TENTS | Unexpected Features & Great Value – OLPRO Orion 6 Pole Tent Review

May 28, 2021 Shell Robshaw-Bryan

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For smaller families looking for a high quality traditional pole tent at an excellent price, the OLPRO Orion 6 provides a great value, flexible option with some unexpected features. Read on for our full review.

What is it?

Overall Rating (4 / 5)

Features

Packed dimensions (cm): 75cm x 30cm x 30cm (29.52” x 11.81” x 11.81”)
Weight (kg): 18.1 kg
Hydrostatic Head: 5,000mm H/H
Material: 190T OLTech Ripstop Polyester
Sewn in groundsheet: Yes
Poles: 4 x Steel Leg Poles 2 x Fibreglass roof poles 2 x Fibreglass bedroom poles
Cable Entry Point: Yes
Canopy poles: Yes
Number of doors: 2
Windows: 5
Pitching time: 20 Minutes
Bedroom inner tent: Yes Darkened inner
Standing room: Yes
Pegs included: Yes
Carpet available: Yes
Footprint groundsheet available: Yes

What we thought

Apart from my much-loved little backpacking tent, this is actually the first pole tent that we’ve put up in ages as our preference tends to be for inflatable and bell tents, so we were curious to see what it would be like going back to a more traditional pole tent.

The tunnel tent design is one I’m very familiar with; the first family tent I bought when I got a job straight out of Uni was a very similar size, design and even shared the same colour scheme, though it was significantly lower quality – it didn’t even have a sewn-in groundsheet and was much flimsier than the Orion 6.

Putting the tent up

The addition of steel poles is always something I’m glad to see with a pole tent having spent many a camping trip frantically duck-taping snapped fibreglass poles in the middle of a storm. Although the steel poles add weight to the packed tent, they of course make for a sturdier structure. Despite the extra weight in relation to the relatively small pack size, I found the 18kg tent easy enough to carry on my own.

The tent uses a hybrid pole system with steel poles in the middle section of the tent for added stability that run floor to roof, that then slot into a bracket and a flexible fiberglass pole then spans the roof and slots into a bracket on the opposite side of the tent.

Usually with an entirely new tent we’d go through the instructions first and whilst there were instructions, there were no helpful images. Instead of all that reading, we just opted to get hands-on and figure it out for ourselves.

We did find that the more hands we had available, the easier it was to get this tent up and we ended up with 3 of us helping to get it up, though the second time we used the tent it was a more straightforward 2 person job to get it up again.

The first time around it took us about 35 minutes to get the tent pitched, but the second time, once we knew what we were doing, it took about 25 minutes. Not bad for such a decent-sized tent.

[ad] This is SUCH a cool feature and we love it 😍

The @OLPRO Orion #tent has a very apt name, as it has a big stargazing roof window that keeps you connected to your surroundings day and night ✨#camping #tents pic.twitter.com/H6Vkz37pvz
— ᘳᗗᘻᕵ & ᖶᖇᗋᐺᕩᒹ ᙢᓎᖇᕦ! (@CampWithStyle) May 26, 2021

Practicality

We like space and generally camp with a kitchen cupboard unit, table, a couple of chairs, ice box, a couple of big backpacks and a further bag with running and swimming gear in, so even though it’s just the two of us, we tend to take up a fair bit of space which is why we prefer medium to larger size family tents.

We opted to leave the second bedroom compartment out as we simply didn’t need it, which also meant we could use the large door at one end as well as the smaller side door which gave us a more flexible layout that suited our needs.

We did find that the bedroom compartments were pretty small. In fact looking at the dimensions, before our first camping trip we realised our folding double camp bed would probably be too big for the space, so instead we just took our double self-inflating mattress and two single SIMs.

Inside the sleeping compartment, there was just enough room for the double mattress, leaving no space on either side or at the top or the bottom, which meant whoever was sleeping on the far side had to climb over the other person to get in or out of bed.

Of course, there is also a second identical bedroom compartment which can be placed at the opposite end of the tent, but for our needs, we prefer a larger living area so didn’t use it.

*Bedroom set up with 1 double SIM inside*

We really liked the flexibility of the internal space and even pondered using it without a sleeping compartment at all to provide just one big living/sleeping space which would have allowed us to use our usual double camp bed, so I think for families, the flexibility offered by this tent is a definite bonus.

Our only other minor niggle was the size of the tent bag. Even when factory packed, we noticed that getting everything out for the first time was tight and it was immediately obvious that the bag was just big enough to fit everything inside, which of course means that in real-life use, when you don’t get the perfect tight factory pack of a brand new tent, it was unlikely to fit back inside.

When it came to packing down, we were right. Despite folding in the right places and rolling the tent as tightly as possible, we found that whilst the tent fitted back inside the bag with little trouble, it was impossible to get the poles back inside too.

Features

Having been familiar with OLPRO but having never used one of their tents before I was unsure what to expect, although had noted that this particular tent won a 2020 camping awards choice for best poled family tent and that they also offer a 2-year warranty.

Once up, the quality of the tent was obvious and despite our niggles with tight bedroom space and bag size, we found a host of well-thought-out features including metal guy rope sliders, ample ventilation, rain-friendly doorways, flexible internal configuration and plenty of hanging points.

Not only did light flood into the tent, it gave us amazing views of the trees which really helped us to feel more connected to the natural space we were in.

The bedroom interior is slightly darker than the rest of the tent, though they don’t use blackout technology. Despite this, on our first night in the tent we both slept in later than we’ve ever done on a camping trip and certainly far later than either of us had slept at home in many months.

Choosing a quiet campsite I’m sure helped, but not waking up until almost 9.30am (I know right?!) must also in part have been down to the slightly darker bedroom interior.

OLPRO Orion 6 tent sky light window roof

Our very favourite feature of the tent though has to be the big sky gazing window set within the roof of the living area. Although on both camping trips so far, the nights were overcast, during the day it meant not only did light flood into the tent, but it gave us amazing views of the trees which really helped us to feel more connected to the natural space we were in, even when huddled inside the tent during heavy downpours.

Pros

We loved the stargazing roof panel
Excellent 5000 HH coped well with heavy rain
We love that it’s designed in Britain and comes with a 2-year warranty
Sturdy and solid thanks to the rigid steel tent poles
Ample head height makes the tent feel more spacious
Good quality bug mesh and zippers
The tent felt highly capable even whilst camping in wet and windy conditions
Good pack size, which means it won’t take up too much space in the car
Flexible interior space, use with 1 or 2 bedroom compartments inside
Good amount of ventilation
Good number of lantern hanging points
Extra pols to turn the end door into a canopy are included

Cons

Instructions could do with pictures instead of just text
It takes about 20 – 30 minutes for 2 people to put up
We found the bedroom compartments quite small
The tent bag is too small and needs to be more generously sized

The verdict

Our Rating

Quality 4.5/5

Practicality 3.5/5

Looks 4/5

Value 4.5/5

Overall Rating (4 / 5)

If you’re looking for a mid-sized family tent that uses a traditional pole system, that provides heaps of flexibility and is sturdy enough to stand up to the worst of the British weather, the OLPRO Orion 6 tent provides excellent value for money and is well worth considering.

Whilst we don’t think you’d want to squeeze 6 adults in the space, for a family of 4 or a young family of 5 this tent would be ideal, providing just enough space for everyone including a few basic bits of camp furniture inside the tent.

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If however, you are a couple, then you’ll find the Orion 6 provides a great amount of space, with ample room for your usual camping setup. The OLPRO Orion 6 makes a solid buy and is comparable to tents we’ve used at a significantly higher price point.

DISCLOSURE | Thank you to OLPRO who supplied the featured product to us to test. We were not paid to write this review.

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Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Editor & Owner at Camping with Style

Shell loves all things travel and outdoors and is a nature-loving, comfy-camping kinda girl. Shell started the Camping with Style blog after a serious snowboarding accident which left her with a broken back. Despite this she used the outdoors and healing power of nature to aid her recovery and she continues to spend time outdoors whenever she can.

From open water swimming, snowboarding and kayaking to hill walks and meditation, Shell shares her travels and microadventures here on the blog and in various publications she's written for, Shell has a particular interest in promoting wellbeing and the many benefits of nature therapy.

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