Autohome Columbus Carbon Fibre Roof Top Tent

Autohome Columbus Carbon Fibre

Ok here we go. Maybe we needn't even write anything here. But ok. Take Autohome's Columbus hard-shell rooftop tent, which is already robust and light, (and ridiculously fast and easy to set-up no matter what it's made of)... and then just make it, in the words of Musk, ludicrous.

Maybe there is a nicer tent out there, and maybe we need to invent it, but so far, as far as the relationship between humanity and roof top tents goes, this is where the buck stops. And you do need some bucks to get it, as it is pricey. But then we've had a customer come through the door with a Columbus they bought in 1980, to buy one for their son, because they didn't want to give theirs to their own child. So who are we to say how to measure value.

49kg (in the 130cm width), and that, like all Autohome tents, includes a properly insulated top and sandwich panel base. And a beautiful kind of bluey gray colour.

What we like

Trying to decide between the boxy shape of the Airtop or the Maggi, and the Columbus? We've used both the boxy tents (Maggi & Airtop) and the Columbus extensively and honestly it's hard to decide. Some people climb into a Columbus and just say 'this is it'. It's a tall shell, very upright, so the space is excellent; you can kneel to get changed and almost stand up in there. And you can check out the stars through the big picture window at the back. And every time you stop you know it's going to be so damn easy to set up. If somebody said to us you're camping in a Columbus for the next 20 years we'd say OK! 

Opening the Columbus

Shells open automatically using 2 gas struts, made by Suspa in Germany. Fitted with Windstops struts may be locked into position, making for greater stability in strong winds.

Why Autohome? 

Manufactured in Italy since 1958, they patented the first roof top tent. If you've seen a roof top tent out there, it's a copy of an Autohome, the grand-parent and still the innovator of its class.