Enthusiast I
I purchased the RoofNest Sparrow XL in Nov 2020. It's a long story but I didn't receive it until almost February due to freight forwarder issues. It's a reputable freight company, so I won't ding RoofNest over it. To their credit, they were helpful in coordinating with the shipper.
The main structure of the tent (shell, pneumatic elbows, tent material) seem to be of good build quality. But it seems they've cut corners on minor components. This makes me concerned about the durability of the tent overall in environments where I depend on it. I'm curious to hear feedback from others on their experience with durability in actual use.
The first example is the mattress cover. The zipper is really sticky and seems low quality. I've had the zipper halves open in the middle more than once. I would have expected YKK zippers all around on a $3K tent.
The second example is the mattress itself. My first mattress cover had a manufacturing defect in the fabric itself and to their credit, RoofNest quickly replaced it. The issue came while pulling the replacement cover over the mattress. The mattress foam kept tearing whenever I tugged on it while working the new cover over it. I've replaced the upholstery foam in my couch at home and didn't experience the foam tearing just by trying to work the cushion cover over it. It almost seemed as though the mattress foam was ... dried out? I reached out to them to replace the mattress but have not gotten a response.
The third issue I experienced was the stitching popping open on the replacement cover. Turns out the mattress cover is single-stitched. Again, not something I would expect in a $3K tent.
The fourth example is the hooks/clips for the internal bungee straps which help pull the fabric into the tent while closing the shell. To provide vertical space inside the tent without the bungee cords getting in the way, you must disengage the cords from the rings sewn into the tent fabric. When you compress the clip tongue to disengage it from the ring, the plastic tongue snaps off easily (this was on a warm day of about 55 deg F). It appears the retaining rings themselves are made of the same plastic. I'm concerned how they will hold up in more extreme temperatures (whether hot or cold).
In summary, the major tent components seem rugged but it seems corners have been cut. I own a no-name brand ground tent that I purchased new for $98 over ten years ago which has not experienced the number of minor, irritating quality issues that I've experienced with my RoofNest. I really wanna be excited to go out and use it, but I'm getting gunshy.
The main structure of the tent (shell, pneumatic elbows, tent material) seem to be of good build quality. But it seems they've cut corners on minor components. This makes me concerned about the durability of the tent overall in environments where I depend on it. I'm curious to hear feedback from others on their experience with durability in actual use.
The first example is the mattress cover. The zipper is really sticky and seems low quality. I've had the zipper halves open in the middle more than once. I would have expected YKK zippers all around on a $3K tent.
The second example is the mattress itself. My first mattress cover had a manufacturing defect in the fabric itself and to their credit, RoofNest quickly replaced it. The issue came while pulling the replacement cover over the mattress. The mattress foam kept tearing whenever I tugged on it while working the new cover over it. I've replaced the upholstery foam in my couch at home and didn't experience the foam tearing just by trying to work the cushion cover over it. It almost seemed as though the mattress foam was ... dried out? I reached out to them to replace the mattress but have not gotten a response.
The third issue I experienced was the stitching popping open on the replacement cover. Turns out the mattress cover is single-stitched. Again, not something I would expect in a $3K tent.
The fourth example is the hooks/clips for the internal bungee straps which help pull the fabric into the tent while closing the shell. To provide vertical space inside the tent without the bungee cords getting in the way, you must disengage the cords from the rings sewn into the tent fabric. When you compress the clip tongue to disengage it from the ring, the plastic tongue snaps off easily (this was on a warm day of about 55 deg F). It appears the retaining rings themselves are made of the same plastic. I'm concerned how they will hold up in more extreme temperatures (whether hot or cold).
In summary, the major tent components seem rugged but it seems corners have been cut. I own a no-name brand ground tent that I purchased new for $98 over ten years ago which has not experienced the number of minor, irritating quality issues that I've experienced with my RoofNest. I really wanna be excited to go out and use it, but I'm getting gunshy.
