Patriot Campers X2: Review

Written by: Emma Ryan

Published on August 14, 2017

Time to read 5 min

What is it about camping we humans seem to love so much? We willingly leave the comfort of four walls behind to immerse ourselves in the wild unknown of the great outdoors. We seek a simpler existence, to liberate ourselves from the hustle and bustle of our industrialised world – if only for a few nights. If the nine-to-five, mortgage repayments and school drop-offs are life’s inhalation, camping has long been its exhalation. Surely a camper trailer, then, should mirror this ethos of doing less. The Patriot X2, with its unobtrusive dimensions, easy going attitude and affordable price point, does just that. Add to the mix a highly customisable format that enables you to create a camper that suits your lifestyle, and you might just have found your perfect partner in weekend tomfoolery.

The X2 has evolved from Patriot’s original and best selling camper trailer, the X1. But rather than getting bigger and bolder like most things that evolve, the X2 has gone the other way and become smaller and more discreet. Reverse evolution, if you will, but the move is far from backward. Despite the staggering success of its flagship X1, the team at Patriot heeded the call of its customers for an entry level product, a camper with the same go everywhere, cop anything attitude of its big brother but with less bells and whistles. If the X1 is dux of the school and captain of the cricket team, the X2 is the quieter younger brother who wins people over with his charm and good looks.

But the family resemblance is undeniable. Both campers share the same concept: rooftop tent accommodation riding above a functional, solid offroad trailer that houses the things you need for fuss-free camping. The result in both cases is a compact, easy to use camper that celebrates outdoor living. The difference with the X2 is its customisable format, in which you only pay for the things you really need.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

The Rhino-Rack rooftop accessories platform plays host to your choice of tent, be it a sleek James Baroud pop-up hard shell tent with a 10 second setup time, a more traditional folding TJM roof topper or a family-friendly integrated tent complete with change room / kiddies’ quarters. Your call. Best of all the tent can be removed altogether for daytrips; strap on the boards to play in the surf or snow or bring the camper along to help cater family picnics or to service worksites. If you’re heading away on a camping trip with mates instead of your partner you can use the platform to strap down swags or tents. Versatility is the name of the game here.

The X2 has a rear slide-out kitchen drawer with space for a 50L fridge (BYO fridge or tick the options box to have a Waeco fitted), a pantry cabinet, cutlery drawer and space-saving silicone pop-out sink fed by a 70L water tank and pressurised water pump. Bench space, additional kitchen storage and housing for the gas stove (also an option) are located at the drop-down cabinet on the passenger’s side. This two-part kitchen might sound inconvenient, but given the compact size of the camper, the fridge is merely a couple of steps from the stove so it’s a non-issue in my book. The fold-down cabinet doors become sturdy bench space and are lined with durable, textured stainless steel that’s rather pleasing to run a finger over. This outdoor living and entertaining area can be protected from the elements by an optional Foxwing awning which lifts above head height on gas struts and wraps around the side and rear of the camper. Setting this up takes two minutes, if that. Forget busting your marriage on 26 pole, 9ft tall awning set-up.

There’s storage aplenty on the little X2, which boasts an impressive 1600L of useable space for your gear. There are multiple large, open storage areas at the front, rear and side, plus smaller cabinets for your particulars. Dirty boots, soiled recovery gear, wetsuits, towels and more can be shoved into the wet storage compartments at the rear corners of the camper. Every nook and cranny of this camper is available to you as useable space thanks to its clever design and the experience of its makers.

Power comes from a 120Ah AGM battery with Redarc battery management system and controls located centrally at the kitchen area. Option up to a second battery if longer term remote camping is on the agenda, or consider an optional 150W folding solar blanket. There are LED lights, USB and 12V outlets throughout and a gas hot water shower can be optioned on if you fancy a touch of campsite comfort. Options abound on the X2 – it can be whatever you want it to be. Swing away BBQ, alloy rims, Fusion stereo system, additional housing for gas bottles or jerry cans; what sounds like a letter to Santa is in fact the X2’s vast and varied options list.

OFFROAD HERITAGE

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Patriot family of campers and the X2 displays the same rock solid, all-Aussie construction as its big brother, not to mention an unrelenting spirit of offroad adventure. Don’t let its smaller stature fool you – the X2 earns its place right alongside its big brother in the most remote, hard to access corners of Australia. Built at the brand’s Gold Coast factory and proudly wearing its ‘Made in Australia’ badge, the X2’s monocoque aluminium body rides on a hot-dipped galvanized chassis with integrated rear recovery points should you get yourself into any hairy situations. Not that there’s much that fazes this little pocket rocket, which rides high on 33in mud terrain tyres (spare tucked high in the undercarriage) and laps up chunky terrain with its independent coil suspension with gas shocks. It’s got heaps of ground clearance and its boxy shape means an excellent rear departure angle. Like all things wearing the Patriot logo, the X2 is a true offroader.

Weighing in at just 645kg dry (and 1200kg ATM), it’s an agreeable camper trailer that can be towed comfortably by smaller family wagons, too. Its compact size provides excellent maneuverability and clear vision all round for the driver. Simply put, towing this little beast is a breeze, making it perfect for beginners and hardcore offroaders alike. The 90kg drawbar weight means the trailer is easily manipulated onto your vehicle, so perfect reversing onto the camper is not so important. The coupling is Vehicle Components DO35 offroad with 360-degree rotation for when the ground gets freaky beneath your wheels.

THE WRAP UP

The X2 is a rock solid offroad tourer with a no bullshit approach to camping. It will strike a chord with young (and young at heart) adventurers who like to cook with grass beneath their feet and eat beside the campfire with mates. Those who see camping as an opportunity to reconnect with nature and a more simple way of living, and prefer not to be weighed down by heavy machinery that limits where they can go and what they can do. True to its family lineage, the X2 is a beautifully finished, superbly engineered camper trailer conceived by an industry-leading brand who dare to do things just a little bit differently.

Anyone who has ever expressed admiration for Patriot’s original X1 camper but couldn’t quite cough up the money should take a look at the X2. At $24,990 for the base platform, it’s an affordable and reliable camper that can be tailored to suit your needs and your budget.

HITS AND MISSES

Pros