With this year’s Covid-19 pandemic, families have been forced to find other ways to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. Since planes are out, RV sales have skyrocketed, but what if you don’t want to have to deal with the investment that an RV requires? Well here’s an option, the Roofnest Falcon.
What is it? The Falcon is a hardshell rooftop tent that can be easily bolted on your SUV, making it the perfect accessory for a weekend camping trip. The team at Roofnest gave us a chance to check out the Falcon XL, which was ready to go on top of a 2020 Kia Telluride SX.
We quickly looked up some fun camping spots in Los Angeles, packed up some extra supplies and jumped in the Kia.
Here’s some quick stats about the Roofnest Falcon. It is a popup rooftop tent that easily bolts onto all cars or SUVs, which can fit 2-3 people. It comes with an easy to use ladder that can easily mount on three sides. Inside there’s also a comfy mattress that makes camping way more comfortable than you’re used to.
The Falcon is made out of aluminum, which means that it doesn’t weigh too much at 140 pounds. We drove around town for a week with the Falcon on the top of the Telluride and we barely noticed it. The Telluride’s 3.8-liter V6 with its 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, was unfazed by the extra weight. The tent also didn’t have an impact of the center of gravity.
Once the Falcon is bolted on to the roof the rest is easy. You can still drive at speeds up to 75 mph with the tent on the top of your vehicle and once you reach your camping spot, it’s a million times easier to set up than a traditional tent. It also measures less than 7″ tall when closed. Lastly you can also still mount additional cargo and gear on the top of the tent.
To open the Falcon all that you have to do is pop off the latches on each side of the roof box and the tent’s struts lift up the roof. You can easily set up the tent in less than a minute. The Falcon also comes with a collapsible ladder that makes it easy to get in the tent. Once inside, the mat is comfortable and one of our 5’11” tall friends could easily stretch out. The five foot wide space is spacious for two. There’s also a convenient cargo net to store your extra supplies, like books, a lantern or portable speaker.
Now once we reached our desired spot in the Angeles National Forest, we jumped out of the Telluride and within a matter of minutes we had the tent up, ladder mounted and we were already getting ourselves settled in the Falcon. There are windows on all three sides, so even with the cozy quarters the windows made it feel airy and we also enjoyed the view.
Once the temp went down it was easy to close the windows and door to keep the cold out. The tent is also thick enough to keep out the light. Once we were ready to fall asleep, the tent provided an experience we weren’t expecting. Who knew that sleeping up high on top of a car would be so much better than sleeping in a tent on the ground.
We didn’t have to worry about creepy bugs finding their way in the tent and since it’s mounted on top of the car, we automatically had a flat surface to sleep on. The tent feels safe and sturdy. Then once we we were ready to wake up, we were greeted with a nice view once we opened the doors and windows. We felt spoiled.
The Roofnest Falcon starts at $3,395, while the larger Falcon XL is priced at $3,495. Those prices may be a seem a bit steep, but the Falcon is a top notch tent that can be used in all types of weather and will easily convert your anti-camping friends into outdoor fans.
