THE REAL COST
Every year more roof top companies enter the market selling the same product with a different badge. To give you an idea, 8 years ago there were 9 roof top tent companies, and now there are 35+ different brands...
Around three quarters of these new businesses are buying from the same two over-stocked factories which are selling very cheap to the business, who are then selling at a medium retail price to the customer. It seems like good value compared to higher priced offerings, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Outdoor shows offer us the opportunity to demonstrate for the customer in person and to explain where the dollars go when you buy a James Baroud tent. And the simple answer is that, it’s into the raw materials and the construction quality of the product.
What the customer doesn’t realise, is that even when you pay $3-4k for a roof top tent manufactured in these factories, you’re only getting a few hundred dollars of value in the materials in your tent. The brands manufactured in these factories are not held to the same high standards we are when manufacturing in Europe. For instance, a cheap way to waterproof canvas is to use a synthetic group of chemicals known as PFAS, commonly used as fire-retardant. PFAS chemicals are harmful. Multiple health effects associated with PFAS exposure have been identified and are supported by different scientific studies. Because the raw materials used in these tents are low quality, the tent will break down faster, increasing the PFAS chemical exposure. Human exposure to PFAS can lead to bioaccumulation in the blood, where more of the PFAS chemicals are stored than can be excreted, leading to major health problems.
That’s a much higher price for a roof top tent. Is it still worth it?
PFAS chemicals have been restricted in Europe for 15 years. It meant we had to try harder and dig deeper for a longer lasting, better-performing, and most importantly, safer alternative, many years ago. Longer than just about every roof top tent on the market today.
We started at the top, working with the same company NASA uses for their textiles, to develop (and patent) the best outdoor canvas product in the world, bar none. Our canvas is heat-reflective and thermo-insulating, resulting in the most stabilised internal temperature offering of any tent in the world. But it doesn’t end there. For peak performance, we use a variety of stitches in our canvasses that can only be produced on specialty machines operated by specialist technicians. We use a spiral weave in our mesh so that rain spirals down and off, and not through to you inside the tent. We source our threads in Austria, which are designed to expand and lock into the needle points to ensure waterproofness.
No other roof top tent company in the world is as addicted to the details, design and high-performance as James Baroud. This is the value you invest in when you buy our products.
And it is an investment. An investment in quality. An investment in sustainability. An investment in durability and longevity, but most importantly, an investment in the quality of moments you get to enjoy for many happy, safe years of adventure in products that won’t let you down when it matters most. With a 5 year warranty behind you, and infinite years beyond that of great customer service and knowledgeable advice, plus availability of spare parts and accessories should you need a hand along the way, no other company in class is as there for you as James Baroud.
View our range of roof top tents here and give us a call 049125875 or drop us a line at
Check out the Odyssey Frontier here
Images by big wave surfer and James Baroud ambassador Kerby Brown