ARB Altitude Electric vs iKamper Skycamp 3.0

The ARB Altitude Electric and the iKamper Skycamp 3.0 are both hardshell tents in the same part of the market, which makes them a genuine head-to-head rather than a comparison across categories. ARB and iKamper take noticeably different approaches to the same problem.

By the numbers, the ARB Altitude Electric brings 106 kg, 3.63 m² of floor, 118 cm of headroom and sleeps 2. The iKamper Skycamp 3.0 counters with 75 kg, 4.12 m² of floor, 122 cm of headroom and sleeps 4.

The Skycamp 3.0 is 31 kg lighter at 75 kg against 106 kg, which on a factory roof rated for 68 to 75 kg is often the difference between a legal fit and a rack upgrade. Inside, the Skycamp 3.0 gives 4.12 m² of sleeping floor against 3.63 m², about 13 percent more, and it sleeps 4 to the Altitude Electric's 2. The Skycamp 3.0 lists about 18% lower than the Altitude Electric. ARB also backs the Altitude Electric for 3 years against 2.

They open differently: the Altitude Electric is a clamshell and the Skycamp 3.0 a fold-out. That is not cosmetic — it decides whether headroom is even across the tent or tapers towards one end, and how much of the roof the tent occupies when closed. The Altitude Electric uses fiberglass; the Skycamp 3.0 uses dual-layer fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) with 25 mm air insulation. Canvas differs too: 380GSM poly-cotton canvas against 300gsm poly-cotton blackout canvas. The Altitude Electric adds solar-powered ventilation, the ability to carry cargo on the shell and integrated LED lighting, which the Skycamp 3.0 does not offer.