When we first encountered Santa Cruz, California, rooftop-tent company Tepui at Summer Outdoor Retailer a few years back, we were smitten. Having a tent fixed to the roof of your car that you can pop up and crash in at the end of the day鈥攚ith several feet of聽separation聽from all those creepy-crawlies on the ground鈥攇ave new meaning to the term car camping.聽(Of course, sleeping on top of your rig has been around for years, but it鈥檚 really caught on of late with the U.S. overlanding crowd.)
In 2016, Tepui debuted the Zipper Gimp system, a closure that runs along the bottom of the fly and allows the canopy to be removed鈥攆or example, to ship back to Tepui for repairs or to install a different model while using the same聽base. At first that system was聽available only on the Baja Kukenam, Tepui鈥檚 most popular tent. Now, beginning with its聽2018 line, the Zipper Gimp is a standard feature.
That means that, if you purchase any Tepui model, you can swap in a mesh Baja series canopy for road trips in hot, dry weather or the 600-denier, water-resistant Explorer canopy if storms are forecasted. We got to check聽out several of Tepui鈥檚 new tents at Outdoor Retailer Demo Day at Confluence and Commons Parks in Denver.
It鈥檚 a small addition, but one that should help overlanders and car campers get more enjoyment and聽versatility out of their tents. And it could draw more聽campers to rooftop shelters, making the $1,200-plus investment more approachable.
Tepui鈥檚 interchangeable canopies are .