Upcoming trips and adventures:
Bentonville, AR: Rooftop Tent Pick-Up
In one week, I’ll head to Northwest Arkansas to pick up a rooftop tent from Free Spirit Recreation (FSR) in Springdale, AR. Then test out the new tent in Bentonville. I can’t wait. I considered a rooftop tent for years, and it never felt like the right fit, but now I believe it’s exactly what I need. I think the rooftop tent will help in two ways. First, I’m excited to try it, and I honestly think it will make short weekend camping trips easier and more fun. Second, I’m heading to Southern Colorado this summer to camp on raw land. I mean completely raw land, zero infrastructure. Yes, I can pitch a ground tent and survive, but the thought of being elevated eases my mind enough that I think the tent is well worth the price.
I’ve spent months reading and researching rooftop tents, and I truly believe I’ve picked the perfect tent for my needs. I wanted something light, but also suitable for harsh mountain winters. That’s why I went with FSR. The tent is pretty light at about 100lbs, and FSR uses its own synthetic tent material blend designed to handle winter better than the average tent. I almost went with Inspired Overland’s Carbonlite Rooftop Tent out in CA, but after watching several FSR video reviews, I decided FSR was best for my needs. FSR is also a much closer drive, and that played a part in my decision, since FSR is now headquartered in NW Arkansas.
It’s an easy drive up, and NW Arkansas is pretty nice this time of year. I still think the Carbonlite tent from Inspired Overland is very nice, and I’m sure it would have worked well for my needs. Their tent weighs only 80lbs, which is by far the lightest hard-shell rooftop tent I’ve come across. The three main factors that made me choose FSR were the winter-like material, the extra room when the tent is open, and the fact that it’s much closer for me to pick up myself. The FSR tent weighs about 20lbs more, but I decided I could handle the extra weight because of those three factors above.
I plan on taking several camping trips before the end of the year and will write about my experience in the FSR tent. This summer, I have several trips planned and will write about each adventure and how the FSR is holding up. I plan to put the tent through a lot this summer, so it will be interesting to see how well it holds up. It’s basically my home for the summer.
So stay tuned for those updates and stories.
Until next time,
jess