Drifta Stockton Wild Land rooftop tent review

The battle to save weight on our 4x4 adventures is a never-ending one. For years I resisted the allure of a rooftop tent for several reasons: weight, ease of use, cost, or a combination of those.

The first generation of soft-tops were heavy, bulky and cumbersome to set up and pack down. The hard-shell generation solved the set-up issues, but still largely remained heavy and came with a hefty price tag to boot. Now we are starting to see another generation emerge and that’s a very exciting development for the adventurer.

The Wild Land unit is one of the first to solve all the above issues; it is lightweight, relatively inexpensive, simple to use and compact. I have had a 1.4 version mounted on my roof for five months now and it has seen about 15 nights of rain, three nights of snow and 10 nights of very high winds.

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I’m happy to report it has been a completely leak-free affair, not a single drop has entered my sleep space and it has been rigid, even during extreme gusts.

The only time I’ve had moisture inside was after a wet pack-down where I left the front opening unzipped a little to allow the air to escape as I closed the shell, allowing water to soak in.

It has also seen some balmy nights, but there is plenty of ventilation available once you unzip the sides.

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"It has been a completely leak-free affair, not a single drop has entered my sleep space"

As for road noise, it has been pretty good; it’s actually quieter than my old roof rack, but you may experience different results depending on your vehicle airflow.

The only negative I have found is rising cold; I could feel my body warmth disappear underneath me. I easily resolved this by adding a base layer of insulated builder’s sarking, about 3mm thick. It worked perfectly, added barely any weight and took up no room as it lives there now underneath the mattress. In fairness though, this is an issue with any sleep system; it is critical to insulate yourself from the ground.

I opted for the upgrade mattress and have found it comfortable. I also added the large awning which clips over the tent opening and adds valuable cover below, plus the step ladder upgrade kit that makes climbing a lot more comfortable. Finally, I added the rooftop bars to mount my solar panel. The weight of the panel has made the gas struts a little slower, but it still opens easily.

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There are two models available: 1.2 and the 1.4. The 1.2 is suited to smaller vehicles, while the 1.4 is better suited for larger 4x4s and those that want a little extra room. Each will fit two adults.

The 1.2 refers to 1.2m width (internally), the external width is 1.3m, similarly the 1.4 is 1.4m internally (1.5m external width). Both versions are 160mm high and 2.2m long. Each unit comes with an inbuilt LED light strip overhead and two all-weather shoe storage bags.

As for weight, the 1.2 comes in at 57kg while the 1.4 is 64kg; pretty handy for roof load limits.

A Drifta Stockton free-standing 270-degree awning is also available to fit directly to the tent (hinge side), which is a very handy option.

AVAILABLE FROM: www.driftastockton.com.au
RRP: $2990 (1.2); $3190 (1.4)