Torture Test: Oztent RV-2

When is a 30 second tent not a 30 second tent?

Here's the scene: We are capturing footage from the day's shooting in the High Country. The sun set a couple of hours ago and we have our laptops running, cameras plugged into chargers and electronics everywhere. It is a still night, no hint of rain, but no stars either.

When the rain hits, it comes in a single sheet, like someone tipping a bucket over above the valley we are camped in. Someone thoughtfully throws a jacket over the laptops, but the table looks like a rain gutter already.

We grab the OzTent, still ensconced in its bag, and two of us have it set up within about 20 seconds. In another ten seconds, the table is inside with all of our gear, out of the rain.

For the rest of the night the tent serves as our field studio, with room for three guys on chairs and the massive table inside.

That's an extreme case, of course, but it really taught me just how easy this tent is to use. At 2m long packed up and 20kg, you pay for that convenience, but we just keep this on a roof rack while travelling.

The OzTent has redefined tent camping for a generation. Many camper trailer owners carry one because it's as quick to set up as an awning, and makes a great sleepout for the kids. When set up it's 2m wide, 2m long and 1.9m tall, which is just big enough to sleep three.

They're also great for setting up somewhere to prepare food and eat away from the flies for lunchtime stops, when you don't want to set up the camper trailer quite yet.

The windows are midge-proof and the ripstop canvas is guaranteed to be waterproof.

RRP is $949 for the RV-2, and I won't travel without mine after testing it out across Australia, from the Kimberley to Cape York.

Find Oztent camping gear for sale.