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James Baroud is exhibiting off its newest, and lowest-priced, rooftop tent on the annual SEMA Present this week. The brand new tent is codenamed ‘Project Shadow’ and is a conventional wedge-style tent.
It’s going to return in a single dimension, have a bunch of high-quality options together with roof bars, and be probably the most value-priced in James Baroud’s lineup. It’s coming to the North American market in early 2025.
“Everyone wants a super durable, lightweight tent that offers flexibility for storage at a reasonable price. We’ve always been known for quality, comfort and a hefty price tag. I wanted to challenge ourselves to build a solid tent that’s worthy of our 5-year warranty and comes within the average price of a mass market tent in the US. I think we surprised ourselves with what we were able to accomplish,” mentioned Bobby Huang (former REI Co-op Technique Director), James Baroud Chief Industrial Officer.
Open-air tenting; (photograph/James Baroud)
James Baroud ‘Project Shadow’
This new wedge-style rooftop tent is 80″ L x 57″ W x 10.5″ H, which makes it a medium dimension that may match nicely on most SUVs and crossovers — just like the ever-popular 4Runner and Outback fashions. With an inside dimension of 78″ x 55″ — the identical as Baroud’s flagship Odyssey mannequin — it could sleep two adults and a small youngster.
The main manner Baroud was in a position to convey the value down on this tent is by making the hardshell out of a slimline ABS materials versus its regular fiberglass development. This may little doubt make for an especially sturdy tent, however may have a weight penalty. Anticipate the Shadow to weigh in at 165 kilos — which is 33 kilos heavier than the comparable Discovery mannequin.
Load testing; (photograph/James Baroud)
Including to the burden and the utility of this rooftop tent are three anodized aluminum crossbars that come preinstalled. These crossbars on the highest of the tent can maintain a variety of cumbersome gear, rated to 165 kilos of dynamic load.
The design intention of the crossbars is to permit a spare wheel/tire to be mounted on high, plus different gear within the included cargo baggage. The 2 massive inflexible 36L all-weather cargo baggage are designed to be affixed to the crossbars, and may carry 25+ kilos every.
This tent will probably be supplied in black, white, and graphite grey.
Out of the Climate
Whereas wedge-shaped rooftop tents don’t supply up probably the most inside house, they’re nice in harsh climate. The design is nice at holding pressure within the tent materials to maintain wind flapping at a minimal. The wedge can be parked into the wind to deflect the wind from soaking out the material partitions.
The material partitions of the Shadow tent are product of aluminized canvas sourced from the Netherlands. The fabric is artificial, and micro aluminum is woven into it to supply insulation from temperature, mild, and sound.
A brand new wall design permits you to totally zip down each the aluminized canvas and the mosquito netting layers of the tent, for the last word in open-air tenting. That is the primary tent in Baroud’s lineup to supply this design, because the mosquito netting doesn’t zip down in any of its different choices.
Rain tunnel match testing on the manufacturing facility; (photograph/James Baroud)
An choice for the ‘Project Shadow’ tent is a rain shade tunnel. It’s an all-new fashion tunnel into the tent that’s product of clear plastic wrapped round structural aluminum tubing. The design mustn’t solely be nice at holding the within of the tent protected against the climate as you get out and in, but additionally maintain the fabric from flapping and creating noise within the wind.
One other Baroud Wedge Possibility
James Baroud Discovery RTT; (photograph/James Baroud)
Baroud solely has one different regular wedge-style RTT in its lineup, the Discovery. That tent begins at $4,395 and is available in two sizes, the smaller dimension being very akin to the Shadow. The large distinction between the brand new Shadow and the Discovery is shell development. The Discovery’s shell is product of fiberglass versus Shadow’s ABS plastic.
‘Project Shadow’ Pricing & Availability
(Picture/James Baroud)
You must have the ability to preorder the ‘Project Shadow’ RTT beginning in late January 2025 on the corporate’s web site. Preorder pricing will probably be $3,900, with a standard MSRP of $4,250. Whereas not cheap, it’s a lot cheaper than Baroud’s different vary of top-of-the-line rooftop tents.
Anticipate the primary deliveries of this tent to start in North America earlier than the top of the primary quarter of 2025 — so, round April.
