A roof tent is the ideal middle ground between a ground tent and a camper. After all, you have the freedom of a camper, the driving comfort of a car and the adventure of camping with a tent. But the choice for a roof tent is huge and the search becomes extra difficult if you are looking for a roof tent suitable for a small car with a low roof load. Fortunately, there is the Wild Land Lite Cruiser, a roof tent that is perfect for the adventurer who likes to travel compactly and lightweight. In this review I will tell you more about the Wild Land Lite Cruiser 120 and my personal experience with this roof tent.
The Wild Land Lite Cruiser 120 is a roof tent specially designed for small cars, cars with a low roof load or campers who simply like to travel compactly and lightweight. The Wild Land Lite Cruiser is one of the lightest roof tents on the market!
Features and design
Most roof tents weigh between 50kg and 80kg, but the Wild Land Lite Cruiser 120 weighs only 38kg. This makes it one of the lightest roof tents on the market. The extremely light weight is due to the compactness of the roof tent and the choice of materials such as aluminum. This material is strong, but very lightweight and therefore ideal for use in the design of a roof tent. Moreover, the size and weight ensure that you can easily store the roof tent somewhere in the shed and that it can be removed from the car and put back on again relatively easily with two people. That’s nice, because it means you can use it more quickly. For example, for a weekend away when the weather is good.
You climb into the roof tent via the supplied telescopic ladder that you can slide in and out with the steps to adjust the ladder exactly to the height of your car. In addition, the roof tent is equipped with two handy shoe bags next to the top of the ladder so that you can neatly store dirty shoes before entering the tent. The roof tent is also equipped with large windows for views and ventilation, including a covered entrance to keep out any rain. Inside the tent you will find an included mattress of 210 cm x 120 cm suitable for one to two people to sleep and a built-in LED strip with a USB connection and dimmer. You can connect a power bank to this so that you have light in the tent.
Comfort and performance
A good night’s sleep is essential for a fun camping adventure, and luckily the Wild Land Lite Cruiser doesn’t disappoint. For example, all windows are equipped with a mosquito net, so that you can leave the windows open for ventilation on a warm summer night without mosquitoes being able to enter the tent. The mattress in the tent is 3 cm thick and made of high-density foam. Of course, it’s not as comfortable as a real mattress, but despite its limited thickness, I woke up without back pain and slept really good. It’s advisable to order an anti-condensation mat. Because with roof tents in general, most mattresses lie directly on the bottom plate of the tent, which means that moisture from condensation and perspiration can collect under the mattress. Over time, this will cause mold to develop on the underside of the mattress.
Furthermore, it is very easy to unfold the roof tent. You remove the softshell cover, pull the ladder towards you and create a leverage effect by placing the ladder on the ground, causing the tent to open. The only thing is that the ladder can only be locked in position when it is fully extended. If the height of your car is lower and you do not have to extend the ladder completely, please note that it may slip if you are on a slippery surface and the ladder is not upright enough. Therefore, do not place the ladder too tilted, but slightly upright with the legs firmly on the ground. Folding the roof tent is a bit more difficult. But this mainly has to do with the height of the roof of your car on which the tent rests. Finally, you have to retract the ladder completely onto the roof and for this you must be able to reach it easily. This is the same for every roof tent, so there is little you can do about it except bring a handy step if you cannot easily reach it.
The same applies to putting on the waterproof softshell cover after you have folded the roof tent. To make the roof tent as compact as possible and to prevent loose fabric from flapping while driving, such a cover fits quite tightly around the roof tent. Putting the cover back on the roof tent and closing all the clips can therefore sometimes be quite a challenge. The best trick for this is to loosen all the clips and pull the cover from the top on all sides approximately evenly over the roof tent before reattaching the clips. I only loosened the clips on one side and thought I could easily pull the cover over the roof tent from the side. But this means you cannot get the cover properly tight over the roof tent, which means you can no longer close all the clips.
Pros and cons
The big advantage of the Wild Land Lite Cruiser 120 is of course its compact size and ultra-light weight. This makes this roof tent ideal for small cars, cars with a low roof load or simply for those who like to travel compactly and lightweight. The roof tent is also reasonably priced and has a cool appearance thanks to all the black elements. Furthermore, despite its small size, the roof tent is fully equipped with functions that you would expect from a roof tent. Consider a waterproof cover, an easy to expand and fold system and sufficient windows with an insect screen. A disadvantage is that there are (still) few accessories available for this roof tent. For example, it is not possible to expand the roof tent with a thermal tent, so you can also use it for winter camping. Another disadvantage is that the mattress is 120 cm wide, although that can also be seen as an advantage. This width is ideal for solo campers or if you are camping with two people and are not that tall, but it is a bit on the small side if you are going to sleep with two large adults. Fortunately, the Wilde Land Lite Cruiser is also available in a variant with a 160 cm wide mattress. Although this variant is still one of the lightest roof tents of its kind at 48kg, it is good to keep in mind that this version is slightly larger, heavier and more expensive than the Wild Land Lite Cruiser 120.
Conclusion: Should you buy the Wild Land Lite Cruiser?
There are many types and sizes of roof tents available, but hardly one is as light as the Wild Land Lite Cruiser. In addition, the roof tent has a compact size, is easy to set up, relatively easy to get on and off your car and the black elements provide a cool look. As far as I’m concerned, the Wild Land Lite Cruiser is the perfect roof tent for the little adventurer who is looking for a compact and light roof tent!