Danish camping company Fjordsen first came to our attention in 2020 with its extra-colorful inflatable rooftop tent. This year, it launched something even more eye-catching: the Beyond X hub-style rooftop tent (RTT), which rises nearly 5 feet (1.5 m) over top the vehicle roof below to offer one of the roomiest roof-camping experiences available.
We've seen many rooftop tent styles, but we've never previously seen one with the type of volume-maximizing hub-style construction common in ice fishing huts, modular Qube tents and overland ground tents. Fjordsen has long offered various iterations of the ground-level hub tent, and with the Beyond X, it hoists the hub onto the car roof.
Hub tents are prized for their fast setup in comparison to other ground tent styles, using an integrated frame to simply pop and lock in place via ventral pole hubs on the sides and roof. That advantage will be diminished on a rooftop tent, where an integrated frame that sets up and breaks quickly with little effort is standard fare, but the Beyond X is still quick and easy to pitch with an estimated two-minute setup time.
Another advantage of the hub design is that it maximizes interior space with a bulging cube-like shape. That's the advantage that Fjordsen really hangs its hat on with the Beyond X, stressing that the largest model offers 6.3 cubic meters (222.5 cu ft) of interior volume. The Beyond X Large floor measures a square 2.2 x 2.2 m (87 x 87 in), accommodating three to four people, while the roof rises 1.4 m (4.6 feet) high, providing sitting room for all and standing height for children.
In terms of the Jeep Wrangler volume comparison, we didn't simply arrive there by staring at a tent that appears like it could drop down and swallow the entire Wrangler cabin, along with some of the hood – though that was our starting point. Fjordsen offered up the Beyond X volume so readily, we figured it was worth comparing.
The four-door 2024 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited has a total passenger volume of 3 cu m (104 cu ft), according to Jeep's online spec sheet – not even half the human-dedicated occupant space of the Beyond X. Even if you include the Wrangler Unlimited's 0.9 cu m (31.7 cu ft) of cargo volume behind the rear seats, it still comes up well short of the Beyond X's 6.3 cu m (222.5 cu ft). So the Beyond X does in fact have the space to swallow the entire Wrangler Unlimited cabin and some of its hood.
Of course, all that Beyond X volume isn't purely an advantage. Unlike wedge and cabin-style rooftop tents, the Beyond X is a tall, broad block from every angle, ensuring it will be facing into the wind.
The Beyond X was developed in the "Country of Winds," where wind power supplies close to half the nation's electricity consumption, so maybe the folks at Fjordsen have done their hands-on due diligence in rough conditions. We wouldn't want to be the ones to find out our personal experience doesn't match up, though.
While huge at camp, the Beyond X folds in half to measure a modest 220 x 110 x 35 cm (87 x 43 x 14 in) on the road. It weighs 54 kg (119 lb) not including the mattress, which is sold separately.
The Beyond X uses fiberglass poles and hubs, silicone-coated 210D poly oxford fabric, and an expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam-panel floor with aluminum frame profiles. Eight zippable mesh windows offer plenty of opportunity for ventilation.
Fjordsen launched the Beyond X series earlier this year. The large variant described and specced above retails for €1,899 (approx. US$2,050), including VAT, while the two-sleeper medium model retails for €1,349 (US$1,450). It's worth noting that, unlike RTTs sold in fully assembled folded form, the Beyond X ships in four different boxes and requires significant customer assembly. Even the floor arrives as multiple panels that need to be secured together.
Source: Fjordsen
