Why I didn't buy the Thule Outset foldable tent

At first, let’s make clear that I am a fan of the Thule brand, in fact, the width carriers on my Mini-Van that carry my rooftop-tent and awning are from Thule, and they are awesome and strong!! But in this article I will explain why I didn’t buy the Thule Outset foldable tent.

Thule has made a fold-out tent that you can place on the tow bar of your car.

Of course, there are also many fold-out roof tents, but not everyone is able to climb into a roof tent or get out of bed at night to go to the bathroom. And regular tents are not only a lot of hassle to set up, but you always place them on the grass, which can be wet, cold, damp and hard and where crawling insects can easily enter.

Thule has responded to this with this Thule Outset foldable tent. Because you can easily put it on and off your towbar on your own, and the built-in wheels make it very easy to move (once folded). When folded, it is a compact unit that can easily be placed in your storage room or garage.

Once you are on holiday, you unfold the tent completely and then disconnect it from the towbar, which ensures that you can use the car at your destination for shopping or trips, as the tent simply remains unfolded at the campsite.

In addition, the tent stands on legs, approximately 40cm from the ground, so you are much less bothered by rising cold, much fewer insects in the tent, and last but not least, the bottom of the tent does not become dirty due to sand, earth or (wet) grass and everything remains dry when it rains. That saves a lot of cleaning hassle at the end of your holiday or trip.

You can also fold the chassis completely and attach it to the folded tent and then place it completely in a kind of waterproof bag (you don't see that in the video below, but the man in the video explains it briefly).

Check the video of the Thule Outset (embed from the YouTube Account of miniCampers)

Are there also negatives?

Yes, first of all the price, 4,000 euro's…!!! Wow, that's seriously a lot of money, especially if you compare it with my (already pricey) rooftop-tent from Wildland that cost me 2,399 euro's.

Secondly, the legs are quite small and have little support. Especially if you sleep with two people in the tent, they will certainly sink in wet grass, which of course causes instability. It seems to me that you always have to put a large stone under it, and yes, that does mean that you have to take 4 very heavy stones with you on holiday...

This last point was personally the reason for me to ultimately choose a roof tent (in my case the Wildland Bush Cruiser 1.20). And with that I also saved another 1,600 euro's!!!

If you would like to know more about my rooftop-tent or the awning, creating content for your brand, my blogs, collaborations, advertizing possibilities or any other question, then please feel free to contact me!