Good car tents at a low price? Decathlon – top 3 tents reviewed
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You are probably already familiar with the everyday car camper’s top car tent choice – Decathlon’s Arpenaz Base M tent – at around 120 GBP, it’s the cheapest car tent you can find. By a huge margin – any other car tent you are likely to find is either a few hundred GBP above this price, or it’s a cheap and flimsy Aliexpress thing. That’s probably why the Arpenaz Base M is constantly out of stock. Now here’s the good news – Decathlon has expanded its offer of car tents, giving us a better selection at various price ranges – still below what’s generally available. I have picked the best car tents from their offer in this post. But be quick – in a year, prices rose by 12% – 20% in a year since I started writing about them here.
Best budget car tent for camping – Arpenaz Base M
As already mentioned, this one is a long-term favourite for many people I’ve spoken to or judging by many comments in car camping forums. (FB groups like Berlingo campers only, Small Vehicle Campers etc). See my review for some of their testimonials. It cost 99 GBP in 2021, currently it’s at 120 GBP – seems car tents are in demand!
MY TOP BUDGET HATCHBACK – TAILGATE TENT – Decathlon Arpenaz Base M
~120 GBP / EUR*
*yep, in EUR it works out cheaper
Available at any Decathlon website or store in your country.
I recommend buying this foldable table + 4 chairs too – good ratings, price and takes up almost no space.
Second image thanks to: WILL WALKLEY OUTDOORS, third image: Sweeper Liam
Touran image source: rjrdaydreamer.com
Budget but bigger car tent – Arpenaz Base Fresh (10 people)
This one is still very cheap at around 180 GBP (up from 150 GBP in 2021) considering it’s also bigger than the Arpenaz Base M – by 0.5m on each side and 10cm taller (overall and the opening). This gives you a generous 9m2 compared to Arpenaz’s 6.25m2.
BIGGEST BUDGET HATCHBACK – TAILGATE TENT – Arpenaz Base Fresh
~180 GBP / EUR*
*yep, in EUR it works out cheaper
Available at any Decathlon website or store in your country.
I recommend buying this foldable table + 4 chairs too – good ratings, price and takes up almost no space.
Inflatable car tent – Inflatable Camping Shelter – Air Seconds Base Connect
INFLATABLE HATCHBACK – TAILGATE TENT – Arpenaz Base Fresh
~300 GBP / EUR*
*yep, in EUR it works out cheaper
Available at any Decathlon website or store in your country.
You can extend it with an internal bedroom section made specifically for this tent – keep the mozzies out easier and have more privacy. A changing/privacy shelter during the day, bedroom at night. See images below.
I recommend buying this foldable table + 4 chairs too – good ratings, price and takes up almost no space.
