GentleTent GT Sky Loft – 12 ½ roof top tents in direct comparison

The biggest roof tent in the world and the best option for families – GentleTent’s marketing people certainly don’t lack confidence, but at the same time set very high expectations. The comparatively light, inflatable GTGentleTent Sky Loft accommodates up to six people and retails at € 4,000. But can the GentleTent roof tent hold its own against its strong, lightning-fast competition?

We tested 12 ½ of the most exciting roof top tents in a direct comparison and took along 20 roof tent newbies and experts, 2 small kids, 2 dogs and 1 giant teddy bear on an epic road trip – here for our buying advice, and an overview of all the roof tents we tested.

Austrian manufacturer GentleTent develops inflatable roof tents, and enters our comparison test with an impressive candidate: the GTGentleTent Sky Loft 2022 family roof tent. In a nutshell, it’s massive, and unfolds on both sides of the car, towering over the mundane things of everyday camping life. While placing our order on GentleTent’s website, we could already imagine the kids climbing up and down the two ladders to reach their bouncy castle-like sleeping quarters. However, after setting it up, we asked ourselves: is this a big bouncy dream come true, or does the Sky Loft call for too many compromises?

GentleTent Sky Loft: preparation and car installation

The GentleTent is off to a great start with no pre-assembly required, as the rails are already fitted to the tent. Unlike the hard-top heavyweights in this test, the Intrepid and Arcta, which require up to four people to lift onto the roof bars, the Sky Loft only takes two strong people. To secure the bolts, GentleTent include a 10 mm ratchet in the box. Fitting the GentleTent roof tent to the roof bars is a little finicky, but this is an issue common to most of the roof tents in this test. However, the clamps that grab the roof bars can be opened on one side just like a hinge. This allows you to adjust them to the height of the roof bars before lifting the tent and prevents you from having to tighten as many bolts. However, you still have to be careful when tightening the bolts, because the clamps aren’t pre-moulded or rubberised. The sharp edges of the metal clamps can scratch the car roof during installation if the hinges open or fall off. Therefore, we recommend using the same trick as with all other tents: always put a piece of cardboard or blanket underneath!

GentleTent Sky Loft: assembly and disassembly

If there are more than two people staying in the Sky Loft, we recommend using two ladders. The additional ladder allows access from both sides and can be purchased directly on the manufacturer’s website. Both ladders fit into the tent, even if this isn’t officially stated by the manufacturer. However, the stabilising platform poles and other equipment – like a pump and similar stuff ­– have to be stored inside the car.

Let’s be honest, setting up the GentleTent roof tent is a gargantuan task, and requires at least two people to put up and, above all, take down. This is definitely a problem for parents with very small children. Who looks after the kids while you’re at it? Of course, this is also the case with big ground tents, but aren’t roof tents meant to be quicker and easier to set up, especially for solo travellers? Not in this case! Setting up the GentleTent requires many different steps: once you’ve removed the travel cover and opened up the bulky, foldable sides, it’s time to inflate the floor and roof using three different valves. The floor consists of a huge drop-stitch air chamber, the material we know from stand-up paddleboards. Now you have to pump up the actual tent. What is a quick, easy procedure with the other two inflatable tents in this test – our test winner, the qeedo, and our Best Buy tip, the Decathlon tent – which both rely on a single valve, is a real patience test with the GentleTent roof tent: the 12 V pump goes into overheating mode every now and then and just stops working. When it works, it makes a terribly loud, siren-like noise every time you switch from volume mode to pressurisation, which won’t make you popular with your camping neighbours. If you have a 230 V connection to hand, we recommend buying a 230 V pump. This might make the same hell of a noise, but at least it won’t overheat. Tip: never set up the GentleTent with an electric pump late in the evening unless you really want the rest of the campsite to hate you.

While inflating, overpressure valves prevent you from over inflating and bursting the air chambers. When setting it up for the first time, the air chamber attached to the foot section, which supports the canopy over the entrance, takes some effort to align. The long overhang of the awning keeps the ladder completely dry. With the smaller inflatable tent, the Decathlon MH 900, you get soaked in heavy rain. By the time you’ve attached the telescopic support poles to the overhanging sections, you’ll have spent about half an hour setting the tent up. The 10-15 minute set-up time stated by the manufacturer is a very optimistic estimate – and requires a well-functioning pump.

Tuning-Tip: Get a double-stroke hand pump

Dismantling has to be done by two people, as you have to fold-in the heavy, bulky groundsheet and secure it along both sides – you can’t do this on your own! Now you can simply pull over the cover and secure it all the way round with the zipper. This is fairly easy as the cover doesn’t have to be stretched over hard edges.

Even after a little practice, setting up and taking down the GentleTent roof tent is still a mission, which is usually only the case with big family ground tents – and sometimes they’re even quicker to set up than the Skyloft. As a result, the GentleTent is a better option for long-term camping holidays rather than flexible road trips with lots of in-between driving. Particularly annoying: if the tent is wet, disassembly can be really frustrating, because you’ll have to dry the tent first – a job no one wants to do! However, you’re better off doing it, otherwise it will smell like a wet dog on your next trip and perhaps even have a nice little layer of mould. When choosing the tent fabric, the Austrian manufacturer should have chosen a fast-drying material over polycotton – though the cotton content ensures a cosy feel. Our tip: If possible, always try to plan your departure on a dry day.

The GentleTent Sky Loft in action

Once the monster’s set up, it offers an airy feeling of space: the big panoramic windows and light-coloured polycotton fabric ensure a bright interior, while the breathable fabric ensures a good inner climate. The Sky Loft has enough room for a family of four during the day and offers sleeping space for two adults and three to four children. It’s spacious inside, which makes it ideal for rainy days to hang out and spend some quality time with your loved ones. The GentleTent tent is stable enough for kids to have fun, whether it’s a mid-afternoon pillow fight or other camping shenanigans. The lack of poles avoids the risk of injury.

The biggest drawback is that you’ll have to buy a mattress or sleeping mat separately. Unlike all the other manufacturers, GentleTent don’t include this in the package. And you definitely need one, because the inflatable sleeping platform is like a giant SUP board – and is actually made from the same hard drop-stitch material. If you buy the mattresses in the GentleTent shop, you’re looking to spend another € 1,000 for five people, which puts the price for a ready-to-go GentleTent roof tent at well over € 5,000. On top of that, additional mattresses will have to be stored inside the car, alongside all your luggage.

Despite the pleasant interior climate, condensation forms on the ceiling windows of the GentleTent Sky Loft. However, the large floor area has an advantage: the condensation spreads over the big surface and there’s enough room to put your clothes away from the sides. This is extremely important if you want to wear dry clothes in the morning. With other roof tents, our test crew has had bad experiences in this regard: Paul, who spent the night in the Arcta Vento, spent the next day in a very soggy pair of jeans.

Back to daytime camping. In the GentleTent, there’s enough room for a small family to store smaller items, from toys to headphones. That’s exactly what the Viennese manufacturer must have thought about, because there are practical mesh pockets and plenty of loops on the walls to attach lamps, fairy lights, carabiners and floating organisers. This allows families and couples to create a cosy retreat high above the ground in a campsite.

Who should take a closer look at the GentleTent Sky Loft roof tent?

First things first: The GentleTent roof tent is a very special competitor in this test. As the only model that accommodates four or more people, it obviously requires more material and is therefore harder to set up. And the additional material also reflects on the price. GentleTent also offers smaller and cheaper inflatable tents, which are very likely to be more compact and easier to set up.

Who is the GentleTent roof tent suitable for? We say: for families with older (or quieter) kids who want to stay in a place with guaranteed sunshine for at least a week during their summer holiday, and can get by without using the car in this time. It’s not suitable for families with small and lively children who can’t be left unattended for half an hour while assembling or disassembling the tent. If you’re planning on changing camping spots frequently, we don’t recommend the GentleTent roof tent either. You should also look elsewhere if you’re spending most of the time in rainy areas, because drying the Sky Loft can be a pain – unless you have a big garden where you can set it up to dry!

Four grand is a lot of money, especially for the target group of young families. If you’re on a tight budget, a smaller inflatable GentleTent roof tent combined with a normal ground tent might be a better option. The Gentle Tent fits on vehicles with min. 60 kg permissible dynamic roof load and therefore on most bigger cars, vans and off-road vehicles.

Our conclusions about the GentleTent Sky Loft

The GentleTent’s forte is its concept. However, it’s time-consuming to set up and strongly limits your holiday activities since you can’t easily move the car, while the benefits of the tent on the car roof are too small. The quality of workmanship can’t quite keep up with the competition either. Retailing at € 4,159 without a mattress, this isn’t a convincing overall package. This makes the GentleTent roof tent for six people the clear loser in our roof tent comparison test, mainly due to conceptual differences.

Tops

• Bright interior with plenty of space for playing and sleeping
• Can be split into two separate cabins
• Bouncy castle feeling for the kids
• Light system weight and flat profile when folded considering the size of the tent when open
• Entrance is protected against the elements

Flops

• Assembly and disassembly take lots of time and effort
• 12 V pump overheats and is loud
• Price
• No mattress included in the price
• Manufacturing quality

For more info, visit gentletent.com

The test field

Click here for our big comparison test – 12 ½ roof top tents in direct comparison

All roof tents in test: Front Runner Feather Lite (Click here) | Decathlon MH 900 (Click here) | Vickywood Cumaru Light 127 ECO (Click here) | Yakima SkyRise HD Tent MD (Click here) | Qeedo Freedom Air 2 (Click here) | Thule Foothill (Click here) | Gentle Tent Sky Loft | Arcta Vento (Click here) | Thule Approach M (Click here) | Intrepid Geo 3.0 (Click here) | Naturbummler Alu-Kraftkiste (Click here) | Thule Outset (Click here) | Naturbummler Flitzer I L (Zum Test)

Words: Felicia Nastal, Julian Schwede Photos: Mike Hunger, Robin Schmitt