BCF Wanderer Magnitude

Despite the good reviews, it has a couple of downsides that aren't immediately obvious – After seeing only good reviews for this tent I became concerned that maybe on vendor sites only the good reviews are published. Its hard to know, but it's a point made by Graeme in these reviews. Certainly if you look at the reviews on the BCF site, you'd be forgiven for believing this is the ideal tent. The review average rating is close to… Read more

perfect.

While its not a bad tent, its certainly not perfect. For anyone curious if this tent has any downsides, I thought a post on Product Review (who definitely publish both good and bad reviews) might help some.

The tent was on sale for around half price, and as such is good value. Still, what isn't immediately obvious is that the inner tent has only mesh doors, with no other other coverings. And theres no groundsheet inside the vestibule. As a result if you're unlucky to be caught on a windy night with any dust or sand nearby, or particularly if the awning is over sandy or dusty ground, you will find the tent, your hair and any nearby clothes, filled with dirt the next morning. Which is exactly what happened.

So it is fair to say this tent, while it may technically stay standing in wind, is not one for camping around sand or dust when there's any wind. Nicely suited to a calm and warm summer evening though.

While the pure mesh-only doors are a little difficult to spot, the pictures prominently show the front awning, which is great for storing stuff, with the doorway propped open on two poles. What is harder to discover, until you use it for the first time, is those poles are an optional extra - meaning you'll be most likely not be having the doorway propped open as in the advertising material. But that's probably just as well as the awning will keep dust off your bedding better when closed.

We also found it very hard to pack back into the bag. But this must be to some extent user error, since the tent came packed in its bag. Lets just say its one of the more tricky :-)

While these points do not make this a bad tent, they are worth knowing because you might otherwise think you're buying a near perfect tent with outstanding ratings, which you might assume can be used in most reasonable conditions to be found around Australia. However the reality is, wind will catch you out one day, and you'll be revisiting BCF to make your tent as per the pictures.

If you still like the sound of the tent given the above and feel it will fulfil your needs, now you know where it falls short, its otherwise a reasonable tent especially if you can pick it up at around half price.

Note the above applies to the Wanderer 4 and may or may not apply to the other Wanderer tents in this review.

Great little tent for 1-2 persons – Used at least 15 times now, in best and worst weather. Torrential rain and gale force winds, this tent has seen it all and stayed waterproof throughout. Easy for one person to set up In about 10 minute. Only issue I have is the awning is a bit small and not designed to be up in the rain, but by angling the front poles, will stay dry when in there. 5 stars from me. Wish I could find another! Show details

Great tent. Value for money – Bought this tent Wanderer Magnitude 6V from BCF to replace my 4P instant up tent. Very happy with the product. Sure it doesn’t setup as quick as instant tents. But it performed well in the environments I camped in and I think it’s in the right price point. The fibreglass poles also gave me the assurance of easily available parts. Bag that came… Read more

with it is quite tight. So purchased the Campfire BBQ canvas bag from Kings and it was perfect, which I can even put in the ground tarp in the bag with the tent.

Assembly – Instruction are terrible what little there are. I stated this was my first tent and told it is easy to set up. I have tried 3 times now and still havent had it set up corectly. Pegs bend when hit into the ground, awning posts and ropes are very light and are hard to tighten to stop moving. Would never recomend buying this tent very flimsy

Mediocre at best – We've used this tent a few times and can never get the fly positioned correctly, so the fly touches the tent and leaks in a dew. Thankfully we've never been in it in the rain. The tent comes with no actual instructions and there are no helpful videos online that I can find, other than the retailers fluffy promotional video. The pegs are flimsy and… Read more

bend at the slightest resistance, and the "awning" posts have the structural integrity of a pipe cleaner. Other than that its okay.

Nice and Sturdy – Although it takes a little longer to set up, it is, however a fantastic and very sturdy tent. We have used roughly 5 times since our purchase last year, stays pretty dry when it rains. Tearing down isn't an easy job and usually requires two people to set up and tear down, but to have a sturdy tent - its worth the compromise. I love how theres 3… Read more

different entrances, 2 in the front area and 1 in the back area. The 2 rooms can be separated by zipping the partition up. Overall a very good tent that holds up in the weather.

Very good quality tent – Good quality purchased from bcf for 69 dollars. I have the 3 person size and it fits 3 people comfortably. Has plenty of room for a double or queen air bed and has options for a electric cable mounting available if needed. I pitched up the tent my self in about 25 minutes and took me about 15 minutes to put away. The tent was up in some light… Read more

rain and it did not leak and holds up well in 20 to 30 kmph winds I cannot fault this tent so far it's is a good product

A great Tent at a good price! – I've used this tent for over twelve months on at least a dozen occasions. 10 minute set up and rather sturdy even though so simple. Good wind resistance and stability in winter with plenty of venting when needed. I've had it out in storm weather and stayed perfectly dry.

wanderer magnitude 9v – I would recommend the wanderer magnitude to anyone.. Great tent that handled heavy wind and rain at crescent head without a drama.. Very roomy inside and Handles the winter months with ease

Good family tent – We’ve made good use of this family size tent. Easy enough to set up. We sleep two adults and 3 kids in one section while the other section is filled with our belongings. We would happily purchase this model again.