Homecamp A-Frame Tent and A-Frame Shelter – Review

Homecamp’ A-frame tents sure do look cute and retro but do they hold up to the practicalities of outdoor adventures?

Now the first thing you need to know about me is that my idea of camping involves carrying everything on my back for 6-7 hours on a rough trail then finding somewhere to set-up my lightweight tent that I’ve had since I was 18. So, when I was asked to test out a tent that involved a set-up and hang around kind of camping, I was skeptical. To my surprise however, I found I could easily be converted to this style of holiday. Here are my thoughts on the Homecamp A-Frame tent and shelter.

Size and Weight

Coming in at 8kg, the A-frame tent is no lightweight piece of gear – but that’s not really the point. This stylish canvas daydream of a shelter is designed for in-situ camping, where your car is but a short dawdle away.

Once you lay the tent out, you understand why its weight is no big deal.

Set-up it’s 220cm long, 200cm wide and stands at 145cm tall, making for very spacious and livable lodgings from which to admire a view. The website says it’s a 3 person tent but the A-frame could comfortably house four small-to-medium sized humans.

Its little attachable buddy, the A-frame shelter, comes in at 7kg and has some extra – fancy features including a sewn-in stove jack with a fireproof flue and exit canvas flap for ‘hot tenting’. Sadly I didn’t get to test out this nifty little feature but I’ve heard from friends and family that hot tenting is definitely worth a try, especially in winter.

Set up, the shelter is 225cm long and 230cm wide, adding a significant extension to the A-frame tent set-up. The shelter is a great addition that can provide a sheltered cooking space, daytime shaded space or extra storage area.

Ease of Setup

The first time I set this tent up I was worried I’d fall into a hole of first time setup frustration as I have a tendency to get hot, sweaty and overwhelmed at the very thought of setting up new gear. I know, I know but don’t run away yet, hear me out. It was surprisingly straight forward. I first pegged out the four corners.

Then I opened up the canvas pouch of foldable poles. It didn’t take long to figure out that one went straight down the middle and then the other two slid in at either end to a handy little hole, creating the classic A-frame shape once fully pegged out.

I set up the A-frame tent both by myself and with another person. The time I set it up with someone else was definitely much easier but you can certainly handle this beauty on your own.

While the A-frame shelter isn’t difficult to set up, I didn’t find it quite as seamless as the tent. It did, however, provide some much needed shade when I decided to set up the tent for the first time on a disarmingly hot morning. I arrived at my destination in the cool early morning dappled sun and before I knew it I was sweating profusely and guzzling down as much water as I could get my hands on. Once the shelter was set up, I lay in the cool shaded area for about 20 minutes, relieved to be out of the hot sun.

Livability

Now I’m usually the lightest of lightweight gear kinda gal but I could definitely be converted to the Homecamp style of camping. The big indoor space and unusually high ceilings for a tent, make you feel as though you’re attending some kind of bougie ‘glamping’ experience.

I took the tent up to a campsite in the Watagans National Park, a trip I do frequently after work as a kind of midweek pick-me-up. I’m usually tired, I’m usually running late and my sleeping arrangements are usually less than glamorous. This was no exception, bar one – I had the Homecamp A-frame tent to elevate my camping experience.

I was worried, even though I’d set it up before, that my usually relaxing forest bath might take on a new stress, trying to outrun the last rays of light while setting up a sleeping system I was unfamiliar with.

My worries, however, were unfounded. I set my tent up within twenty minutes of arriving and was sitting calmly, G&T in hand, listening to an evening chorus by the time the sun said its last goodbyes.

Once the sun went down the wind picked up and it got a bit chilly so I retired indoors for some quality reading time! The ceilings are so high I felt like I was in my own small cabin and I hung my head torch from the horizontal pole, illuminating the whole room.

The doors are double doors, one being a canvas door and the other being made of a durable mosquito-proof mesh, a helpful feature if you’re camping during an Australian summer.

Price

Now, the only downfall of the homecamp A-frame tent and shelter for me is the price. The tent is $849 full price and the shelter is $549, so if you wanted to purchase the complete setup it would put you out $1398.

While the tent is remarkably easy to set-up, and provides a versatile, roomy form of camping accommodation, considering you can’t put it in a pack and hike with it, $849 is a lot for a tent.

On the other hand, if you have the cash, then it’s a great tent for families, and even setting it up as a sleeping space for weary kids on a picnic day out wouldn’t be a bad idea. The canvas is made to be UV, water and fire resistant and appears to be pretty sturdy, meaning it would most likely last long enough for the price tag to become but a distant memory.

Final Thoughts

On the whole, Homecamp has designed a pretty neat product with their A-Frame tent and shelter. It’s user friendly, easy to set up and aesthetically pleasing. I was loaned the A-frame tent and shelter and I’m really quite sad to have to return them. Even though most of my outdoor adventures involve light gear and long days, I think I could get a LOT of use out of this product and possibly be converted to a slightly more ‘glampy’ style of outdoor adventure.