Spent a couple of rainy days for my first outing with the Exoshell. We also bought the walls — because it rains a lot in BC!
Setting up the Exoshell is as easy as they say. It took me 5 minutes to open it up, secure it with the two straps and the poles and anchor them in the ground with the guylines and legs. This was my second time opening it up but the first time wasn’t much longer.
The Exoshell provides shade but alone it doesn’t protect you from the rain very well. So we bought the walls. Installing them took longer — an instructional video from iKamper would be helpful! We figured out what went where — decided to put the walls around the outside of the poles and guessed how to anchor it to the Exoshell beyond the heavy duty Velcro. Lots of pegs and guylines to keep it he walls — and a couple of open window flaps — in place. All told, I think we had everything up and pegged down in a little more than half an hour.
We decided not to install the door inside wall that we bought. It looks like it’ll just get in the way and there are only two of us. We probably won’t ever use that one.
There is a lot of room inside once it’s all set up. In fact, not trusting the waterproofness of our tent, we put it up — a 7’ x 7’ two-person dome — in the space between the back of my truck and the wall.
Taking everything down took longer. There’s the usual camping gear problem of trying to get things back into the (suddenly seemingly smaller) bags they came in and it was raining so I had as moving more slowly trying to tactically shrink my rain cover. And getting the awning back into the box is a challenge. Watch the instructional video closely. It is import ant to do exactly what they say. Eventually it all came down and fit into the bags.
A word of advice: while iKamper and independent reviewer videos show the Exoshell being used without the supporting poles, I wouldn’t. The “batwings” seem to be made of slightly less strong stuff than originally — they hang down a touch and I would worry they will twist in a breeze and be unable to fit back into the box. So use the poles.
IKamper gives you many more tent pegs than you need, which I’m sure will come in handy. However, I would have liked the guylines to have hardware at both ends. Fortunately, I remembered how to tie a bowline but it would be simple enough to have grommets or hooks at the ends to attach to the top of the poles or the loops on the awning.
We recently purchased a Skycamp 3.0 from Big Tent Outdoors and their knowledge, service and installation was great!
We are very happy with our tent and the service we received - thank you! Highly recommend!
Beautiful and modern design, lighting mode very versatile for multiple use. Perfectly for patio, and camping. Now I set it on my bed side for night reading
Love the simplicity and versatility! Bought the headband and cap kit as well.
This is a great, affordable upgrade for your van or camper set-ip. It is quiet, effective and easy to use. Very satisfied and highly recommend.
Just what I expected from Claymore product. Quality and reliabity😊
Thanks again for selling me the claymore light. Great light great people
It was a bit inconvenient without the extension, but now it's great.
Looks and feels incredibly well built. Battery lasts much longer than other lights we’ve purchased. Really enjoy the different colors. Who knew you t also had a slight candle mode where the light subtly changes color and flickers!
Absolutely love that you can adjust the color of the light. Feels and looks incredibly well made.
The fridge slide fits my build perfectly, still have some final modifications to my home built drawer system before I can put it into action but so far I am very pleased. The shipping was quick and the fit and finish of the slider is great. Very sturdy, easy to follow install tips and a really smooth slide to it. Will definitely be giving bigtent my business again as I continue to build out my 80 series.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but these have been an absolutely fantastic addition to my van. The accessibility through the long sides when stacked has aided their use for Amateur Radio, food/kitchen, and extra casual seating! Seem to be as tough as milk crates, but considerably more elegant and portable.
The HC steps makes it much safer for the kids and furry pets to go in and out of the tent.
The construction and marksmanship is outstanding like most of Ikamper lines. I have the ikamper double air mattress along with 4 sleepings in the tent at all times and managed to leave the hc steps on the ladder with the tent closed and it was a very tight fit. I would not recommend leaving the HC steps attached to the ladder with the twnt closed as it could damage the tent. It's a bit annoying to install but makes the experience much safer for the little ones and for that I give it 5 stars. Thanks Ikamper!
The HC steps makes it much safer for the kids and furry pets to go in and out of the tent.
The construction and marksmanship is outstanding like most of Ikamper lines. I have the ikamper double air mattress along with 4 sleepings in the tent at all times and managed to leave the hc steps on the ladder with the tent closed and it was a very tight fit. I would not recommend leaving the HC steps attached to the ladder with the twnt closed as it could damage the tent. It's a bit annoying to install but makes the experience much safer for the little ones and for that I give it 5 stars. Thanks Ikamper!
Highend design and the various light mood is amazing! I want to carry that everywhere!
I put this awning mesh to the ultimate test on a Friday night at Hantan River Resort when the temperature dropped to -20 degrees Celsius with strong winds. I can confidently say that the wind and cold resistance are exceptional! I used a silent heater in my Skycamp, and it was significantly warmer and more comfortable than without the awning mesh. I love it! Even with the heater on, the annex was still quite chilly, but the urethane window in the ceiling didn't let any cold air in. I think adding a simple silver foil mat between the awning mesh and the tent would make it even more effective in both summer and winter.
I love the claymore lights. Great light output and are designed to be used on outdoor adventures.
It’s a Christmas gift. It hasn’t been opened yet. Maybe sometime next summer after it’s been used camping, I can give you a review.