Rooftop tent test: ARB Flinders vs Yakima Skyrise HD

So you have gone and remortgaged the house for a shiny MaxTrax-clad 70 Series Tojo, with the intent to bust out and prove Australia really is better than the rest of the world.

It is quite possible you may have even saved a few oversaturated photos of linen-clad, fedora-hat-wearing influencers drinking Aperol Spritz by serene waterholes, to convince your better-half that Outback Australia truly is better than a floating hotel in Fiji.

The problem is, you forgot to consider where you might sleep upon reaching those aforementioned waterholes, and there’s no money left for that off-road camper you’ve been dreaming of.

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It is at this point when the mind starts to veer from romantic thoughts of campfires and off-road adventures to the back corner of the garden shed, where an old-school, ground-dwelling swag of those good ol’ B&S ball (Bachelor and Spinsters) years lies gathering dust.

“Maybe it’s not that bad?” you tell yourself.

Dreams are dashed as you kick a rusting paint tin of mismatching nuts and bolts aside and peer behind the mower. Your best Casanova skills are no match for the waft of mouldy canvas and stale VB that greets you. Fortunately, all is not lost. A world of rooftop tents are waiting to save you and your better half from the stench of a mouldy swag, and we have put a couple of the best through their paces.

Background and development

The Yakima Skyrise HD is the brand’s one and only offering in the RTT category. The USA manufacturer is well-known for its roof bars, racks and vehicle mounts for kayaks, bikes and every outdoor toy imaginable.

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The Skyrise HD is successor to the original Skyrise that used lightweight backcountry materials to deliver one of the lightest-weight RTTs in its class. The Skyrise HD has been designed to offer a burlier and more durable tent for more resilience against continual use in harsh environments.

ARB’s Flinders tent tells a near opposite story to the Skyrise. The Australian born ARB brand emerges from a background of serious off-road accessories, including a number of rooftop tents designed for the harsh Australian environment.

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The Flinders RTT is a combination of new materials in conjunction with a ‘whittling down’ of the best features from previous RTT iterations, to produce a lighter-weight more streamlined RTT, without sacrificing quality and features.

Vehicle mounting and packed dimensions

When it comes to vehicle mounting, the Yakima Skyrise HD wins straight out of the gates for ease of use, whilst the ARB wins for design.

The Skyrise HD affixes quickly and easily to roof bars via tool-free, lockable vehicle mounts, delivering a 52kg, 1220mm L x 1420mm W x 410mm H package. It also fits to Yakima’s LockNLoad roof platform; however, you’ll need small hands and a curbing of cursing to do so. The tent and telescopic ladder tuck neatly inside a removable heavy-duty hook-and-loop-sealable 680gsm PVC cover when in transit.

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At 410mm tall when packed away, the Yakima Skyrise is one of the bulkier tents on the market, but the extra space allows the rain fly and poles to stow without removal, while delivering plenty of stowage space for grandma’s winter doona and a couple of hefty down pillows.

The ARB Flinders has more traditional alloy rail mounts on the underside of the tent. While not tool-less, and a little more fiddly to install, the brackets and mounts mean for a much more streamlined RTT.

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The Flinders fits easily to roof bars and can also fit to ARB’s low-profile BASE rack; however, we needed to partially remove the rack to fit the tent. The Flinders packs down to a super compact and low-profile 1400mm L x 1200mm W x 200mm H (300mm H with ladder) ... without the ladder this is less than half as tall as the Skyrise HD.

The Flinders therefore delivers less drag, equating to better fuel economy, in a super-streamlined package where even the ladder mounts fold flat to deliver a sleeker profile; but you’d best pack your summer sleeping bag as there’s little room for bedding stowage.

Pitching

The Yakima Skyrise HD is super comfy with lots of optional accessories, while the ARB Finders delivers more included accessories in a loftier tent but sacrifices sleep comfort.

The Skyrise HD pitches in minutes (literally) by extending the multi-segment ladder and opening the tent on its dual hinges. The multi-segment telescopic ladder has mid-height adjustment for tweaking on varying terrain, as well as auto-close function for easy pack-away. The Skyrise HD offers pitched dimensions of 2430mm L x 1420mm W x 1220mm H, a comfortable 64mm-thick foam mattress (with a removable cover) and a load rating of 272kg, more than adequate for two adults.

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Unfortunately, the ‘rapid pitch’ advantage of fixed-length poles limits the pitched height to 1220mm, lower than some competitors on the market including the $799 Kings RTT, but we didn’t find head clearance an issue.

Once pitched, the Skyrise HD has spring-rods to extend window and door awnings, tie-down points for securing to the ground in heavy weather, as well as four internal accessory pockets. Yakima also provides a plethora of well-considered optional accessories including a SkyLoft hanging storage net, SkyHook hanging carabiners (great for hanging a lantern) and SideKick storage bags for shoes and drink bottles, etc.

In a pitching race, the ARB might just win, however. With its fixed 600gsm PVC cover requiring only a single zip to undo, there is no need to remove the cover. Instead, the Flinders is as simple as unzip and unfold. The two-part sliding ladder is not as easy to extend as Yakima’s multi-segment telescopic ladder (especially if sand or grit gets in the channels) and does not offer as much adjustability for uneven ground, but its flattened steps are more comfortable on bare feet.

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Once open, the ARB Flinders loses a little of its lead in the pitching race, with a need to extend four internal corner poles, but the twist-lock system makes this a breeze and can be carried out in seconds. The tent has spring-rods to extend window and door awnings and offers pitched dimensions of 1400mm L x 2400mm W x 1400mm H, with internally routed cabling for the included 12V LED light alongside four accessory pockets and a two-part 50mm high-density foam mattress with bedding retention straps.

The volume and pole design offers more space than the Yakima Skyrise HD thanks to the higher roof, but the thinner mattress of the ARB Flinders might be a crux decision-point for poor sleepers.

Materials

Made from 600D Ripstop Polyester fabric with a 3000mm (hydrostatic head) waterproof PU coating, the Skyrise HD delivers excellent protection in all weather.

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The lightweight 210D Ripstop Polyester flysheet delivers a further 3000mm of waterproofness, with two PVC windows allowing users to see the stars or the rain drops while sitting in a comfortable four-season shelter. The full-length flysheet delivers increased protection over the inbuilt partial flysheet of the ARB.

ARB’s Flinders tent is a combination of a medium-weight 300gsm poly-cotton ripstop canvas with a fixed heavy-duty 420D Oxford Polyester Flysheet for sunroof and window awnings.

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The unique design of a partial integrated flysheet and use of Poly-Cotton means for great warm-weather ventilation, but the lack of a full flysheet does mean the Flinders will offer less inclement weather protection than the Skyrise HD.

Real-world test

As far as usability goes, both tents score exceptional points. The Yakima Skyrise HD wins on comfort and features, while the low profile of the ARB Flinders delivers a superior transit experience and wins points for ease of set-up.
We’ve all heard the saying that “It’s often the little things that count” and RTTs are no exception.

The Yakima Skyrise HD stands out with its comfortable 65mm mattress, removable mattress cover and smart design features. The dual rooftop ‘skylights’ combined with flysheet PVC sunroof windows are great for both venting and checking the stars out, while upside-down zipped privacy screens inside the insect mesh windows makes for easy customisable venting, waterproofness and privacy without risk of insect invasion. The zips, tabs, reinforced seams and materials all exude quality and thus the near $2000 price tag.

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The Yakima does lose points for sheer bulk. At 410mm above your roof bars/platform it’s a hefty unit and will cause some wind drag on your roof. While the bulk of the tent when packed away leaves a little to be desired, the weight saving and extra space for bedding helps negate this frustration.

Tool-less attachment to roof bars and fixed tri-pole design offering enough space without the downside of elaborate set-up are a win, as is the comfort of the mattress and bundle of accessories that aid usability.

Small annoyances such as inability to easily fit to a roof platform, extra bulk not transitioning to extra headroom, or even the compression buckles sliding off the cover straps, are all frustrating. However, all in all the Yakima will be a great companion for the majority of users looking for camp-comfort over transit-comfort in a $1999 package.

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On the other hand, the ARB Flinders rooftop tent steps in to a realm of its own with its super low-profile sleek box-like design. The mere 200mm above-roofline profile is great for keeping things quiet and streamlined ‘up top’ but is slightly offset by the limited space for bedding. The fixed cover means for extreme ease in setting up and the integrated flysheet makes pitching an ease, while the twist-lock extendable poles are a great feature for easily expanding internal volume.

While the ARB slips a little in mattress comfort and the annoyance of having to undo the insect screen to vent the tent, it makes up for it in ease of use and internal volume. For any intrepid explorer looking for an RTT that doesn’t break the bank or require limbo tactics to fit under the Macca’s drive-through, then the $1599 Flinders might just be the one for you.

Verdict

I know you want a winner, but unfortunately neither tent wins this battle. Where one tent excels, the other slips – but on another feature, it is vice versa. Both tents have been used on numerous outings over a period of at least three months and both have performed admirably. Neither have had any major issues.

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If you’re about measuring kilometres-per-litre or keeping things low enough to fit in your supermarket underground car park then the ARB Flinders might be the one for you, but if you want tool-less fitting, four-season protection and some extra comfort, then the Yakima Skyrise HD pips the ARB at the post.

Both rooftop tents offer decent bang for buck, both deliver quality materials and workmanship, and both will keep you high and dry when you finally grab your better half, a fedora hat and a bottle of bubbles to go off in search of that elusive waterfall.

Yakima Skyrise HD

AVAILABLE FROM: www.yakima.com.au
RRP: $1999

ARB Flinders

AVAILABLE FROM: www.arb.com.au
RRP: $1599