Roofnest’s Falcon aluminum hard shell roof top tent is a worthwhile consideration for vehicle-based and overland adventures

I found myself, along with my daughter, Lilly, and a few friends in the mountains of southern Utah. We have been adventuring for the past nine days through the wilds of southern Utah and northern Arizona. I felt tired. A tired I earned from exploring countless canyons, hiking tight slot canyons, discovering natural wonders, and escaping a massive wildfire. Yep, a good tired. But, I quickly remind myself of the reality at hand.

“Dad, is the tent ready? I’m tired.” Lilly asked while she warmed by the campfire.
“Yeah Dad, get on it!” My good friend, Shane, shouted from the peanut gallery.
“Whoops, not yet. Give me a few minutes.” I responded while walking to the back of my Land Cruiser 200 Series.

Two latches, a little push, and the tent was ready. I lied. It took seconds, not minutes to setup our sleeping accommodations for the night, thanks to the Roofnest Falcon tent.

In the last five years, the rooftop tent scene has exploded in the United States.  Tents can be spotted on Subarus, trucks, Mini Coopers, SUVs, and anything else with four wheels. Rooftop tents fall into two categories, soft and hard shell. The soft shell tents are made by numerous manufacturers, offer many different sizes, and enclose with a soft cover. Hard shell tents are different. They are made by fewer manufacturers, offer limited size options, and boast the speediest setup and take down times. Lucky for me, I got to experience the Roofnest Falcon aluminum hard shell tent in the wilds of southern Utah and northern Arizona. A good proving ground—in my opinion.

We found a dispersed site outside Capital Reef National Park and watched Mother Nature’s show overhead. A massive cold front descended from the north into southern Utah. Temperatures were forecast to drop 30-40 degrees. I unlocked the two stainless steel latches on the tent and popped it open in a matter of seconds with the help of two powerful, attached gas struts. The ability to setup this tent in such a short amount of time is certainly appealing. Who wants to spend a great deal of time erecting a tent? Not me. I returned to the warmth of the fire and watched the sun’s rays “dance” off the towering sandstone walls in the distance.

The Roofnest Falcon comes in two sizes, regular and extra large versions. I chose the regular version, 50” wide, which mounted onto my Front Runner Slimline II Roof Rack without any issues. The fit was perfect. The XL Version is roughly 10 inches wider to accommodate three people. Inside, I found a nearly three inch thick mattress on top of a lattice condensation mat. This tent is a clamshell variation. The tall side provides an enormous amount of headroom. At 6’2” in height, I could sit upright in it and work on my computer without any issue. The mattress is soft and comfortable at nearly 3” thick. The roof is made from honeycomb aluminum, and a mesh net is fastened inside to hold miscellaneous items including pillows and jackets.

By the time the fire diminished to embers, it was time to recline for the night. The wind howled as I climbed the ladder, dreading the noise of the tent flapping all night. Fortunately this wasn’t the case with the Falcon. We had parked facing the wind, in order to let the clamshell design break the wind as it cascaded from the Boulder Mountains. The following morning, we awoke refreshed after a great night’s sleep. With an aluminum top, we heard no tent flapping which was a nice surprise.

Closing the Roofnest Falcon is a breeze. A nice bungee strap wraps around the tent to “suck in” the fabric allowing the material to fold securely. Lilly and I were able to store two, 850 down-filled summer bags inside. The one drawback that I see is if you desire storing extra bedding inside the tent, it might not shut. This is a negative for me as the interior cargo space of my vehicle is limited and bedding, pillows, etc take up valuable space. The massive draw cord attached to the roof of the tent needed only one good pull to collapse the tent. After fastening two latches we were on the road again.

Driving down the Notom-Bullfrog Road, I noticed very little noise coming from the tent itself. Obviously, anything on one’s roof rack causes some air resistance and noise. However, Lilly and I conversed without any noticeable noise. The Roofnest Falcon is roughly six and half inches tall, so air resistance is minimal. Some soft shell models are double the height of the Falcon which is a cost-benefit as the extra height allows for storage of bedding, etc. That said, the Falcon was quiet and secure as we rolled south, ready for our next adventure.

After we arrived at the trailhead, I grabbed our gear bag on top of the Falcon. The Falcon comes with optional roof-mounted crossbars to allow the adventurer to carry gear, bikes, firewood, etc. on top. This feature allowed me to carry two gear bags with ease, especially since the Falcon covered my entire roof rack, a major downside to the other hard shell variation rooftop tents. Not anymore! The bars sit roughly one inch above the Falcon’s roof. They are easily attached via the integrated channels alongside its roof and can support up to 100lbs. In this capacity, the Falcon tent also acts like a roof rack!

We accomplished our hike and returned to the trailhead as the sun set behind the colorful landscape of Capital Reef National Park. We chatted and laughed about the day’s events. Before we knew it, I needed to get camp setup. I wasn’t worried. I would only need a few seconds. The Roofnest Falcon proved itself to be a well-engineered tent worthy of consideration for your next overland adventure.

Likes
-Crazy-fast opening closing times
-Sleek and stylish design
-Wind resistant when the clamshell is faced into the wind
-Comfy mattress
-Supportive and solidly constructed ladder

Dislikes
-Limited inside storage (for extra bedding, ladder, etc.)
-Flimsy organizational netting inside
-No interior lights

Learn more at www.roofnest.com

OutdoorX4 Magazine – Promoting responsible vehicle-based adventure travel and outdoors adventure