C6 Outdoor has developed a tent that’s lightweight and designed with versatility in mind for use as a ground shelter or on top of your vehicle that’s comfortable and downright awesome!
Nature is not rigid. Rocks crumble, mountains fall, trees topple. Like the water that meanders about the map, everything is fluid. The secret to survival is adaptability, being able to change to fit the conditions as necessary. Humans have developed scores of ways to adapt to our environments while exploring: the clothes we wear, the shoes or boots on our feet, and the gear we use. Every once in a while, though, our gear adapts to the adventure with us. The Rev Tent from C6 Outdoor was designed to do just that.
C6 Outdoor co-founder Dave Payne and his team spent three years developing the Rev Tent system before bringing it to market. Three years of development, testing, re-development, and more testing spent to deliver a versatile, lightweight, durable, and comfortable tent that can be used anywhere you can set it up. Their design manifesto clearly notes how popular roof top tents have become and despite their popularity, innovation has generally been quite stagnant.
The Rev Tent has the thickest mattress on the market, at 4”, of any roof top tent and is the only ground tent with an actual mattress included as part of its system which is a significant consideration given tents are supposed to be a home away from home but little has been done to actually make a tent a truly comfortable living space. At a scant 25lbs/11.34kg for the tent itself without any of the myriad of options available to compliment it, setup is a breeze and can be accomplished in about 4-5 minutes. Once the Rev Tent is up, all you do is stake it to the ground, slide it into a truck bed, or onto any roof rack 84” or longer. It’s so easy even Grandma can do it.
When mated to the available Rev Platform X, (available in the Rev Roof Top Tent X package or separately if you already own a Rev tent and weighing 52lbs/24kg), you have a completely modular roof top tent system that weighs roughly 83lbs/38kg in total, significantly less than any roof top tent on the market. The complete system feels quite a bit lighter than its reality considering the design is purposeful, making it easy to get a grip on from every angle possible without feeling awkward or uneasy to carry, lift, or position. A telescoping aluminum ladder with rugged carrying case made of RipStop Polyester adds 11lbs/4.99kg to the complete system.
There are a lot of wins with the Rev Tent including its versatility. In the end, though, the biggest “W” is comfort. The internal mattress is comprised of a tri-layer 4” foam with a puffed quilted topper. I’m 44 years old and it’s been a rough ride. I’m beat, I’m tired, and I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in the outdoors since George W. Bush was President (no pun intended). That is, of course, until I slept in the Rev Tent. One of my first nights in the tent was camped along a desert mountain trail in southwestern Arizona. I set the tent up in the bed of my truck and climbed in shortly after dinner, when the very early spring nighttime temperatures had dipped below my comfort zone. I awoke when my watch alarm went off, with no memory of falling asleep, no tossing, no turning, no rolling from one side to the other. When I unzipped the door to have a look around the camp, the two ground tents occupied by my friends were nearly blown completely over by the wind that had been gusting in the 40+mph range all night. I had no idea it had gotten windy; I had slept through it all. And on top of that, the tent is designed to comfortably sleep two adults.
I’m a firm believer the gear we use must be versatile because our vehicles, while capable of carrying a lot of items, are still limited with space and cargo weight. With the Rev Tent, it’s all about versatility. The benefit of a roof top tent without the weight and the ability to use it on the ground at basecamp or at home in the backyard. The Rev Tent and its optional roof top tent X package take the cake as a fully-integrated camp solution.
If you just want a comfortable, rugged, easy to setup and lightweight tent that can be moved around and almost completely assembled by a seven-year-old (which I have witnessed) that won’t break the bank, C6 Outdoor’s Rev tent is your answer.
Likes:
– Comfort
– Portability
– Durability of design and construction
– Ease of use and storage
– Pricing starts at $599+
Dislikes:
– Rev Platform whistles like crazy while travelling more than 45mph. We have been told an optional Wind Deflector will be available soon for those vehicle shapes the Platform X doesn’t play nice with so this should resolve this issue.
To learn more about C6 Outdoor, the Rev tent system and more, go to www.c6outdoor.com.
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