Dwights vs Kiwi Camping tents

Forums › Travel (planes, train, cruise) › Dwights vs Kiwi Camping tents

arnies

525 posts

Ultimate Geek

#317562 26-Oct-2024 08:59

Looking at a tent for the summer, for 2 adults + a toddler and maybe a dog.

The two I'm comparing are the Kiwi Camping Takahe 6, and the Dwights Discovery 6.

https://www.equipoutdoors.co.nz/kiwi-camping-takahe-6

https://dwights.co.nz/products/discovery-6

Does anyone have any thoughts on either of these tents or the brands? The Dwights is 'blackout' which might be useful with a toddler but it $100 more expensive

lachlanw

156 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3301704 26-Oct-2024 09:58

Blackout fabrics are good in theory but tend to suffer from delamination
over time.

Backblaze

Backblaze Unlimited Backup. World’s easiest cloud backup. Get peace of mind knowing your files are backed up securely in the cloud (affiliate link).

nova

242 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#3301739 26-Oct-2024 11:37

We had a Takahe 6 for about 10 years, and were quite happy with it. The quality of the fly was quite good. We did start to get problems with poles breaking towards the end, might have just been bad luck, as it was quite a strong wind storm that did it, but I do feel that poles were getting weaker with age. Having said that, I doubt there would be much difference between the poles in the two tents you have posted, that style of pole is pretty par for the course at this price point.

Did you consider an air tent. This is what we currently have, and it is much easier and faster to put up, and as good a quality if not slightly better in my opinion:

https://www.torpedo7.co.nz/torpedo7-air-series-600-inflatable-tent-i022510-vallarta-blue

It is heavier, and you have to carry it all as one piece. With the other options you can carry the poles separately and so split the weight in half across two bags. And the poles won't break, but they might leak eventually so there are definitely trade-offs. But at $800 I think it is worth considering.

Handle9

11236 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3301782 26-Oct-2024 15:19

When we were in New Zealand we had a Discovery 6. It’s actually still sitting in the roof space of my New Zealand property.

We were very happy with it. We camped in some horrid weather and it coped with high winds really well. The double pole system is great and makes you feel very secure. We also sound Dwights great to deal with. I broke a pole somehow (my fault) and they sent us a new one from Wellington with no hassles.

If you have two kids bunks are great for giving a bit more room in the tent, we had the ends set up as our bedrooms and the middle as a store room/living room.

Handle9

11236 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3301846 26-Oct-2024 17:35

Actually it's not the discovery 6 I have it's the escape trio which is a bit bigger. The rest of my comments stand though.

Stu1

1724 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3301894 26-Oct-2024 22:00

Highly recommend Dwight’s been 6 years now on the Trio. The owners are local really good to deal with as well if any problems.

mrdrifter

572 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#3301908 26-Oct-2024 22:32

We had the Dwight's Discovery 6, or whatever the previous version was called. We had it for 11 years and only sold it to a friend last year when we moved to an air tent that we picked up for a bargain price. The Dwight's tent is actually more waterproof than the air tent and had a bit more room.

Most of the time we only ever used one set of poles, but in wild weather would use both sets and never had an issue. I would definitely consider the Dwight's if I was purchasing again.

Loismustdye

925 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#3302176 27-Oct-2024 20:39

We run a zempire exo txl for the 2 adults, 2 kids and occasional small dog. Brilliant.
Asides from a small design flaw with the aide entry doors when it rains its great.
Assembled in about 20 mins, and we have got the matching aerobase 3 air shelter that attaches to the front when sites allow for the size. To get the full use we did buy the additional awning set, roof cover and link connector to the aerobase.
After the myriad horror stories this last summer regarding leaking torpedo 7 air tents (torpedo7 refunded heaps of people) I would be cagey buying a new torpedo7 model personally

Stu1

1724 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Subscriber

#3302212 27-Oct-2024 23:23

Loismustdye: We run a zempire exo txl for the 2 adults, 2 kids and occasional small dog. Brilliant.
Asides from a small design flaw with the aide entry doors when it rains its great.
Assembled in about 20 mins, and we have got the matching aerobase 3 air shelter that attaches to the front when sites allow for the size. To get the full use we did buy the additional awning set, roof cover and link connector to the aerobase.
After the myriad horror stories this last summer regarding leaking torpedo 7 air tents (torpedo7 refunded heaps of people) I would be cagey buying a new torpedo7 model personally

They are really good looking tents, very popular these days. Only downside I could see is that you have to sleep on one area or can you seperate the area off? The beauty with the Dwight’s one is we put the kids together at one end and we are at the other the middle is for the fridge and pantry , we then attach the escapes shelter over the middle for a dining chill out area .If you can split the bedrooms then that would be amazing I really do like the look and design off them . Massive tent envy:)