VANGO AIRWAY KELA V

PRICE: £610 (awning rail kit for 110, £188.99) CONTACT: optimill-uk.com

AS an avid camper I’ve slept in many a tent, but this was my first go in what is basically a ground tent that attaches itself to the side of your vehicle, then also provides you with a drive-away awning. It creates a protected tunnel space between your vehicle and the tent/awning which is great for storage or keeping bits or you dry. This sort of set-up is very popular with VW campers but a bit of a novelty in the Land Rover Defender sector.

First things first – how does the tent/ awning attach to the Defender? There is a special rail kit (£188.99) consisting of poles and clamps that is attached to the gutter that runs around the roof of your 110.

Putting this on can be a bit of a faff the first time but once you know how to, it just gets easier. Note that if you have a roof rack you will have to space the poles so that the clamps are not placed where the legs of the roof rack are.

Once the poles and brackets are in place the tent can go up. It is literally just a case of inflating it using the supplied pump and then deploying the many tent pegs to secure the tent in the correct position.

We pitched and used the tent on a windy, cold day so we left all the doors closed, but if used in the summer sun, you are able to open and access the tunnel or tent via several doors. They are double-sided so you can have the outer door material open but the inner mesh closed to keep bugs out.

The tent/awning has loads of little extras to make your camping experience a good one: an additional inflatable beam for extra support, pack of sky hooks, electric cable entry point, windows that allow in plenty of light, privacy curtains, reflective webbing and high-vis guy-lines.

The biggest selling point of a setup like this is that you can quickly detach it from your Defender and drive away. Just make a note of exactly where you parked it. Maybe mark the parking position with a tent peg. Great for a small family if planning on camping somewhere for a few days but you still need to use your Defender.

When packing the tent away I told LRM’S ad manager Steve not to stress as it would fit in the oversized carry bag, and I was right.

Total weight: 18.3 kg Time to pitch: 15 mins

Pack size: L78 x H32 x W34 cm