A pop-up rooftop tent is a go-to for anyone who wants a low-effort outdoor sleeping solution for car camping. In this independent TentBox Classic review, Natalie gives us her opinion on how it holds up for outdoor adventures with her young family of three.
TentBox Classic Review
Material quality & comfort: 9/10
Performance: 9.5/10
Aesthetics: 10/10
Ease of use: 7/10
Durability: 8/10
Price: 6/10
Reviewers overall score: 8/10
Pros:
- Spacious and comfortable
- Good quality materials
- Quick to open and close
- All tools and parts included
- Bedding can remain inside
Cons:
- Expensive
- Tricky to get on and off
- Increases fuel consumption
- Adds height to your car
- Ladder touches car on some vehicles
It was 2020. The world had closed, and we lived in a tiny London flat – with a baby. It was time to fire up Rightmove and plan our escape.
With purchasing a house surrounded by rolling, green hills, what else did we need? A 4×4, oh, and a rooftop tent.
Scarily, we spent more time researching tents than purchasing a house. After three years of ‘umming’ and ‘ahhing’, enter the TentBox Classic and, with it, an honest TentBox Classic review.
Ease of Use
Apparently, the TentBox Classic can be installed in 20 minutes. The first time we used it, we discovered that this claim is only accurate if you have a gym membership or have used the Classic a few times before.
The tent weighs 64kg, and after several attempts to get it off the ground, we had to enlist our taller and stronger neighbour to help us haul it onto the car’s roof. There was nothing elegant or pretty about the process, and TentBox certainly won’t be asking us to appear in its step-by-step installation video anytime soon.
Once it’s on the roof, things get much easier. Apart from the roof rails (which you need to check can support the intended weight), all the tools and parts needed to secure the tent onto it are provided.
Getting your hands underneath the tent’s base to tighten all the nuts onto the rails can be tricky, and using a standard spanner to tighten the bolts is challenging; a ratchet spanner gets the job done with far less effort.
Opening and closing the tent is simple and can be done single-handedly. It’s a big selling point of the TentBox Classic. To pop it up, undo the buckles and the gas struts do the rest of the work in 60 seconds. It makes a campsite set up much quicker than messing about with a canvas tent.
On our first trip with the tent, we arrived in the dark and got it ready to use in under a minute. Closing the TentBox takes a little long – about five minutes because all the material must be tucked inside the box, but this is straightforward.
Two side entrances make getting in and out a breeze, and the entrance fabric props open with metal poles to create small awnings. The Classic is big enough to sleep two adults and a toddler if you’re a glutton for punishment. Apart from a small person star-fished between us, it’s a comfortable night’s sleep.
A great feature of the TentBox is the amount of interior storage pockets and a vast ceiling net. You can store all your bedding inside the tent when it’s closed, meaning you can go straight to bed once it’s popped up.
We keep our overnight essentials in the tent without sacrificing sleeping space, but we struggle with shoe storage. A boot bag clipped to the tent’s ladder solves this problem, but when nature calls in the middle of the night, rummaging about in said bag isn’t ideal.
Material Quality and Comfort
Undoubtedly, the TentBox Classic is a premium product made from top-quality materials.
The tent’s aerodynamic exterior comprises an insulated UV protective ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene if we’re going to get technical) shell with an aluminium frame. All hardware and hinges are stainless steel, and the materials hold well.
According to TentBox, the breathable, rip-stop walls have waterproof, silicone-taped seams and a 2500mm hydrostatic head rating, with waterproof zipped end windows. We’ve not experienced torrential rain whilst using the tent, but any bad weather we’ve encountered hasn’t phased it, and we’ve always woken up snug and dry.
Speaking of snug, the 6cm high-density foam mattress is very comfortable. An advantage of being off the ground is not having to contend with uneven ground beneath you, and apart from being perched on top of a car, it’s almost like sleeping in your bed. Just try to pick a flat site to park up on to enhance your sleep quality.
Design and Performance
We’ve used the TentBox Classic during spring and autumn across the UK and have always felt secure and slept well. The tent’s canvas creates a dark sleeping environment, stopping the morning sun from an early wake-up call. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop a 3-year-old from waking you up at dawn, but I don’t think we can blame that on TentBox.
The box-shaped design makes the tent’s interior feel spacious and easy to move around in, and there is a telescopic spring-loaded ladder to clamber in and out of the tent.
The ladder feels stable, but there is always the risk of taking a tumble in the middle of the night (or after a few campfire drinks)! The ladder is angled away from the body of most cars, but, annoyingly, the ladder sits against the side of ours, so you can’t be too precious about your paintwork.
We’ve driven across some extreme off-road terrain with the Classic, and it’s stayed firmly in place (it’s also had a few trips to the supermarket and survived those, too). The tent increases the car’s height, so we avoid car parks with low fixed-height barriers. Our tent is mounted on a Land Rover Freelander, but if you have a lower car, this would eliminate that problem.
The tent’s exterior shell is aerodynamically designed. Still, there’s no escaping the fact that it increases fuel consumption and restricts your maximum speed to 70mph, but nobody drives over 70mph, right?
The Classic is advertised as a four-season tent, but word on the outdoor grapevine is that investing in a suitable diesel heater for winter is a good idea. An insulation pod is also an option; TentBox sells these for £245.
We compared the Classic with the Ventura XL Hard Shell and felt it far outstripped Ventura’s offering. When writing this TentBox Classic review, the Ventura XL Hard Shell was on sale for £1,599 with a standard retail price of £1,999, which, whilst not cheap, makes it slightly more budget-friendly. The Ventura and the TentBox have virtually identical features, but Ventura engineers their exterior from triple-layer fibreglass, which pales in comparison to the ABS shell of the TentBox.
Overall, despite having a marginally bigger but thinner mattress, a slightly higher gsm rip-stop fabric and a more appealing price tag, the materials and design of the Ventura XL Hard Shell felt cheaper and less durable than those of the TentBox Classic. We felt the TentBox would withstand much rougher handling and conditions, and we could see that we were paying for higher-quality materials. In other words – you get what you pay for.
Durability
We’ve owned the TentBox Classic for about six months. There are only a few minor signs of wear and tear, and we haven’t had to fix or repair anything.
We haven’t been as careful with it as we probably should’ve been, and it doesn’t appear to have suffered. Ideally, it should be stored in a garage or somewhere similar, and in a protective cover, but we’ve been too lazy to take it off the car!
The materials are good quality, and the ABS shell with reinforced aluminium frame is very durable. There are a few scratches on the casing, but nothing major.
Aesthetics
There’s no denying that the TentBox Classic looks stylish and is attention-grabbing. Open or closed, the combination of grey and black with touches of orange and white is extremely striking. I’ve noticed a lot of people glancing at it, and it has a certain cool factor about it.
Looks aside, the Classic hits the mark in terms of practicality. A generous sleeping space, ample storage and a comfortable night’s sleep add to its appeal. We’ve enjoyed some breathtaking views from the windows, and sleeping in the open air is fun.
Price
With a price tag of £2,250, the TentBox Classic isn’t a budget choice, but TentBox does offer finance options.
If you’re open to the second-hand market, you can find used Classics at around £1,500. The entry-level TentBox Lite 1.0 comes in at £1,250, but it’s a basic fabric pod tent and doesn’t offer half the features of the Classic.
The TentBox Classic offers good value for money, but if you start adding on the price of heaters and insulation pods, it can begin to mount up.
Due to the price, we added locking nuts over the standard nuts supplied to make the tent harder to remove and less appealing to thieves. Although, if a thief managed to dismount it, I’d be impressed!
Final thoughts
If you’re looking for a premium rooftop tent, the TentBox Classic is a solid choice for serious outdoor adventure, camping enthusiasts, and even small families.
Excellent quality materials, a comfortable, spacious sleeping area and relative ease of use (once installed) make the Classic an enjoyable and low-effort way to camp.
Note: this is a totally independent review and not endorsed by or affiliated with the brand or supplier. The opinions in this article are solely that of the reviewer. See our editorial standards for more.
Author: Natalie Pratas
Natalie writes content and copy for everyone, from startups to charities to established businesses. Before putting pen to paper or, let’s be honest, fingertips to keyboard, she spent over a decade as a primary school teacher. She currently lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and son.