Tight Travellers

We go on about travelling on a budget, yet we just spent £1295 on a roof tent. Doesn’t seem very budget friendly does it?

Well you’d be right, but also wrong.

We wanted to plan another road trip around Europe, and Norway looked reyt good. After looking on’t tinterweb, we found the right to roam law. Which basically means you can camp wherever you want for free. Now that sounds like a way to save a few quid!

We thought about getting a cheaper, normal ground tent. After seeing the Tentbox, we realised something. If we bought this, we wouldn’t have to go through six weeks of faffing. We could avoid dealing with tent poles and pegs.

We decided to get the Tentbox lite 2.0 which was the most budget friendly option. This style does not come with the fancy hydraulic system. It does take slightly longer to put up than the classic or the cargo. But you can hardly complain about a 2 minute set up time.

Pro’s of the Tentbox

The Tentbox can be put up and down in 2 minutes, as we do not have to do the faffing mentioned above. The set up is quick. The mattress is built in. All that’s left to do is put your pillows and your duvet in.

The mattress is dual-layer for added comfort. Of course this is better that sleeping on a gradually deflating air bed on the hard ground. We think so anyway. This also means you’re further away from wet puddles and creepy crawlies.

The Tentbox is compact, and lite, and does not take up that extra room in your car. Just on top of it.

We maybe slightly biased, but we think the Tentbox also looks the bollocks compared to a ground tent. Especially in the slate blue we have.

Con’s of the Tentbox

One of the main disadvantages is the price. It is a large chunk of money to spend at one time. Lucky for you we have a discount code for anyone looking to buy one. (Drop us a message if you’re interested). They also have great resell value and can easily claw most of your money back.

Imagine you have found the perfect camping spot, beautiful scenery, quiet and free. But it is not in a car friendly place. Well then you won’t be able to go with your Tentbox. This does limit where you can camp. Depending what you’re wanting to get out of your trip, this may not be an issue. Arguably not the worst con though as you can get your car into some bloody stunning spots.

It is hard to just nip out in the car when you’re parked up at your camp spot with the tent set up. Putting the tent down and then later back up is still a pain, even if it does only take 2 minutes. Best way to avoid this is by doing everything you want to do before you set up the tent. Or park up within walking distance.

The tentbox was the perfect option for our 6 week trip around Norway. It survived some brutal wind and rain, but also ventilated well on those few hot days. We stayed in some stunning wild camp spots, some we would have not been able to with a ground tent.