Inflatable tents - any experience with these?

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jonathan18

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#247874 28-Feb-2019 09:34

We're looking at replacing our boys' cheap-as tent that's gone somewhat dodgy with an inflatable tent which, at 50% off , would cost a bit over $600; given my wife has an aversion to the idea of camping (having managed to avoid it her whole life) we're not wanting to spend too much. Equally, it doesn't have to be a tent that is built to survive huge downpours or hurricanes, as I know for sure my wife will always be (literally) a fair-weather camper!

The inflatable concept appeals to me due to the quick set-up time and that there aren't any poles to break or go dodgy (which is what happened to our cheap tent).

This is the specific tent here: https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/products/T7RTFN9CD/title/air-series-600

Has anyone here got experience (direct, indirect, read or heard stuff) about the quality and reliability of such tents? Or can recommend any particular models or brands of inflatable tents?

Thanks in advance.

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#2188618 28-Feb-2019 09:34

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#2188648 28-Feb-2019 10:02

I was blown away with them. Sorry Dad joke. I will sit in the corner for a while.......................

OK we are looking at importing a caravan that has a very cool inflatable awning which is light weight and looks like a breeze (oops pun) to set up. This appeals to me as it ikes like I will be able to put it up even in a chair.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

Klathman

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#2188649 28-Feb-2019 10:02

We've got one of these https://zempirecamping.com/delta-force and it's absolutely amazing. It's been up since mid December and so far we've been in it with 30km winds and it just doesn't move. Took us all of 10min to blow up off the car with a DC pump. Not bad for such a big tent.

I don't have any idea what the torpedo7 inflatables are like though. We stay well clear of non-canvas tents due to the UV deterioration and if you are planning to use it for any length of time then you need to be aware of this and ready to replace the tent regularly.

Bung

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#2188656 28-Feb-2019 10:12

I hope new inflatables are an improvement on the early ones. I remember lunch time in a camping ground punctuated by popping tents that had overheated in the sun and burst.

Jase2985

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#2188670 28-Feb-2019 10:29

they don't like high winds much (im talking storm winds here), they will just fold on them selves, but the bonus being air they just pop back up when the wind dies down.

they are pretty good.

allan

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#2188722 28-Feb-2019 11:30

My son has a large three-room inflatable tent, which he swears by and which has withstood some fairly windy conditions at Castlepoint that caused other campers to pack up and leave. I've not seen it being erected (pumped up), but collapsing it is pretty instantaneous.

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jonathan18

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#2188728 28-Feb-2019 11:33

Thanks for the feedback.

On the two other recent tent-related threads I read many positive things about Zempire tents, but canvas tents aren't an option for us, despite their longevity - too expensive and heavy; ours also won't be up enough for this UV matter to be a big issue!

I do see, however, that Zempire also make inflatables, eg https://zempire.co.nz/aerodome-ii-pro; these have a significant advantage over the Torpedo 7 models in that the quoted waterproofing is 10,000mm vs 3,000mm.

Does anyone know if Zempire tents ever come down significantly in sales?

Anyone have experiences with nylon inflatable tents?

jonathan18

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#2188729 28-Feb-2019 11:35

allan:

My son has a large three-room inflatable tent, which he swears by and which has withstood some fairly windy conditions at Castlepoint that caused other campers to pack up and leave. I've not seen it being erected (pumped up), but collapsing it is pretty instantaneous.

That's good to hear, especially that his tent seemed to cope so well in windy conditions. Any idea of the brand and/or model of the tent? Thanks.

allan

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#2188759 28-Feb-2019 12:38

jonathan18:

allan:

My son has a large three-room inflatable tent, which he swears by and which has withstood some fairly windy conditions at Castlepoint that caused other campers to pack up and leave. I've not seen it being erected (pumped up), but collapsing it is pretty instantaneous.

That's good to hear, especially that his tent seemed to cope so well in windy conditions. Any idea of the brand and/or model of the tent? Thanks.

I just checked with him. Zempire Aerodrome II - https://zempire.co.nz/aerodome-ii-pro. Don't think he paid anything like the current RRP though.

jonathan18

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#2188764 28-Feb-2019 12:41

allan:
Don't think he paid anything like the current RRP though.

Thanks for that; any idea where he purchased it from?! No-one seems to have them on special at the moment, but perhaps a matter of being patient...

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#2188778 28-Feb-2019 13:00

We have a Zempire Areodome II Pro, very happy with it. Got ours at the local Hunting and Fishing who were able to do a very good deal as we were buying some other things at the same time.

We did have to send our first one back due to a couple of small waterproofing issues, but they quickly replaced with a new tent.

We just use the supplied pump to inflate the tent, it is a game for the whole family, with the smallest helper starting out the pumping and working through the family when it gets more difficult towards the end.

Deflation is a breeze :)

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allan

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#2189291 1-Mar-2019 11:36

jonathan18:
allan:
Don't think he paid anything like the current RRP though.

Thanks for that; any idea where he purchased it from?! No-one seems to have them on special at the moment, but perhaps a matter of being patient...

Online, but he couldn't immediately recall through whom.

throbb

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#2189390 1-Mar-2019 13:17

Have both the 600 and the 500. So easy to setup and and take down, I had a 7 year old setup most of it in under 15min. Taking down is almost as quick.
Found them extremely stable in windy conditions, more so than a typical dome tent with poles. These stay up even if you dont use the guy ropes, I ended up only using 4 of the 12 or so and had no issues.

Also like that they are well ventilated, internal rooms configurable and plenty of entrances.

jonathan18

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#2189473 1-Mar-2019 15:12

throbb: Have both the 600 and the 500. So easy to setup and and take down, I had a 7 year old setup most of it in under 15min. Taking down is almost as quick.
Found them extremely stable in windy conditions, more so than a typical dome tent with poles. These stay up even if you dont use the guy ropes, I ended up only using 4 of the 12 or so and had no issues.

Also like that they are well ventilated, internal rooms configurable and plenty of entrances.

Great to hear from someone who owns the Torpedo 7 models, so thanks for the reply. Good to hear they're working well for you, which assuages many of my fears.

That said, I'm still thinking of the relative waterproofing - 3,000 mm for the T7 vs 10,000 mm for the Zempire ripstop inflatables; @throb: how have you found your tents in this regard?

We're likely to be using it only in summer (and only sparingly at that) , so perhaps I'm worrying too much about an uncommon occurrence; given I can save a decent amount, and given the expected use, I'm thinking the T7 will probably be adequate for our purposes... unless I can find a Zempire at a good discount that is!

Handsomedan

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#2189483 1-Mar-2019 15:26

jonathan18:

throbb: Have both the 600 and the 500. So easy to setup and and take down, I had a 7 year old setup most of it in under 15min. Taking down is almost as quick.
Found them extremely stable in windy conditions, more so than a typical dome tent with poles. These stay up even if you dont use the guy ropes, I ended up only using 4 of the 12 or so and had no issues.

Also like that they are well ventilated, internal rooms configurable and plenty of entrances.

Great to hear from someone who owns the Torpedo 7 models, so thanks for the reply. Good to hear they're working well for you, which assuages many of my fears.

That said, I'm still thinking of the relative waterproofing - 3,000 mm for the T7 vs 10,000 mm for the Zempire ripstop inflatables; @throb: how have you found your tents in this regard?

We're likely to be using it only in summer (and only sparingly at that) , so perhaps I'm worrying too much about an uncommon occurrence; given I can save a decent amount, and given the expected use, I'm thinking the T7 will probably be adequate for our purposes... unless I can find a Zempire at a good discount that is!

Waterproofing is all relative...ours (non-inflatable) gets used rarely, but has been in a couple of decent rainy days and not leaked and it wasn't rated particularly highly (can't remember the actual rating, but it was low).

We've never been wet, yet.

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