Roofnest Condor 2 XL Air vs Thule Widesky

The Roofnest Condor 2 XL Air and the Thule Widesky 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. Roofnest and Thule take noticeably different approaches to the same problem.

The Widesky is 10 kg lighter at 67 kg against 77 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 Condor 2 XL Air gives 3.91 m² of sleeping floor against 2.95 m², about 33 percent more, and it sleeps 4 to the Widesky's 2. List prices are within $95 of each other, so price is unlikely to decide this one.

They open differently: the Condor 2 XL Air is a fold-out and the Widesky a clamshell. 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 Condor 2 XL Air uses rooftex PC/ABS shell with internal aluminum frame; the Widesky uses aluminum frame with fiber-reinforced polyamide corners and aluminum honeycomb base. Canvas differs too: 280gsm poly-cotton canvas with blackout coating against 600D recycled polyester ripstop, water resistant. Closed, the Widesky sits 17 cm lower on the roof — 20 cm against 37 cm — which is drag you carry on every mile you are not camping.