We have had our Sparrow XL since July 2020 and we spent September of that year on a 5,000-mile camping trip. We traveled from central Wisconsin to The Tetons and Yellowstone, staying in state parks all along the way. Our Sparrow XL performed flawlessly and comfortably in freezing weather, in wind storms, and in rain storms. It traveled easily on top of our Toyota RAV4. The one thing we learned was how to manage condensation more effectively when it was cold and damp by (1) leaving a window partially open, and (2) running a small USB fan at night to circulate the air. Problem solved. We are heading out again this August, leaving from Wisconsin and heading to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons. This trip will be longer and we will be spending more time in the mountains. We are looking forward to spending more time in our Roofnest -- which draws a lot of attention wherever we go. By the way, my wife and I are in our seventies and I think many people are a bit surprised to see us traveling with and sleeping in a car-top tent. But we love the Sparrow XL and go camping near and far whenever we can. If we were to make the decision whether or not to purchase the Roofnest again, we would do so without hesitation. However, we wish we had done so earlier than we did. It is great gear!
Did the tent interfere with fully opening your rear hatch? Did you get the optional insulation with your tent? Did you use any kind of portable heater (propane or electric)? How comfortable is the mattress? How much did your gas mileage decrease?
@@patrickio8084 1. You will have no problems with the rear hatch as long as you mount the RoofNest properly. Once we had the RoofNest loosely sitting on top of the car, we opened the rear hatch fully and slid the RoofNest back until it was about one inch from the hatch. Then we fastened it down to the crossbars. No sweat. This has never been an issue for us. 2. We do not have the Ptarmigan insulation set, as we do not camp in the winter. If we did so, we would not hesitate to get it. Further, it is my understanding that the RoofNest can be closed with the insulation kit installed. Nice! 3. We do not use a portable heater. Our Grand Teton double sleeping bag is rated to 5 degrees and the Roofnest down quilt is an awesome addition, if needed. We wear medium base layers at night in the RoofNest. We have camped in mid-20 degree weather and have been as warm as toast. Too warm, in fact. Two people give off a lot of body heat. 4. The mattress is firm and comfortable. Unlike a typical foam mattress, it does not get harder as it gets colder and it does not develop dents in the shape of the sleepers. We are pleased with the mattress. 5. I have calculated the mileage impact as best I can over long distances, and it appears to be about three mpg. It is slightly worse driving West and slightly better driving East, given the prevailing winds. Our Toyota RAV4 Hybrid gets between 31 and 32 miles per gallon with the RoofNest mounted. We leave it on the car from May to October. Good questions. I hope my answers are responsive. Thank you.
@@jerrystark3587 Appreciate your quick and detailed responses! I've often heard how most / all tents (ground or rooftop including insulated tents) are unbearable in the Summer without shade and or a portable air conditioner. Have you ever been inside the tent in hot weather whether overnight trying to sleep or late afternoon in the sun and how sauna-like was it? What other brands did you consider and what was the deciding factor?
@@patrickio8084 Once again, you ask good questions. (1) On our month-long camping trip last year, we encountered weather conditions ranging from 40 degrees to 100 degrees during the day and from 28 degrees to 78 degrees at night. There is no question that ANY tent will heat up fast in direct sunlight on a warm or hot day. A car top tent is no exception. What helps with the RoofNest is that it is set up for excellent cross ventilation. Also, being five feet in the air helps a lot with catching the breezes. We never spend much time in the car top tent during the day, unless it rains heavily, so this is not much of an issue, but for warm nights the cross ventilation is very helpful. We adjusted to warmer night time temperatures by wearing light cotton under clothing and by laying on top of a fitted sheet on the mattress. A light blanket kept away the morning chill at about 4:00 a.m. (2) I researched all the major brands of car-top tents, including Thule, IKamper, Cascadia, 23Zero, etc. Once I decided I wanted a pop-up, hard-shell tent, then it came down to price, design, size, and included accessories. Then the choices narrowed quickly. On these bases, the RoofNest came out on top for us at the time we we looking to purchase a car top tent (mid-year, 2019). For the price, I thought, and still think, that the RoofNest tents are a great value. From what I can tell, RoofNest tents -- both hard and soft shell -- are still very competitive with respect to these criteria. I hope this helps. Thanks.
Found myself waiting to go buy it before the video was even done lol.... Every video I see from roofnest it feels like the company is literally pushing the standards and showing they have put the work in to be the best and are not afraid to show it. I know the XL version came out shortly after this one so as long as I can find a roof rack that can easily hold the roofnest a batwing on a 2021 Rubicon 4dr HT I think I found my tent. Thanks for video
This Sparrow is hot but what would really make it on fire is if it had a aluminum case like the Falcon.... yes it would add more weight but it would be a tank to be reckoned with ! So many campers out there to choose from I'm still trying to decide 🤔
Hahaha I knew this was coming. Didn't realize I was doing it while filming. Feel free to give us a call anytime if you "actually" have some questions =)
General question, hopefully you see this roof nest. I’m interested in a roof nest tent, I have a vehicle similar to the one in this video. 2019 Audi Q5. The base carrier bars for the audi are rated for a maximum static load of 165lbs per the manual. Are you using different carrier bars that have a higher rating? If so, what’s the brand? Currently, I have audi carrier cross bars and the weight of the tent, myself, and my dog would exceed the recommended weight limit. Please help :(
looks great ... so if you're not camping but just driving down the highway, I suppose you still have to find a campsite like KOA for bathroom facilities?
We have had our Sparrow XL since July 2020 and we spent September of that year on a 5,000-mile camping trip. We traveled from central Wisconsin to The Tetons and Yellowstone, staying in state parks all along the way. Our Sparrow XL performed flawlessly and comfortably in freezing weather, in wind storms, and in rain storms. It traveled easily on top of our Toyota RAV4. The one thing we learned was how to manage condensation more effectively when it was cold and damp by (1) leaving a window partially open, and (2) running a small USB fan at night to circulate the air. Problem solved.
We are heading out again this August, leaving from Wisconsin and heading to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons. This trip will be longer and we will be spending more time in the mountains. We are looking forward to spending more time in our Roofnest -- which draws a lot of attention wherever we go.
By the way, my wife and I are in our seventies and I think many people are a bit surprised to see us traveling with and sleeping in a car-top tent. But we love the Sparrow XL and go camping near and far whenever we can.
If we were to make the decision whether or not to purchase the Roofnest again, we would do so without hesitation. However, we wish we had done so earlier than we did. It is great gear!
Did the tent interfere with fully opening your rear hatch?
Did you get the optional insulation with your tent?
Did you use any kind of portable heater (propane or electric)?
How comfortable is the mattress?
How much did your gas mileage decrease?
@@patrickio8084
1. You will have no problems with the rear hatch as long as you mount the RoofNest properly. Once we had the RoofNest loosely sitting on top of the car, we opened the rear hatch fully and slid the RoofNest back until it was about one inch from the hatch. Then we fastened it down to the crossbars. No sweat. This has never been an issue for us.
2. We do not have the Ptarmigan insulation set, as we do not camp in the winter. If we did so, we would not hesitate to get it. Further, it is my understanding that the RoofNest can be closed with the insulation kit installed. Nice!
3. We do not use a portable heater. Our Grand Teton double sleeping bag is rated to 5 degrees and the Roofnest down quilt is an awesome addition, if needed. We wear medium base layers at night in the RoofNest. We have camped in mid-20 degree weather and have been as warm as toast. Too warm, in fact. Two people give off a lot of body heat.
4. The mattress is firm and comfortable. Unlike a typical foam mattress, it does not get harder as it gets colder and it does not develop dents in the shape of the sleepers. We are pleased with the mattress.
5. I have calculated the mileage impact as best I can over long distances, and it appears to be about three mpg. It is slightly worse driving West and slightly better driving East, given the prevailing winds.
Our Toyota RAV4 Hybrid gets between 31 and 32 miles per gallon with the RoofNest mounted. We leave it on the car from May to October.
Good questions. I hope my answers are responsive. Thank you.
@@jerrystark3587 Appreciate your quick and detailed responses!
I've often heard how most / all tents (ground or rooftop including insulated tents) are unbearable in the Summer without shade and or a portable air conditioner. Have you ever been inside the tent in hot weather whether overnight trying to sleep or late afternoon in the sun and how sauna-like was it?
What other brands did you consider and what was the deciding factor?
@@patrickio8084 Once again, you ask good questions.
(1) On our month-long camping trip last year, we encountered weather conditions ranging from 40 degrees to 100 degrees during the day and from 28 degrees to 78 degrees at night.
There is no question that ANY tent will heat up fast in direct sunlight on a warm or hot day. A car top tent is no exception.
What helps with the RoofNest is that it is set up for excellent cross ventilation. Also, being five feet in the air helps a lot with catching the breezes.
We never spend much time in the car top tent during the day, unless it rains heavily, so this is not much of an issue, but for warm nights the cross ventilation is very helpful. We adjusted to warmer night time temperatures by wearing light cotton under clothing and by laying on top of a fitted sheet on the mattress. A light blanket kept away the morning chill at about 4:00 a.m.
(2) I researched all the major brands of car-top tents, including Thule, IKamper, Cascadia, 23Zero, etc. Once I decided I wanted a pop-up, hard-shell tent, then it came down to price, design, size, and included accessories. Then the choices narrowed quickly.
On these bases, the RoofNest came out on top for us at the time we we looking to purchase a car top tent (mid-year, 2019). For the price, I thought, and still think, that the RoofNest tents are a great value.
From what I can tell, RoofNest tents -- both hard and soft shell -- are still very competitive with respect to these criteria.
I hope this helps. Thanks.
Outstanding. Thanks for sharing. Cheers from Alaska. 🇺🇸⛰
Found myself waiting to go buy it before the video was even done lol.... Every video I see from roofnest it feels like the company is literally pushing the standards and showing they have put the work in to be the best and are not afraid to show it. I know the XL version came out shortly after this one so as long as I can find a roof rack that can easily hold the roofnest a batwing on a 2021 Rubicon 4dr HT I think I found my tent. Thanks for video
Ours just arrived in Alaska the other day.
Actually looks great!
I’d love to have this one!
This Sparrow is hot but what would really make it on fire is if it had a aluminum case like the Falcon.... yes it would add more weight but it would be a tank to be reckoned with !
So many campers out there to choose from I'm still trying to decide 🤔
Hi, thank you for the video. Are the top cross bars included?
Cool tent. We're looking into Roofnest. But you should actually have a drink each time he says "actually".
Hahaha I knew this was coming. Didn't realize I was doing it while filming. Feel free to give us a call anytime if you "actually" have some questions =)
@@Losorrells :D I'm sorry I had to be that guy.
@@Losorrells Actually, it is not a problem. 😎
Didn’t notice it ;)
Do you have a video uploaded on how to install the Sparrow Adventure XL? Particularly, on how to install the crossbars on top?
Can you put the bikes on the rack without taking its front wheels off?
General question, hopefully you see this roof nest. I’m interested in a roof nest tent, I have a vehicle similar to the one in this video. 2019 Audi Q5. The base carrier bars for the audi are rated for a maximum static load of 165lbs per the manual. Are you using different carrier bars that have a higher rating? If so, what’s the brand? Currently, I have audi carrier cross bars and the weight of the tent, myself, and my dog would exceed the recommended weight limit. Please help :(
Weight limit on the racks when open? I'm hoping it's enough for a 60 pound canoe
Website says 40
Are these compatible with Tesla X's?
looks great ... so if you're not camping but just driving down the highway, I suppose you still have to find a campsite like KOA for bathroom facilities?
Will the tent stay open even with the 100lbs on the rack?
Website says 40