Gazelle T4 Tent Review

[No Known Boundaries]

Gazelle T4 Tent Review (The Good, The Bad, The Ugly) — No Known Boundaries

What works? What doesn't? What's funky? Is it worth it?

www.noknownboundaries.com

I know plenty of you have come across this tent over the last year or two. I bought one earlier this year, and have had ups and downs, and decided it was time to share that all. If you're on the fence on this tent, give this a read first. This will cover all that's good, all that's bad, and all that's annoying, as well as what situations it'll work best for.

Cheers, all.

 

[North American Sojourner]

This tent has grown into a movement in and of itself. LOL. Just like the flying saucer cooking tower, any negative reviews would be, or could be hazardous to your health...ahahahahahahha.
For the money, both of these things are entirely too expensive for what they do and what they provide. But this is the way of our hobby at the moment. If you have the resources, go for it.
I don't.
Zim

 

[OverLamb24]

I try to amortize the cost per popup. The more pops the cheaper it gets. Not to mention they have greatly lowered the amount of money I put into the curse jar over our old large pole tent.

 

[Speric]

I've had this tent for about a year, and don't disagree with your review. Those stakes are terrible unless you get the "Overland Edition" stakes or something similar. I also learned about the collapsing walls the hard way, but once staked, they held up to 60mph gusts at the coast. That said, it's the best tent I've had so far. My previous tent was a Sierra Designs tent. Was find just not tall enough and a pain to set-up, and before that a North Face backpacking tent, which was great when I was in my 20's and didn't mind crawling in and out of it. All sleeping systems have their pros and cons, and for me, I know the pros definitely out weigh the cons compared to any other system. RTT - no way am I climbing up and down a ladder, and I don't have room to sleep in my vehicle = ground tent is the way to go and this checks all the right boxes.

 

[davorama]

Have both the t4 gazelle and a SB rtt and love them both! I can buy 4 gazelles for what one rtt tent costs and I’ve used them both for half a dozen times each. I feel like the gazelle offers the big advantage of setting up a home base which was really useful last month in Moab on BLM land in popular areas when you want to leave camp. Definitely utilized the overland style stakes when we had forty mile gusts and rain for literally half the night! … no leaks whatsoever. So much easier to deal with then my other large tents from north face and seirra designs .

 

[No Known Boundaries]

This tent has grown into a movement in and of itself. LOL. Just like the flying saucer cooking tower, any negative reviews would be, or could be hazardous to your health...ahahahahahahha.
For the money, both of these things are entirely too expensive for what they do and what they provide. But this is the way of our hobby at the moment. If you have the resources, go for it.
I don't.
Zim

Oh boy, don't get me started on the skottle. This tent is essentially my last try at ground tenting. But this year has made it clear that with the 50-75 nights plus I put in each year, and the distance/time of my summer holiday trips (4-10 nights each), that it's time to bite the bullet on the hardshell roof tent. I left this tent at home for both Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, opting to sleep in the truck again, along with probably a dozen random weekends spent in the truck too. It's decent to good, but ground tents are just not gonna work for me anymore.

GFC offering the Superlite at 1/3 of the competition's price, and half their weight makes it almost stupid not to finally pull the trigger for my needs.

Have both the t4 gazelle and a SB rtt and love them both! I can buy 4 gazelles for what one rtt tent costs and I’ve used them both for half a dozen times each. I feel like the gazelle offers the big advantage of setting up a home base which was really useful last month in Moab on BLM land in popular areas when you want to leave camp. Definitely utilized the overland style stakes when we had forty mile gusts and rain for literally half the night! … no leaks whatsoever. So much easier to deal with then my other large tents from north face and seirra designs .

The lower cost of ground tents or building platforms is certainly appealing, but as some point in the matrix, the speed & efficiency of a roof tent make it damn near essential for long-distance, long-term trips involving daily setup/teardown. Finding the right tool for your job is the crux of the buyer's dilemma.

 

[OverLamb24]

This tent has grown into a movement in and of itself. LOL. Just like the flying saucer cooking tower, any negative reviews would be, or could be hazardous to your health...ahahahahahahha.
For the money, both of these things are entirely too expensive for what they do and what they provide. But this is the way of our hobby at the moment. If you have the resources, go for it.
I don't.
Zim

Oh boy, don't get me started on the skottle. This tent is essentially my last try at ground tenting. But this year has made it clear that with the 50-75 nights plus I put in each year, and the distance/time of my summer holiday trips (4-10 nights each), that it's time to bite the bullet on the hardshell roof tent. I left this tent at home for both Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, opting to sleep in the truck again, along with probably a dozen random weekends spent in the truck too. It's decent to good, but ground tents are just not gonna work for me anymore.

GFC offering the Superlite at 1/3 of the competition's price, and half their weight makes it almost stupid not to finally pull the trigger for my needs.

Have both the t4 gazelle and a SB rtt and love them both! I can buy 4 gazelles for what one rtt tent costs and I’ve used them both for half a dozen times each. I feel like the gazelle offers the big advantage of setting up a home base which was really useful last month in Moab on BLM land in popular areas when you want to leave camp. Definitely utilized the overland style stakes when we had forty mile gusts and rain for literally half the night! … no leaks whatsoever. So much easier to deal with then my other large tents from north face and seirra designs .

The lower cost of ground tents or building platforms is certainly appealing, but as some point in the matrix, the speed & efficiency of a roof tent make it damn near essential for long-distance, long-term trips involving daily setup/teardown. Finding the right tool for your job is the crux of the buyer's dilemma.

Until you cant fit everyone in your rig in that RTT or inside your vehicle.Each tool has a time, place, use. Everyone has different needs which is why there are so many options.

 

[North American Sojourner]

Oh boy, don't get me started on the skottle. This tent is essentially my last try at ground tenting. But this year has made it clear that with the 50-75 nights plus I put in each year, and the distance/time of my summer holiday trips (4-10 nights each), that it's time to bite the bullet on the hardshell roof tent. I left this tent at home for both Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, opting to sleep in the truck again, along with probably a dozen random weekends spent in the truck too. It's decent to good, but ground tents are just not gonna work for me anymore.

GFC offering the Superlite at 1/3 of the competition's price, and half their weight makes it almost stupid not to finally pull the trigger for my needs.



The lower cost of ground tents or building platforms is certainly appealing, but as some point in the matrix, the speed & efficiency of a roof tent make it damn near essential for long-distance, long-term trips involving daily setup/teardown. Finding the right tool for your job is the crux of the buyer's dilemma.

LOL...I'm glad we all can have some fun with this. When I was on duty in Germany I bought a $300 North Face Bivi tent and was embarrassed I only used it once. Only through years of outdoor fun have I learned the difference between a mess kit, and a $650 mistake..ahahahahaha. I watched a Youtube video of a very very popular overlanding crew using the skottle thing and frankly I'd be on the floor of my truck jamming down potato chips and slim jim's. LOL. That food looked like hammered goat shit.
Seriously to each their own and the tent is pretty cool looking. I use a $50 Ozark that stood it's ground in 35mph driven rain and held like a champ.....at least once.
and..I'll take my old coleman stove any day and cook the ass off anyone except my better half, .......ah and her mom.....maybe her sister too. LMAO
Zim

 

[No Known Boundaries]

LOL...I'm glad we all can have some fun with this. When I was on duty in Germany I bought a $300 North Face Bivi tent and was embarrassed I only used it once. Only through years of outdoor fun have I learned the difference between a mess kit, and a $650 mistake..ahahahahaha. I watched a Youtube video of a very very popular overlanding crew using the skottle thing and frankly I'd be on the floor of my truck jamming down potato chips and slim jim's. LOL. That food looked like hammered goat shit.
Seriously to each their own and the tent is pretty cool looking. I use a $50 Ozark that stood it's ground in 35mph driven rain and held like a champ.....at least once.
and..I'll take my old coleman stove any day and cook the ass off anyone except my better half, .......ah and her mom.....maybe her sister too. LMAO
Zim

lmaooooooo, we always use 'hammered dog shit' round here. Love to see the little peculiarities between regions and whatnot.

But yeah. I've used the same $60 Coleman stove for a dozen years now. It replaced the old twenty year old dual fuel I had previously that seemed to have vanished somewhere...I have always avoided spending stupid amounts of money on the latest trend just because popular or conventional wisdom have said to do so. I try to always find an equally or more efficient solution that can be home built or sourced elsewhere. For the last five years of my overlanding experience, I've gotten away with primarily using a sleeping platform in the FJC, and just laying out in the back of the Chevys.

I'd love to continue just doing that, but there are some major efficiency and logistical problems that have arisen over the years. So while it's time for me to move on, I do still value the K.I.S.S. principle and would always suggest people start simple until they really learn what they need/want. We've had a few guys run with us that bought $1500+ roof tents and barely use them. One guy bought a $3K iKamper and I think has put in like less than ten nights total over YEARS. I hate to see people get sold this "keeping up with the Joneses" BS. In fact, I wrote a piece about that a while back too.

You (Probably) Don't Need That Shit — No Known Boundaries

“The real shame is that this keeping-up-with-the-Joneses attitude that’s pushed these days sets unrealistic and or unnecessary standards for people who just want to do cool shit in their vehicles.”

www.noknownboundaries.com

 

[North American Sojourner]

lmaooooooo, we always use 'hammered dog shit' round here. Love to see the little peculiarities between regions and whatnot.

But yeah. I've used the same $60 Coleman stove for a dozen years now. It replaced the old twenty year old dual fuel I had previously that seemed to have vanished somewhere...I have always avoided spending stupid amounts of money on the latest trend just because popular or conventional wisdom have said to do so. I try to always find an equally or more efficient solution that can be home built or sourced elsewhere. For the last five years of my overlanding experience, I've gotten away with primarily using a sleeping platform in the FJC, and just laying out in the back of the Chevys.

I'd love to continue just doing that, but there are some major efficiency and logistical problems that have arisen over the years. So while it's time for me to move on, I do still value the K.I.S.S. principle and would always suggest people start simple until they really learn what they need/want. We've had a few guys run with us that bought $1500+ roof tents and barely use them. One guy bought a $3K iKamper and I think has put in like less than ten nights total over YEARS. I hate to see people get sold this "keeping up with the Joneses" BS. In fact, I wrote a piece about that a while back too.

You (Probably) Don't Need That Shit — No Known Boundaries

“The real shame is that this keeping-up-with-the-Joneses attitude that’s pushed these days sets unrealistic and or unnecessary standards for people who just want to do cool shit in their vehicles.”

www.noknownboundaries.com

Did not know the "hammered" expression until the early 80's and the Navy. Stuck with me from there on.
There is a all aluminum stove that looks really nice. Those folks on the lifestyle overland channel have one and she really knows how to cook on it. Don't think I'll ever spend the money but I'm a sucker for aluminum/sheet metal folded into something useful.
We're actually going to calm down this thing and buy a pull behind next year. I'm getting into my twilight years and hanging onto cliffs and skiing down triple blacks (lie, lie, lie) are a little harder to reach.
The tent thing served us well this year but we'd like to have a base camp vehicle and explore out from there. Packing up is work, and I'm retired LMAO
I have really enjoyed this discussion tho, and thank you for that. I can be a little hard to understand sometimes but it's great to know some folks out there are on the same thought path.....which is sometimes dangerous ahahahahahahahahhaa
Zim

 

[No Known Boundaries]

Did not know the "hammered" expression until the early 80's and the Navy. Stuck with me from there on.
There is a all aluminum stove that looks really nice. Those folks on the lifestyle overland channel have one and she really knows how to cook on it. Don't think I'll ever spend the money but I'm a sucker for aluminum/sheet metal folded into something useful.
We're actually going to calm down this thing and buy a pull behind next year. I'm getting into my twilight years and hanging onto cliffs and skiing down triple blacks (lie, lie, lie) are a little harder to reach.
The tent thing served us well this year but we'd like to have a base camp vehicle and explore out from there. Packing up is work, and I'm retired LMAO
I have really enjoyed this discussion tho, and thank you for that. I can be a little hard to understand sometimes but it's great to know some folks out there are on the same thought path.....which is sometimes dangerous ahahahahahahahahhaa
Zim

Likewise, Dave. Cheers.

I do like the trailer/towable solution for base camping. Pencil me in as jealous.

 

[dirtnsmores]

Honestly... I've gone back and forth from tent camping and sleeping in the back of my truck, and this tent takes the cake if you need to leave camp but want to secure your base camp so someone else doesn't take the area (primitive camping/overlanding).

I wrote a review: Gazelle Tent Review: one of the easiest camping tents I have ever setup

Make sure to stake it down in high winds. We actually bought a pop up trailer awhile ago and have used that quite a bit, but my kids are now asking to take the tent instead because they miss looking up at the stars. Only thing is... when it's in the bag it's kind of bulky. But that's fine if you have the space for it.

 

[Tactical Pizza]

We like ours, but it absolutely is a compromise just as anything your chose would be.

SUPER fast to setup & put away. If we are only spending a few hours in the tent and moving on that makes a HUGE difference.

I cant tell you how many late nights in the dark I tried setting up kids tents and adult tent ... 2 of these are up in minutes and I'm asleep inside quickly.​

Fitting this back into the bag early in the AM when you're trying to pack up quickly and quietly ... yeah, this get that done easily.​

​

They are HUGE inside ... and out.

Coming from a backpackers tent it was amazing to have all the space.​

Coming from a backpackers tent fitting it in my LC200 was interesting. It fits sideways in the cargo area directly behind the rear seats (I have an ARB drawer system and cargo barrier).​

I wouldn't want to hike these very far, they aren't heavy, but they aren't light either.​

The OEM tent stakes are awful. I bent multiple, and couldn't get them out of the ground more often than could.

I changed to the $0.99 Coleman giant steel nail stakes. They are heavy, but they work. They are easy to get into the ground and easy to get out.​

The frame is strong ... the material is thin.

The material works, no doubt about it. The zippers have held up, and there isn't a problem with the fabric, but it doesn't handle abrasion well. Is it a stronger material than a super-light backpackers tent? Absolutely! Is it stronger material than a military canvas tent? No. Is it a good balance of weight and strength? I'd say it's better than the Coleman standard.​

*Coleman standard- that level of quality that is dead set in the middle. It's not the super awesome high dollar space age material, and it's not the no name fragile (it's Italian!) material that just doesn't last. It's right in the middle. Anyone whom has owned a Coleman product knows what this is. You can depend on it, but you aren't going to impress your friends with it.​

Ventilation and heat control is strong with this.

The amount of ventilation and ability to tailor it to the environment is awesome. I have yet to experience an awful night in the heat.​

In the cold (sub 30*F) I prefer a dedicated winter tent, but with the proper sleep system the tent provided a safe enclosed place to sleep. If I was winter camping all the time I would choose something different. If I was traveling through an area and had to spend a few cold nights in this tent I wouldn't think twice about using it.​

Now the all important question: When it finally wears out, would I buy another one?
Answer: Yes. I don't need one right now but I'm considering buying one just to keep on hand for when "it's time".

 

[oldsoldier181]

I have had several of these over the years. In fact, just this week, we did a long weekend up in VT (the Pilgrimage) where we base camped, and went wheeling each day. We currently use a T4 Plus. Which is HUGE. We have been using that for a couple years now but, after last weekend, decided to "downgrade". Let me explain.
The footprint of the T4 Plus is about the same as my Tacoma. Both in length and width. In a campground, this isnt an issue. But, offroad, it could be. Having the front vestibule is a plus in inclement weather (or if you have kids, or pets, or both). The front vestibule allowed us to sit and relax during a torrential entire day rain storm, that ultimately caused flash flooding issues on the river we were set up next to.
As with all the other Gazelle's, staking this out is clutch to in not collapsing on you at the most inopportune time. It takes MAYBE a couple minutes to do. Better to do it while you are setting up, rather than at 3 AM with a collapsed wall.
As to the size of it-the T4 plus is the same as the T4, x2, with the front vestibule. Getting into the plus model is easier, with the true vertical doors. The only issues we had-and these are personal ones-is the bulk, and the weight. I put this on top of the truck, on a rack. But I think it weighs 60ish lbs-not easy to manhandle to the roof. The T4, which I just ordered today, after selling the plus, will be MUCH lighter to handle.
I agree that a daily set up and take down could become monotonous. But, the way I look at it, I am rarely in a rush when camping. Barring trying to beat the weather, I dont care if it take 5 more minutes than a RTT-er.
The only REAL issue with ground tents in general, is finding relatively flat ground. However, using cots-which we do-mitigates this to a point where, so long as the angle isnt too steep, we are OK.

Plus for the Gazelle tents:
-ease of setup
-simplicity
-weather resistance (I have yet to have a leak in over 3 years in these tents)
-visibility (on clear nights, having the rain fly off is nice)
-rugged floor

Minus for the Gazelle tents
-cost (but, I have seen these on sale more often than not, making them more affordable)
-size (these do NOT pack down small)
-weight (honestly, this is subjective, and model dependent)
-repairability (if you tear an actual wall, I am not sure how well a patch will hold, due to the tension of the fabric. Which could lead to water intrusion)

We discussed a RTT before, but decided against it. We are getting older, and ladders arent really our friends. Having to use the bathroom a couple times a night, just doesnt seem like fun climbing down ladders. You cannot stand up to get dressed. You cannot sit in the RTT in inclement weather, and play cards (certainly not with other guests). Also, we have heard from more than one ex RTT-er, that, on windy nights, being in a RTT, you rock CONSTANTLY, as you are pretty much an elevated sail. Thats not conducive to a good nights sleep. Pic attached for clarity what we WERE using (the T4 Plus)

Once we move on from tents, it will be to a trailer. And, thats about a decade out. Until then, we shall remain ground dwellers.

 

[Jeep'n It Simple]

Bought my T4, three years ago, best tent I have every owned. When solo toss in my queen air mattress, folding chair, small table able to get up on cold mornings, kick on the heater and stand up to get dressed. Was out in Death Valley with 40+ mph winds last spring, staking out the walls is the secret. Once in a while I think about getting an RTT, but then I add up the $$$ and go out to the garage to look at my T4 and remind myself "it's paid for". Respect all of the folks with RTT's but at my age (70) having something I can walk into and stretch in the morning is a joy. Does not matter how you do it, just get out and do it.

 

[Kevin108]

I really want to try one of these, but I have no idea where I'd put a muddy, rain-soaked Gazelle in my rig when breaking down in a storm.

 

[dirtnsmores]

I really want to try one of these, but I have no idea where I'd put a muddy, rain-soaked Gazelle in my rig when breaking down in a storm.

It has a nice bag. Your tarp underneath can go in a trash bag. Can't worry about such things in this hobby

 

[Kevin108]

I really want to try one of these, but I have no idea where I'd put a muddy, rain-soaked Gazelle in my rig when breaking down in a storm.

It has a nice bag. Your tarp underneath can go in a trash bag. Can't worry about such things in this hobby

With the rooftop tent, I sure don't. Guess I'll stick with that.

 

[dirtnsmores]

With the rooftop tent, I sure don't. Guess I'll stick with that.

Hi 5