally or just something like a AA. Although I'm not sure how feesable that is. I just bought a small fan off of Amazon that I can recharge and mount as needed. Not normally a big deal in the Yukon given our lack of hot summers, but was nice when I was in BC last month with the heat wave they had.
- Velcro on the bottom lip of the doors. Sorry... 7 years later and I still hate it. I've covered up 95% of it so I no longer wreck my shirts that it would stick to. However as I found out this summer in the one rain storm we had... that it can result in the bottom getting pushed inside the tent and water getting in. Surprisingly this is the first time I've ever had water come inside despite some pretty big storms I've experienced. And this one was entirely my fault. Fortunately I noticed it pretty quickly so it wasn't a big deal... but this could have been avoided if JB made the doors a little longer to hang past the lip a little more. Even just another inch would go a long way.
- Lack of any kind of awning or whatnot over any of the doors. Doesn't have to be fancy, but it's annoying to get in/out when it's raining. I see that they sell something called a "Tunnel" as an accessory, but on this model it only attaches to the left side - which on my setup is where I have my awning and kitchen, so it wouldn't work. And for several reasons I'm not willing to change how things are currently setup. I'm also not sure if this is compatible with my tent or if things have changed in the past 7 years.
- Crappy ladder. I harped on this before... and I see that they continue to use the same one (or something very similar). Sorry... but the ~250 or whatever that ladder I bought cost me was one of the best upgrades I could have made.
- The included LED flashlight (at least in mine) is gimmicky. It mounts so high up that unless I'm on my knees, I can't reach it. It is detachable and is rechargeable so that's a plus... but I typically leave it alone and just use a flashlight. The charger having a 12v cigarette plug also sucks (vs either AC or a USB option). But again... minor thing here.
Pros:
- Still functioning perfectly after 7 summers and probably 50,000km+. No issues with the fabric, zippers, mattress, pull down loops, latches, struts, etc.
- Seems to do a good job keeping heat in when you want it to and with all the window options (and fan) keeping it cool when you want that too.
- Zero real issues. The edging that goes around the upper shell is starting to come off... however some glue will fix that. And aside from that and a few scratches from taking this on the trail... it functions and looks and feels exactly how it did when I bought it 7 summers ago. Now I do not use it a ton... maybe 20-45 nights a year (usually closer to 25/30 most summers), and when it's not being used the trailer (and tent) is stored inside. But given all the roads it's bounced down every time I've taken it on my summer vacation (7,000km+ trips almost every summer), for it to still function perfectly is something I'm impressed with. It wasn't cheap... but 7 years later I'm still extremely happy with it. The bitches (and I think there's a few legitimate ones there) are big picture... very minor and easily correctable. The only one I've kind of resorted myself to having to live with is the no awning/rain cover to enter/exit.... which while annoying isn't the end of the world given that I'm not experiencing regular monsoons.
Conclusion... I'd buy it again. I might try a different model so that I could get the tunnel on the right side (passenger side for me), but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another James Baroud product.
Cons:
- Fan is too small. It has a solar panel and a rechargeable battery built in but if you're not getting direct sunlight this might not last the night/weekend. I wish the fan was bigger to move a little more air with some kind of option to have a battery that could be recharged externally or just something like a AA. Although I'm not sure how feesable that is. I just bought a small fan off of Amazon that I can recharge and mount as needed. Not normally a big deal in the Yukon given our lack of hot summers, but was nice when I was in BC last month with the heat wave they had.
- Velcro on the bottom lip of the doors. Sorry... 7 years later and I still hate it. I've covered up 95% of it so I no longer wreck my shirts that it would stick to. However as I found out this summer in the one rain storm we had... that it can result in the bottom getting pushed inside the tent and water getting in. Surprisingly this is the first time I've ever had water come inside despite some pretty big storms I've experienced. And this one was entirely my fault. Fortunately I noticed it pretty quickly so it wasn't a big deal... but this could have been avoided if JB made the doors a little longer to hang past the lip a little more. Even just another inch would go a long way.
- Lack of any kind of awning or whatnot over any of the doors. Doesn't have to be fancy, but it's annoying to get in/out when it's raining. I see that they sell something called a "Tunnel" as an accessory, but on this model it only attaches to the left side - which on my setup is where I have my awning and kitchen, so it wouldn't work. And for several reasons I'm not willing to change how things are currently setup. I'm also not sure if this is compatible with my tent or if things have changed in the past 7 years.
- Crappy ladder. I harped on this before... and I see that they continue to use the same one (or something very similar). Sorry... but the ~250 or whatever that ladder I bought cost me was one of the best upgrades I could have made.
- The included LED flashlight (at least in mine) is gimmicky. It mounts so high up that unless I'm on my knees, I can't reach it. It is detachable and is rechargeable so that's a plus... but I typically leave it alone and just use a flashlight. The charger having a 12v cigarette plug also sucks (vs either AC or a USB option). But again... minor thing here.
Pros:
- Still functioning perfectly after 7 summers and probably 50,000km+. No issues with the fabric, zippers, mattress, pull down loops, latches, struts, etc.
- Seems to do a good job keeping heat in when you want it to and with all the window options (and fan) keeping it cool when you want that too.
- Zero real issues. The edging that goes around the upper shell is starting to come off... however some glue will fix that. And aside from that and a few scratches from taking this on the trail... it functions and looks and feels exactly how it did when I bought it 7 summers ago. Now I do not use it a ton... maybe 20-45 nights a year (usually closer to 25/30 most summers), and when it's not being used the trailer (and tent) is stored inside. But given all the roads it's bounced down every time I've taken it on my summer vacation (7,000km+ trips almost every summer), for it to still function perfectly is something I'm impressed with. It wasn't cheap... but 7 years later I'm still extremely happy with it. The bitches (and I think there's a few legitimate ones there) are big picture... very minor and easily correctable. The only one I've kind of resorted myself to having to live with is the no awning/rain cover to enter/exit.... which while annoying isn't the end of the world given that I'm not experiencing regular monsoons.
Conclusion... I'd buy it again. I might try a different model so that I could get the tunnel on the right side (passenger side for me), but I wouldn't hesitate to buy another James Baroud product.
Last edited:
greg.potter
Adventurer
After owning my JB for 7 or 8 years the only upgrade that I am planning is an awning. The "tunnel" option isn't quite what I am looking for. Planning on using track and fabric from Sailrite (link below) or something similar. I would have done it already but ...... competing priorities - you know. I haven't checked around locally but it's probable that I might be able to source these tracks and fabric locally from a local RV or awning supplier if I made a few phone calls.
www.sailrite.com
Awning Track Aluminum 48"
DetailsAwning Track Aluminum is a polished anodized aluminum awning track designed to secure fabric to a hard surface. This aluminum awning track is very strong and bends only over a very large radius. Install by drilling holes for screws every 4–12 inches through the center of the track with at...
www.sailrite.com
After owning my JB for 7 or 8 years the only upgrade that I am planning is an awning. The "tunnel" option isn't quite what I am looking for. Planning on using track and fabric from Sailrite (link below) or something similar. I would have done it already but ...... competing priorities - you know. I haven't checked around locally but it's probable that I might be able to source these tracks and fabric locally from a local RV or awning supplier if I made a few phone calls.
Awning Track Aluminum 48"
DetailsAwning Track Aluminum is a polished anodized aluminum awning track designed to secure fabric to a hard surface. This aluminum awning track is very strong and bends only over a very large radius. Install by drilling holes for screws every 4–12 inches through the center of the track with at...
Looks like a great idea!
In an ideal world we could get something a little more integrated... but at this point just having the option of something would be great. Please post up whatever you find/do, as having some kind of solution to this would be great, even if it's not used 90% of the time... just having an option for those weekends when you know it's going to rain would be nice.
greg.potter
Adventurer
An upgrade that I would highly recommend for your JB RTT, or any other pop-up hard shelled RTT for that matter.
www.expeditionportal.com
Sure-Fire Ways to Improve Your Roof Top Tent
Who all makes a shoe bag for the RTTs. The Yakima and Tepui look good. Any others? Compact camping concepts sells a shoe hammock that works pretty good. Compact camping concepts
www.expeditionportal.com
Last edited:
concretejungle
Adventurer
haha I TOTALLY agree with you about the velcro at the bottom! I think that's a poor design. Yes it's strong but still I do not like it. I also think the vent fan is almost worthless. It probably keeps the moisture from your breath down but it would be nice to really move some air.
My other gripe is the gas struts are super strong. It still takes a lot of effort to close it down. I do believe the newer models don't have this problem, but my older model does.
On the good side, the fabric is still holding up very well, still extremely waterproof, holds up extremely well in windy situations and set's up very quickly. I actually sleep great in the tent.
My other gripe is the gas struts are super strong. It still takes a lot of effort to close it down. I do believe the newer models don't have this problem, but my older model does.
On the good side, the fabric is still holding up very well, still extremely waterproof, holds up extremely well in windy situations and set's up very quickly. I actually sleep great in the tent.
I find that if the main rear flap is closed and the little flap over your face is opened that the vent/fan will pull air (usually) from that little vent over your face and out via the fan. It's not great and I really wish it were bigger, but it does on occasion work rather well. It's just that if it's really hot and you have a ton of the flaps down (to get the wind - whatever there is - going through it) that the fan is at that point completely useless. Below is a link to the fan that I bought. Has made a big difference... when it's really hot out, which living up here (Northern Canada) doesn't happen that often. But I just clip this onto the mesh shelf/webing and aim it at my face.
https://amzn.to/3h9O8au