James Baroud Explorer Evolution 2019 Review

Roof-top tents have long been popular in Europe and South Africa -- where sleeping high off the ground away from human-chomping beasts is an advantage – but they’re also gaining favour Down Under, particularly with four-wheel drivers who want to access remote areas with minimal equipment.

Their increased popularity has seen more brands enter the market recently, including South Africa’s Alu-Cab and Korea’s IKamper, as well as the Australian-designed, auto-lifting Backtrax.

Fast set-up

Bolted securely to a roof rack or roof bars on your vehicle – or camper trailer in some cases -- and set up in minutes, roof-top tents are ideal for singles or couples who want to roll into camp -- often in the dark -- and be able to enjoy tent-style comforts with a minimum of fuss.

Like slide-on ute campers, they’re also a great option on Australia’s most rugged overland tracks – like the Canning Stock Route where camper trailers are either unsuitable or prohibited.

Like all RV types, roof-top tents have their pros and cons.

Disadvantages include requiring some athleticism to install, erect and then access the tent area via a ladder; minimal ‘living’ space; and taking up valuable roof-top space that might otherwise be used to carry other equipment.

Generally, there are two styles of roof-top tents: premium-priced streamlined, hard-top units with roofs that pop up via gas arms or wind-up mechanisms. And budget-priced soft-roof structures with hinged hard bases that flip over to form a platform for the attached tent.

Hard facts

Which brings us to the James Baroud Explorer Evolution.

We originally looked at one of these slick French fibreglass roof-toppers back in 2012, and little has changed since (apart from a price increase). That’s because it’s a tried and tested product, built to last and aimed at discerning adventurers that want a super-fast set-up and are willing to pay for it.

But I was keen to see how it fared in a less demanding family camping environment, so with the help of Melbourne dealer Outback HQ we bolted one on to the aftermarket Rola roof bars attached to a Ford Everest, and took it on a family holiday to Victoria’s High Country region.

Rather than let the kids have all the fun, we let our two teenage daughters sleep in the Cub Campers Frontier camper trailer we also took along, while us parents slept in the roof topper.

Sky high

My only previous experience sleeping in a roof-top tent was on another family trip to the Kimberley, where we all slept within the confines of a 23Zero soft-top roof-top tent mounted to an old-school LandCruiser 70 Series wagon.

Flipping open on the driver’s side, and with an attached ‘annexe’ for the kids, it was a good option for top-end touring, although the time and effort it took to pack it up every time we wanted to drive somewhere (up to 20 minutes) wore thin pretty quickly.

By comparison, the James Baroud Explorer Evolution is a cinch to open or close. It never took more than a couple of minutes to open up and hop into bed, and not much longer to close up.

With the vacuum moulded fibreglass lid lifted by four Al-Ko suppor struts inside, the tent literally pops up by itself once the four camber lock latches on the outside are released.

The supplied aluminum ladder then slides out and attaches securely to the side of the camper (you can do it on either side), before you climb up and push out and straighten the struts inside. Job done!

One more thing...

We also took the precaution of hammering a tent peg into the ground to stop the ladder from slipping on the dirt, grass or sand when clambering up or down, particularly at night.

Getting up and down the ladder is no problem, and we actually found it easier to go down frontwards when exiting the tent.

Inside, the 15cm thick high density foam base is pretty comfortable as far as camping mattresses go, and there’s plenty of options to avoid claustrophobia with numerous screened windows and flaps on all sides, including one that fully opens up at the rear.

Closing up the camper takes a little bit more time and effort but is hardly a chore, and the side tent material neatly folds inside with minimal tucking required.

I’m around 188cm tall, so could easily reach the front and rear grab handles used to pull down the roof, but shorter people will need to climb on to the car’s running boards or use a step ladder.

The tent can also be closed with the bedding and ladder inside.

Feature packed

The Explorer Evolution has a few other handy features worth noting, including removable mesh storage pockets inside for keys, phones and wallets. There's also a large ceiling storage net, although it tended to sag when holding anything but the lightest clothes. As a result I was forced to shove heavier items like jeans in the bottom corner of the tent while sleeping.

There’s also a removable LED torch, and a small, roof-mounted ventilation unit that has its own solar-powered battery. We didn’t use it, but the reverse fan system might be a good option when the it's raining and all windows are zipped up, to provide some ventilation on a hot night or alternatively, act as an exhaust vent to reduce condensation.

Zipping up most of the windows on cooler nights, we didn’t find condensation an issue, as the padded headlining material appeared to soak up the moisture, before drying out the following day.

It's also worth mentioning how quiet the low-profile Explorer Evolution was when travelling, with only a hint of wind noise when cruising at 100km/h on the freeway.

Not so good

The James Baroud isn’t perfect though. Due to its compact dimensions (there’s a wider version available but it will hang over the sides of most vehicles), the double bed is fairly compact (approx. 190cm x 135cm).

At 188cm tall, there was barely room to stretch out, and just enough width for two adults. There's enough headroom to sit up in bed, but the James Baroud would definitely work better as a single bed.

And unlike the more fiddly flip-over roof-top tents with their ladder located at the base of the bed, those sleeping on the 'wrong' side in the James Baroud need to wake their bed partner when going to the loo at night in order to access the ladder.

As with all roof-top tents, we also needed to take into account the various weight limitations of the vehicle before mounting the Explorer. The Ford Everest has a maximum roof rating of 80kg, but the Rola roof bars we had fitted were only rated to 60kg (luckily the same weight as the James Baroud).

Summing up

While there are now more fancier and feature-packed models on the market, the James Baroud remains a solid option for roof-top touring.

Next time though, we’ll probably let the kids enjoy the treetop thrills and cosy sleeping quarters of the Explorer, and reserve the more commodious camper trailer for the oldies…

NOTE: Photography of teenage daughter in tent is for illustrative purposes only!

Specs: James Baroud Explorer Evolution

Cover and base: Vacuum moulded fibreglass
Canvas: Airtex polyester
Overall length: 204cm
External width: 143cm
Travel height: 33cm
Internal height: 98cm
Dry weight: 60kg
Price: $5250
Supplied by: Outback HQ, Bayswater, Victoria