The Pioneer 4EX family tent is a simple single porch-and-bedroom tunnel affair. It arrived packed to pitch fly-first – which is helpful in bad weather – but will pitch as a single unit – which is great in bad weather.
John Manning’s Best In Test
I’m drawn to the Pioneer 4EX, as the most backpackable family tent. It’s affordable, the build quality is great and, at 3.8kg, it’s the lightest of those tested.- Weight
- Price
- Fly first or single unit pitching
- Porch groundsheet not supplied
- Limited space for festering
- Pitching as unit or outer first
| Quick specs | |
|---|---|
| Price: £264.99 Weight: 3.8kg Berth: 4 Flysheet: HydroTex Core, 75D polyester 190T, 3,000mm HH Inner: 68D polyester 190T, breathable polyester Groundsheet: 75D polyester Taffeta 185T PU coated, 6,000mm HH Poles: Aluminium 7001, T6, 9.5 mm, anodised Pegs: 19 x round alloy pegs Porch (tapers): W: 230/190cm, L: 175cm, H: 120/105cm (Roben’s measurements) Bedroom (tapers): W: 210/175cm, L: 220, H: 100/90cm (Robens’ measurements) Overall inner dimensions : W: 220cm, L: 210cm, H: 120cm (Robens’ measurements) URL: www.robens.co.uk |
Steph and I had the Pioneer 4EX up in under five minutes, making this the fastest pitched of the tents tested. Three similarly sized poles – thankfully colour coded – slip through sleeves to be secured in pockets at the far end, and grommets at the near. Of the 19 light alloy stakes supplied, we found five necessary for a minimum pitch on a still evening with a kind weather forecast; with all eight guy-lines pegged out, and every staking point used, all 19 stakes were deployed, making this a sound, rigid shelter.
The bedroom, which is well-ventilated with mesh panels in the upper sections of the back wall and the door, provides a snug fit for four people, with a small amount of space for gear at the feet, meaning the good-sized porch is going to be the prime gear storage area.
At 220cm wide and 170cm deep, the porch offers slightly less floor space that the 205cm-wide and 220cm-deep bedroom (my measurements), but does offer an extra 10cm of headroom, at 120cm – easily enough room to sit up comfortably. The porch also has a mesh vent which can be Velcroed open.
There’s no mesh fly screen option on the outer door, and no groundsheet in the porch, so if the midgies were biting you might find yourselves restricted to the bedroom which may prove a tad claustrophobic over time. A groundsheet is available as an extra, for £34, or you could improvise with a piece of Tyvek or spinnaker fabric.
I’m drawn to the Pioneer 4EX, as the most backpackable family tent. It’s affordable, the build quality is great and, at 3.8kg, it’s the lightest of those tested, comfortably splitable between two people (or four, if the kids can be bribed with ice cream) for a family backpacking adventure.
